Two-day mountain marathon

Date published: 07 November 2011

Radcliffe AC's John Kirkham tested himself to the limit when he took part in a two-day mountain marathon in the wilds of the Scottish hills.

Vet 60 Kirkham joined partner fitness instructor, Alan Hartley to take on the recent OMM (Original Mountain Marathon) in West Perthshire.

The OMM is billed as the premier UK event to test teamwork, self-reliance, endurance and navigational skills and competitiors from as many as 12 countries take part each year.Teams must carry all clothing, tent, sleeping bag and food for 36 hours, along with displaying navigational skills without any outside support.

John, a sports therapist with a clinic in Holcombe, got together with Alan at a fitness centre in Whalley where he has another clinic, and they decided to give the OMM a go. The pair endured some horrendous weather conditions, continous rain and wind the first day, and thick mist the second. They took part in the Short Score Course which had 159 starting teams. It was one of eight classes in the event.

The hills above St Fillans at the head of Loch Earn was the area used and at the overnight camp the pair were in 51st position and John said he considered he had a good day. Sadly the mist made navigation more difficult on the second day and Alan had a hamstring strain which slowed them considerably. They suffered a points penalty for being overtime at the end in Comrie and finished 75th, and 35th vet team in their class.

But John, who has competed in mountain marathons before, said he enjoyed every moment and can't wait for the next one!

On the fells Kevin and Ann Marie McGilvray have plenty to smile about. The couple are winners in the Run The Moors Grand Prix this season. Kevin will take second place in the vet 55 category and his wife third prize among the women vet 45 runners.

The series involves five other clubs as well as Radcliffe and runners had 11 events to choose from with their best five results counting towards the prizes. Kevin, who had missed third place in the series last year by one point, ran eight events out of the 11, and Ann Marie six.

The last race in the series was on Saturday, the 6.3mile Shepherd Skyline near Todmorden. It was run by six members with Kevin McGilvray leading home the Radcliffe runners in perfect conditions in 65mins 54secs, closely followed by Mark Cartwright (V40) in 66mins 10secs.

Next, and first Radcliffe woman was Ann Marie, followed by Kath Davies
(V45) in 72mins 18secs: Mark Murphy (V40) in 75mins 58secs and John Young (V60), clocking 83mins 28secs in his first race since a hip replacement operation.

On a cold crisp autumnal morning on Sunday morning four members took to the roads around Wheelton near Chorley for the 28th running of the Through the Villages road race. The race is 8.45 miles long and involves the first mile uphill followed by several more testing climbs and descents.

First home for the club after his mountain marathon exploits was John Kirkham followed by Mark Emmett V50, Sheila Jones V55 and Eileen Royle V60. The event was well supported attracting a large field.