Andy (my sister's husband) and I competed in Wansfell class of Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon in the English Lake District on 3rd / 4th July 2010. Finished where we hoped, just above half way overall in field, which included all male pairs and female pairs. We missed being counted as veterans by me being 6 months too young. Lovely sunny day 1, very wet and windy day 2, with impaired visability due to low cloud and driving rain. Very enjoyable. More details and photos to follow later.
Further details & photos, as promised:
Day 1 had lovely conditions - sunny, some cloud, not too hot, cool breeze. Shorts, T shirt and gaiter socks were ideal. Scenic Mid Camp in Longsleddale with good camp conditions, streams in which to wash & collect water. We arrived in time to buy milk, beer and diet coke, unlike some later finishers on longer courses. Rain and high winds was forecasted to arrive during Saturday night / early Sunday morning, but actually held off until striking camp on Sunday morning. My brother in law copes with noise from wind or voices and rain by leaving his hearing aid behind and sleeping on his deaf side; I use ear plugs at communal and / or exposed campsites and know which side to speak to him. Day 2 was a bit slower, due to high winds - feet didn't always land where we intended, resulting in a couple of bum landings. Visability was reduced, but didn't really affect us due to good navigation. Full water proofs, even gloves for some - might have been better if I had worn gloves, as got a couple of knuckle grazes from stumbling onto rocks. Reached finish to find just a photographer pointing his long lens out of car window to snap finishers; organisers were struggling to keep the marque on the gorund. Definitely a race when it was more fun to compete than marshal (as I'd done last year) By the time we reached Birmingham where my sister and brother in law live, we'd returned to sunshine. So, you'll understand why I only took photos on day 1.
More reports and photos at www.slmm.org.uk [1]