Lowe Alpine competitors

Competitors in next year’s Lowe Alpine Mountain Marathon may find the going a little easier after organisers decided to change the event’s courses.

The two-day event, which will be staged at a still-secret location in the Scottish Highlands, opened its online doors for entry recently. Organiser Martin Stone recommends getting in entries early. The event always fills to capacity, he says.

With the recent massive publicity surrounding the Original Mountain Marathon, the interest in the LAMM is bound to be high.

The course for elite runners will remain at its traditional level, but the B, C and D courses will be dropped half a notch on last year’s levels.

The only clue to the location is that it will be about four hours drive north of Glasgow, which puts it firmly in Highland territory. Organisers promise a scattering of munros and corbetts.

Renowned mountain and fell runner Angela Mudge has designed the courses, which combine a test of stamina, endurance and navigational skill.

The LAMM will take place on 6 and 7 June, offering lots of long daylight, unlike the autumnal OMM which this year offered 90mph winds, torrential rain and media hyperbole. Of course, this being Britain, and quite northerly Britain at that, there’s no guarantee of good weather. The event is for teams of two.

Last year’s entrants contributed a total of £420 to offset their climate impact in taking part in the event, which organisers doubled. The Climate Care project was the beneficiary and competitors can opt to do the same again this year.

So if you fancy a stab at finding your way round a munro or two next June, get your entry in via the LAMM website.