Marathon of Britain

David Greenham

23/12/2004 at 22:56

To anybody thinking of entering MOB2005,I would say go ahead and do the challenge of a lifetime,having completed the first MOB in 2003 I can honestly say this was the most brilliant event I have ever done,the friends I made,the emotions,fun, laughter and tears all make this a fantastic event.I didn,t run alongside Andy Blackford or any of the other top distance runners, but they all made me feel just as an important part of this unique event as anybody else.This year I went as part of the crew, and hey Heidi, remember me,I was the fella who leant you my warm fleece that night when you came in after 30 odd miles,cold,wet and bedraggled.I just felt for you so much,knowing what you were going through.Yes,go for it,You,ll be glad you did,and hope to see you there in 2005.

Butcherboy

24/12/2004 at 08:09

Not knocking anyone for putting on an event of this scale but does it really cost £749 for 6 nights in a Tent!!!

Plodding hippo

24/12/2004 at 08:26

Im too slow to do this
sounds ace though

jason X

24/12/2004 at 09:37

...Mob threads everywhere at the moment....

just to point out what I said in another thread £700 odd might seem a bit steep, but if you want to do a week staged event its pretty cheap relative to others...consider that the MDS charge in excess of £2000.

Butcherboy

24/12/2004 at 09:51

The MDS is how much !!!

Well that rules that one out.......that and the fact it would kill me

Andy Price 2

26/12/2004 at 10:41

I think I will leave that to rest of you extremely fit guys! Just getting over my Christams pud and it all sounds horrible to me!

RogerDodge the Reindeer

26/12/2004 at 16:50

Hipps - I've just found this!
Whaddya reckon - I'm pretty slow, mind you I'm pretty pi$$ed at the moment too!
What a challenge though!
RD

asghar1983

26/12/2004 at 21:21

david... i'm about to withdraw from MDS 2005 because i can run for only half an hour before feeling knackered (injury has prevented me from training), and i think the progression from that to MDS fitness is too much to ask of my body in 3.5 months. however, MOB sounds awesome (and more achievable in terms of how much time i have) - what level of training did you do to compete?

David Greenham

27/12/2004 at 22:05

Hi asghar1983,I only heard about this event,6 weeks before,and only having done 4 marathons previously,(only took up running Oct2000,) and after a couple of drinks one night,my fellow,so called club mates persuaded me to give it a go,so as well as our normal club runs,i did about 15 miles each Weds night complete with rucksack.By the time arrived,I was still under prepared but what the heck,went along,met so many strange faces,all made me welcome,and i took each day as they came,completed the course and enjoyed it all. Icame home a week later and was the envy of the club,very proud of what I,d achieved and a nice big medal!Seriously considering again 2005.

Yogi Welch

28/12/2004 at 20:37

The Marathon of Britain is by far a life changing event. Having not run or entered an event like it i thought it was going to be a walk in the park. How wrong could i have been. I met so many fantastic people, delt with so many emotions, and enjoyed every part of it,(well most of it). The top runners who i only saw at the end were an insperstion and a help every day. The event as a whols was expertly run and followed. I would like to say to any one who is even thinking about it.... I dare you.
See you for the MOB 5. oh and bring some Jelly Babies.
Yogi

Plodding hippo

28/12/2004 at 20:45

oh , when i am a better runner i will do this

Barbara

31/12/2004 at 16:57

I am seriously tempted by this, need something special to mark next year's rather significant birthday. However, navigation is not my thing. How difficult is the navigation and has anybody any tips on improving my skills?

Rory Coleman

03/01/2005 at 20:11

Hi and a happy new year to you Barbara and all Runner's World Forumites. Interesting that the girls feel they need help. One of our best navigators last year was Gill Orme. She was very worried about the maps on day one, but got better and better all week. So much so that the guys relied on her for their directions later in the week. From our experience, the chaps get lost the most it seems!

She's back this year and is a very useful point of contact for any gals wishing to enter. I'm sure she would not mind helping your skills and confidence.

regards

Rory Coleman
MOB Race Director

Barbara

03/01/2005 at 20:46

Hi Rory, thanks for that. Will I be able to contact Gill via the MOB website?

jason X

04/01/2005 at 00:46

I would say if your gonna take the time out to train to do 175 miles in 6 days, then taking a few days out to get your navigating sussed aint really an issue.

if you can read a route from an OS map and have a vague idea of your bearings then your sorted.

If you cant, its an easy thing to get to grips with and train up on(that doesnt mean you wont take one or two wrong turns and unwanted diversions, but thats just the way of things in navigational events).

Don't fear the sweeper

04/01/2005 at 10:40

Barbara, I suggest just going on long walks on footpaths in the countryside using an Explorer (1:25000) OS map. Get used to the symbols and the scale and practice estimating distances. MOB is through farmed countryside rather than moorland or mountainous terrain - there are usually lots of features around so you only need rudimentary knowledge of how to use a compass, although it would pay to be able to use it quickly. When you're confident mapreading on walks, set yourself running courses you haven't done before by marking a route on a map with a highlighter pen (just like in MOB itself) and following it. I find routes that would take me 4 hours if they were signposted races take me around 6 hours, but then I find the mapreading challenging as I'm red/green colourblind. Also I stop to look at birds, flowers, deer or to chat to people!

Having said the above, I've not done MOB yet, only half of MOBlite. I guess MOB's 54-mile stage would test one's mapreading, as part would be in the dark!

jason X

04/01/2005 at 11:10

I must have bumped into you at the lite earlier in the year Nigel. You doing it again this year ?

Don't fear the sweeper

04/01/2005 at 11:23

There's another thread here:
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/forum/forummessages.asp?dt=4&UTN=51249&V=6&SP=

And Andy Blackford's article about the first MOB is here:
http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?v=1&uan=1523

Don't fear the sweeper

04/01/2005 at 11:24

Hi Jason, Yes, we were marshalls together on the 2nd day. I'll be there (for the lite at least) this year, provided they update the website so I can enter! See you there!

Heidi Wilson

04/01/2005 at 11:43

Hi David,

How could I forget you - your fleece, at that time, felt the best thing in the world. Thank you again! I am doing the MOB again this year, so see you then! I would recommend this event to anyone, as long as you had a strong mind - you can do it!

I found navigating fairly tricky, but then again I hadn't practised very much beforehand. I learned that the compass never lies - don't trust your instinct! And if you think you are going the wrong way - STOP and reassess, don't just keep running and hope you will miraculously get back on track!

Happy New Year!

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