A huge well done to Catherine Brennan and Jo Gillyon winning the A course at the Marmot Dark Mountains in Snowdonia. Tough conditions for a 35k Nav course in under 14 hours on the 25th – 26th of January 2020! This was the last time this event was run by Ourea Events and unless another Organiser can be found, this may have been ‘The Last EVER!’
Marmot Dark Mountains™ takes the classic two-day mountain marathon format and gives it a new, darker twist. Annual event on the last weekend of January.
Facebook Page: January 2013 was the first year for an exciting new event then called Dark Mountains™. It took the classic two-day mountain marathon format and gave it a new… darker twist. Rather than two days of running with an overnight camp in between, Dark Mountains™ packed two days worth of running, into one winter’s night!
Brainchild of the Dragon’s Back Race™ organiser and OMM Elite winner, Shane Ohly, this exciting event has become a regular appointment on the last weekend of January for all mountain-running addicts. Like most regular mountain marathons, Marmot Dark Mountains™ is a pairs event.
Marmot Dark Mountains™ is based on the usual mountain marathon format with Elite, A, B, C and Score classes for participants to choose from. Usually at a mountain marathon the nature of the terrain dictates the distance of each course with the planners designing a course with a certain winning time. We stick with this principle but allow for the added difficulty of navigating and running at night. Therefore although the winning time for your chosen class will be similar to a normal mountain marathon, the overall distance will be less.
The event kicks off on Saturday evening with the longest classes setting off first for dusk-to-dawn racing. The shorter classes will set off later in the evening with the aim of most participants finishing within an hour or so of each other the following morning. This should make for an exciting finish as all the courses and most of the participants converge on the finish as dawn breaks.
Marmot Dark Mountains™ is meant to be challenging but with the courses remaining open until 1200 on Sunday there is sufficient time for everyone to complete their course and share in the success.
It goes without saying that there will a hearty breakfast and hot drinks available to everyone as they finish. Participants may also camp at the Event Centre should they wish to grab some sleep before travelling home.