Isle of Man, Mountain-Ultra.

[murph]

On the 28th September 2013 The Isle of Man will be holding its inaugural Ultra distance mountain race. Isle of Man Mountain-Ultra.

Fell, Trail and Ultra mountain runners will race from the start at Market Square Ramsey in the North, over some of the most scenic upland terrain in the country to the finish at Port Erin Promenade over 50km away in the south of the island. This off road route takes ...in over 2500m of ascent as it snakes its way across the main fells and climbs the major peaks of this classic route.

If the 50km Mountain Ultra is too daunting a task why not take part in the Isle of Man Mountain-Race? A 28km smaller brother to the main Mountain-Ultra Race with 1750m of ascent. Setting off from the same start as the Mountain-Ultra Race in Ramsey, competitors will follow the same stunning route on their way to the finish point in the centre of the Island at St Johns.

Cash prizes are on offer for winners of the Mountain-Ultra and Mountain races, with numerous spot and age catagory related prizes too.

Entries are now open and avaliable Online via the attached link for both race formats, entry prices held at £10 until the 31st March 2013, from 1st April 2013 these will rise to £20. Both options offering excellent value.

https://www.manxtreme.com/event/manx...marathon-relay

If you are online and use Face Book follow the link here for information and updates -

https://www.facebook.com/#!/IsleOfManMountainUltra

Travel deals will hopefully be avalibale again as per the "Mountain Marathon"and details will be avaliable ASAP.

Thanks.
Manx Fell Runners.
www.manxfellrunners.org

[skennaugh]

Best race in the world! Even The Master said he was going to nurse his spindly bones round this year.

[Amex]

This looks very exciting, have never been to IOM so hmmmmm
Would only opt for short one
Couple of questions??
Any idea best way to get their, we could either bring motor home or hotel??
Would maps be available
Is it marked? easy to follow?

[Mole]

Fancy this myself. Done the MTB end 2 end event. We crossed on the ferry from Heysham? which was horrendous! Won't be doing that again,also flown over once with the missus-much better.

[IainR]

Whats the route like compared to the previous one.. which was an ultra...

I always felt its name was an issue... as it wasn't a marathon.. it was an ultra.. also there was little route choice so it wasn't a mountain marathon..

Is there that much route choice to create that much of a different route?

[murph]

Hi Ian,
You have hit the nail on the head with your points, we felt that the name was misleading in ways due to the distance and nature of the route, and also that we needed to "re-brand" the event and aim it at a new market, i.e Ultra runners as in its current format it just wasnt attracting the number of runners it required to make it a viable event, and we were worried it be lost sooner rather than later.

Last year we changed the date in order to move away from the easter period which historically attracts high travel costs to the island as this had been a major criticism in the past. This years re branding and push towards the Ultra market is to spread its appeal, as an event it seemed to have fallen off the radar and to do list of fell runners. Yes it is a predominantly one route race but their are areas where course knowledge and a bit of map work can pay dividends, it certainly isnt and wont be a flagged trail race.

In recognising the cost of travel to the island the club have kept the entry fee low in order to help the overal cost for competitiors, and we will also be negotiating package travel and B an B deals once again which a couple of runners took advantage of last year.

The Mountain-Ultra route will be 80% the same as the Mountain Marathon has been in the past but their will be route changes in the southern half of the race and these will hopefully also introduce more freedom of route choice. certainly within the next week or two the final amended route will be online.

It isnt a difficult route to navigate, but navigationl experience and a certain degree of competancy is required. One battle which will always be present is the manx weather, you may set of on a clear bright Sept morning but this can quickly turn to a wet grey foggy afternoon.

The best way to travel to the Island really depends on budget and convinience, you have the choice of ferry with the Isle of Man Steam Packet from Liverpool, Heysham, Birkenhead and the Irish Ports. www.steam-packet.com of Air travel with FlyBe, City Wing, EasyJet etc.
Certainly travelling in a motorhome would be ideal, but be sure to remember its a point to point race and not a closed loop, so you would really need somone in support, or be prepared to leave the motorhome at the end and us other transport to get to the start.

Murph.

[Mad Marshall]

Murph,

Good luck with the changes. I look forward to seeing the route changes in the second half - I plan to be there this year. I think you are wrong about the weather though, it can be misty, windy, or snowing at the start, but it is always, always nice at sunny at the finish.

[murph]

The Isle of Man, Mountain-Ultra is an evolution of the Manx Mountain Marathon, here is a brief history of this iconic event from its conception to present day.

The route was devised by Celtic scholar George Broderick in 1966. George had th...e idea of walking over the hills from Ramsey in the north of the Island to Port Erin in the south, beginning and ending at the town’s youth hostel’s.
The initial challenge was to complete the distance in under 10 hours, and in 1968 Tony Paine of East Grinstead made it to Port Erin youth hostel nine hours and fifty minutes after setting out from Ramsey. Once the challenge had been proven possible, George Broderick held discussions with the various bodies to try and organise a race for the following year. Unfortunately Easter 1969 proved too much of a rush, so it was agreed Easter 1970 would be the first running of the challenge.
May and Bill Lloyd, the wardens at Port Erin youth hostel, had an old trophy that they found lying in a cupboard, and, after a good polish, they presented it for the winner. The Lloyd Trophy is still the premier award 33 years on.
74 entries set off in the inaugural race in Arctic weather conditions. At one point the organisers were going to cancel the event but the competitors were all keen to go. Due to the pace of the runners who had entered the leaders arrived in Port Erin ahead of the expected schedule. The timekeeper had not arrived but luckily the wardens from the YMCA were there to record the winning time but only to the nearest minute. Only 12 competitors out of the 74 entries made it to the finish as the blizzard conditions forced the majority of the field to retire.
In1972 the start was moved to Ramsey’s market square and the finish to Bradda Glen café.
In 1973 the infamous climb at Fleshwick and Milner’s tower were included, previously the route went via Surby and Bradda East. Joss Naylor won for a second time although there was controversy as he did not ascend the climb at Fleshwick!
Three classes with different starting times were introduced in 1974, elite for runners under 6 hours, standard 6 to 7½ hours and walkers (although they were allowed to run), 7½ to 10½ hours.
In 1977 Arthur Jones who had competed in several of the marathons took over as race secretary, a position he would hold with great distinction for 20 years.
There were route changes in 1987. Greeba summit was included instead of descending through the Beary. Road sections at the Bungalow, St Johns and Round Table were made off road and the decent of Fleshwick followed the coastal path to the beach instead of cutting across a field.
In 1998 the course was lengthened in the Slieu Whallian area and the finish was moved to the Cherry Orchard Hotel.
In 2000 the elite and standard class were combined and the course length was reduced in the Greeba area and the finish in Port Erin moved to the Ocean Castle Hotel. Robert Baxter became the first veteran over 70 to complete the marathon, his 24th finish.
In 2003 history was made when Ian Gale became the first local to win.
In 2005 Jolanda Linshooten from Holland became the first Continental runner to win a category when she finished first lady.
In 2007 Lloyd Taggart became the second Manxman to win setting a course best time. The race is included in the UK Ultra-Running Championships for the first time.
In 2011 Paul Thompson wins for the seventh time.
In 2012 The ascent of Lhiattne Ny Beinnee was introduced and the win was taken again by Lloyd Taggart.
2013 Sees a new chapter in the races history with subtle route changes planned.

To be part of this enter here -

https://www.manxtreme.com/event/manx...marathon-relay

[murph]

Up-dated race info can now be found on the new Manx Fell Runners website -

http://manxfellrunners.org/iom-mountain-ultra

[Alf]

Up-dated race info can now be found on the new Manx Fell Runners website -

http://manxfellrunners.org/iom-mountain-ultra

I don't want to seem picky murph but the grey text I find difficult to read with my old eyes and the race map isnt very clear either and I have done the race a couple of times. Is there any more detail on the "subtle" changes to the route since I last did it in 2011 ?