One of the world’s toughest mountain marathon events is returning to Perthshire for the first time in 11 years.
Around 3000 international competitors and more than 200 support staff will descend on Comrie this month for a gruelling two-day challenge among the surrounding area’s munros and corbetts.
In revisiting the region organisers brought the event to Glen Lyon in 1990 the Original Mountain Marathon (OMM) will offer a significant out-of-season boost to the Strathearn economy and help strengthen Perthshire’s claim to be Europe’s outdoor adventure capital.
It was founded in 1968 and has since inspired many successful events throughout the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, France and Scandinavia, but continues to be considered the most prestigious.
The 43rd annual event takes place on the weekend of October 29 and 30 and will again offer the toughest test of teamwork, self-reliance, endurance and outdoor and navigational skills, with elite participants required to undertake two consecutive marathon-length days, featuring climbs of more than 2500 metres.
OMM’s Andy Williams told The Courier: ”We are delighted to be back in Perthshire and it’s going to be very exciting this year. On of the main purposes of this challenge is to enable people to experience the wilderness and give them a feeling of solitude.
”The beauty of the location we have chosen for this year’s OMM is that, quite apart from the fact that it is spectacular, it is also so isolated. No roads will be touched by the competitors at any point during the challenge.
”They will climb corbetts and munros, cross water, hills and moorland and this should all make for a really challenging but satisfying exercise.”
The competing teams must have at least one member who can boast significant navigational expertise, but it is open to everyone.
Participants can take part in a number of different levels of challenge, with ”elite” testing the top teams to the full.
A small number of places are still available. Visit theomm.com for more information.