Tag Archives: seven sevens

Mourne Seven Sevens Race 2019 – Final Instructions

Phone Number – 07845 659503
Give your Name and Entry Number in all messages
In an emergency dial 999 ask for Police then Mountain Rescue

BARF welcomes you to the Mourne Seven Sevens Race. This event is run under FRA and NIMRA rules for fell races and is a NIMRA Championship event categorised as A-Long – Minimum age 18 years old. To compete in the race you must be an experienced fell runner and be fit enough for the distance, climb and terrain involved. The exact route is not fixed and is not way-marked at any stage. Navigational skills will be required, especially if weather conditions are poor so participants must have the ability and experience to use both map and compass. (Navigation using only a smartphone app is not allowed).

Registration opens on Saturday morning at 08:45 and closes at 09:40 at the north end of the playing field beside Donard car park in Newcastle. The car park is free but parking may be limited due to other events. Please car share if possible and allow time to find parking nearby. 

You will need to fill out a FRA Race Registration form with details of your car registration and emergency contact info etc.

You will be given a set of green plastic tabs and one small white tab with your entry number on each of them. For convenience they will be held together on a string. You will also receive an electronic timing chip (aka dibber) which will be fastened to your wrist. Please look after this as you will be charged £30 if you lose it.

Timing Chip (dibber)

The Start  – of the race is in the playing field at 10:00am sharp.

There will be a funnel into the Start Pen and ALL RUNNERS WILL BE GEAR CHECKED. We will also activate your Dibber at this point.

At each summit you will find an electronic SI Control Box on a post with an orange and white flag. Insert your dibber into the hole in the SI box and wait till you hear a beep. The dibber will now have recorded the time you arrived at the top. (Click here for more info on the timing system). There are five marshalled positions along the route in the cols between summits and at Ben Crom dam. Remove one green plastic tab from the string and hand it to the marshal at each of these positions.

At the Finish, hand in your dibber and the last (white) plastic tab. You will receive a print out of your progress around the route with split times for each summit. The white plastic tab is our way of checking that you are off the hills, so even if you fail to complete the walk please make sure that you come to see us at the finish and hand in any remaining tabs and the dibber.

Light refreshments and showers will be available from 12:00. Please bring a cup so we can reduce waste.

Finishers’ times will be streamed live to http://lvo.org.uk/liveresults throughout the day. We will also have live data from several checkpoints around the course which we will publish snapshots of onto Facebook page through the day so your friends and family can monitor your progress.
Route: The route is anti-clockwise around each of the seven summits which must be visited in the order stipulated below plus the marshalled checkpoints (denoted MCP below). N.B. The Controls on Commedagh and Meelmore are now at the Summit Cairns and not at the Shelter Towers on the wall.

Cut-off time: There are cut-off times of 12.00 at Donard-Commedagh Col and of 2:30pm at Ben Crom Dam. This is to ensure runners complete the route before dark. Runners missing either cut-off will be retired from the race and should return directly to Donard Park. N.B. Retirements are marked RTD on the results with no times.  

In the event of extreme weather conditions the route may be altered on the day. Marshalled Check Points may have to be moved for their safety but Control Boxes will remain in place.

Retirees at any stage of the event must report as soon as possible to a marshal or via text to base and return directly to Donard Park to register that they are safely off the mountains and to return their dibber and tags.

The Mourne Rambler Bus (Service 405) does a loop of the eastern Mournes every couple of hours. See https://www.translink.co.uk/timetables for info.  

Equipment, food and water: The event is not supported along the route. Participants must carry minimum MANDATORY kit listed below:

  • Trail shoes or fell shoes (no trainers)
  • Waterproof coat with hood  &  waterproof trousers
  • Hat & gloves
  • Foil space blanket (a foil bag better)
  • Map of the course, compass & whistle
  • Emergency rations

Please be aware that for long sections of the course there is no water so plan accordingly

These items are required regardless of the weather forecast as mountain conditions can change dramatically with very little warning. 

Leave No Trace – This event subscribes to the LNT ethos and the NI Countryside Code: – Use stiles to cross fences and walls, leave gates as you find them and please bring ALL your rubbish home.

Mourne Seven Sevens 2019

This year’s Mourne Sevens Seven’s Race on the 10th August will start from its traditional start at the Pavilion in Donard Park as Shimna College is unavailable. The race will be held in conjunction with the annual challenge walk and will be in an anticlockwise direction, which is Slieve Donard and Commedagh first followed by Bernagh, the Meels, Bencrom Dam, Binnian, Lamagan then back to the finish line in Donard Park. Marshals will be at the cols between Donard / Commedagh, Hares gap, Meelmore/ MeelBeg, The Dam and Binnian/Lamagan which you check into after completing Binnian.

It will be an entry on the day race costing £10.00 for registered runners (£11.00 unregistered) and entry’s will be taken from 8.00am until 9.40am. The race will start at 10.00 promptly. Please do not enter the race if you are a walker who has failed to get an entry for the walk, as there are cut off times which you will fail to make unless you are running. The main cut off time is 14.30 at the Ben Crom Dam which is half way round the route. I have decided to have a second cut off time of 12.00 at the col between Slieve Donard and Slieve Commedagh, as anybody going at that pace is unlikely to make the Dam cut off time.

When you enter the race you will be issued with a set of green plastic tabs and an electronic Si dibber. Insert the dipper into the control boxes on the Summits and at the Dam to record your times. Hand a green tab to each group of marshals you pass and this way we know exactly where you have been. At the finish hand in the dipper and your last remaining plastic tab which will be a small white one.

This is the longest toughest race on the NIMRA calendar so come prepared for any eventuality. Full waterproof kit, gloves and hat must be carried together with map, compass, whistle and food. We would recommend that a space blanket or better still the bag version is carried as it could save your life if you go down injured in bad weather conditions – yes we have previously dealt with hypothermia cases during this event in beautiful summery August….. So as I said before, be ready for any eventuality.  If the weather forecast is for hot conditions, remember that water is in short supply for long sections of the route so plan accordingly. If you are carrying a phone the emergency event number is 07802 691540.

All the best with your preparations and if you are not running but are available to help out please get in touch as it is always a challenge getting enough helpers to ensure the success of the event.

Jim Brown.

Seven Sevens Report 2018

Heaven for Hell – and Hicks as well.

I had thought that the weather was going to be good for the runners this year with light winds forecast, no rain and mild temperatures, but in the event it was the humidity which sapped the competitors strength. Many a challenge floundered on the slopes of the Meels, as cramp set into legs fatigued by the long slog up from the dam over rough ground, without hardly a breath of wind to disturb the stifling air. It was a long day for many but for me it was actually a short day, as there was no associated walking event to provide late finishing weary walkers, stumbling  through the Donard woods as darkness descended.
Continue reading →

Mumblings of a new BARFer

I used to admire those Purple People from a distance. I marvelled at the way they shone with such vibrant health. They never seemed to sweat. They were so smooth even the wettest peat refused to stick to their legs. I would end races bedraggled, puffing and drenched. If I joined the world of BARF would I too glide serenely across the Fells of Ulster ? But what if they were some strange cult ! A coven of purpley mudclaw clad witches and wizards. But I was drawn into the vortex. For years I resisted. Intimidated by words like “Ultra” and “Run”. Then the shadowy Aaron Shimmons whispered in my ear, “Just joining BARF will make you quicker.”…. “It’s magic” he said as he sat hunched and muttering over a boiling pot of frogs. I took the plunge. I even enjoyed the blood letting initiation under the full moon on the summit of Donard. As the BARF members danced naked around me I at last felt that sense of brotherhood that had been missing from my life. Continue reading →