The Montane Lakeland 100, Friday July 26th 2024, 6:00pm

The Lakeland 100 ‘Ultra Tour of the Lake District’ is the most spectacular long distance trail race which has ever taken place within the UK. The circular route encompasses the whole of the lakeland fells, includes in the region of 6300m of ascent and consists almost entirely of public bridleways and footpaths. The route starts in Coniston and heads South before completing a clockwise loop which takes in the Dunnerdale fells, Eskdale, Wasdale and Buttermere before arriving in Keswick. From here the route heads to Matterdale and continues over to Haweswater before returning via Kentmere, Ambleside and Elterwater to the finish at Coniston.

The route does not pass over any of the ‘popular’ Lakeland summits. Instead, it weaves it’s way through stunning valleys, coutours picturesque fells and cuts it’s own line through the amazing Lakeland topography. The Lakeland 100 will take you to places in Cumbria you may never have visited before and it’s likely you’ll wonder why.

The event is continuous in nature, competitors don’t have to stop or sleep on the route and the winners are generally expected to finish close to the 20 hour mark. The overall time available for the route is 40 hours so sleep at intermediate checkpoints is possible, but time is not on your side.

There are 14 manned checkpoints on the course which are compulsory to visit, food and drink is available at each. Checkpoints generally consist of village halls (where available), staffed by our support team who are ready to greet you, feed you and encourage you onwards. The 40 hours available to complete the course may seem manageable upon your first calculations but don’t be fooled. The climb, descent, rugged terrain, darkness and tricky navigation generally ensure a 40-50% failure rate over the 100 mile course. Seasoned ultra runners have tried and many have failed, a finisher’s medal in the Lakeland 100 is possibly one of the

most treasured possessions you will ever receive. There are few things in life for which you will have to work so hard, show such commitment, desire and the simple stubbornness to keep going.. the minority who have completed the event will concur.

The 100 mile event starts at 6:00pm on the Friday evening and the final cut off will be 10:00am Sunday morning. The event requires competitors to be experienced ultra distance runners with excellent navigation skills. The drop out rate for this event is a warning signal for anyone contemplating entry, the majority of those who fail are inadequately prepared. Before considering an entry, consider the preparation, consider the hours and consider what it takes to complete the Lakeland 100. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be an achievement.

The Montane Lakeland 50, Saturday July 27th 2024, 11:30am

The Lakeland 50 is one the greatest ultra trail challenges in Europe, perhaps the world. It is run over the second half of the Lakeland 100 Ultra Tour of the Lake District, completing the final 50 miles of the 100 course. As it’s only half of the Lakeland 100 course it’s the easy option.. right? That’s the first and worst error you could possibly make..

It’s a fact that 40-50% of the 100 mile competitors don’t finish the course, 80-90% of those drop out prior to or ‘at’ half way. Many great ultra runners have started the 100 course and found it just too difficult, too demanding.. half of the course was ‘enough’. The Lakeland 50 is ‘half of the course’, it’s almost double the distance of a marathon, it’s on rough terrain and there’s approximately 3100m of ascent to deal with. Whether you choose the 50 or the 100 mile course.. there is no ‘easy option’ available. The Lakeland 50 is a huge challenge, it requires commitment, drive and the ability to ‘just keep going’ when most folk would ‘just rather not’.

The route starts from the Northern end of Ullswater within the grand Dalemain Estate before following the Eastern shore line as far as Howtown. A quick climb and descent followed by a trek along the banks of Haweswater sees you at Mardale Head. The route from here visits Long Sleddale, Kentmere, Ambleside, Langdale and Tilberthwaite before the final climb and descent to the finish at Coniston. It is a truly amazing route and you will visit places that you never knew existed, places which are ignored by the masses.

There are 6 manned checkpoints on the course which are compulsory to visit, food and drink is available at each. Our support team will greet you and feed you before sending you in the direction of Coniston. The 50 mile event starts at 11:30am on Saturday from Dalemain Estate near Penrith. There is a briefing for all competitors at Coniston on Saturday morning before our ‘fleet’ of coaches arrive to take you to the start line, leaving your car, tent and personals waiting for you at the finish!

The time limit for the Lakeland 50 event is 24 hours which makes it achievable by both runners and walkers. Each year we have a huge range of people complete the event for a huge range of personal reasons.. At the front end are elite mountain runners who race ‘neck and neck’ to complete the course in 8 hours or less.. at the opposite end we have walkers who push themselves through the night to complete within the event time limit, the key to success is to ‘keep moving towards Coniston’.

To complete the event you must be well prepared and be able to navigate successfully. Experience of fell walking or running is a necessity for all competitors and the challenge should not be underestimated. There is nothing ‘easy’ about the Lakeland 50 no matter how well you prepare, but ‘easy’ and ‘achievement’ are rarely part of the same sentence.