Haven’t found any previous posts on the forum about this event, which I find slightly surprising. It’s quoted as 50 miles and 4000m ascent and a race of two halves…… first part being approx. 30 miles of proper fell terrain from Caldbeck to Ambleside (a variation of legs 1 & 2 of the BGR), then followed by a trail run down the west side of lake Windermere and onto Cartmel.
Well, we (Mrs C and I) managed to finish in 15 hrs 46 mins and it really was an incredibly tough event – clocked 52.6 miles and 12,830 ft ascent (according to Tracklogs, based on my imported Garmin Fenix 3 activity I recorded - and we didn't deviate from the official route i.e. we didn't go walk-about on some sections). It’s much harder than say the Lakeland 50, which we did for the first time earlier in the year.
There’s a major amount of climb (3000m) in the first 30 miles……. and Clough Head was brutal as expected. Even when you get to Ambleside, there’s still 20 miles and 1000m of ascent remaining.
The weather was amazing. I ran in shorts and a very thin T-shirt for the whole race (from 8.00am to midnight) and even then was often too hot! Thankfully wasn’t 100% sunshine….. nice mix of partial cloud….. and only a modest breeze even on the tops. The views were stunning.
It’s a fantastically well organised event (only the 3rd year it’s been run) and the checkpoint food/drink options were excellent – the only “issue” is there are only 3 checkpoints… so it’s quite a tough 20 miles section between Threlkeld and Ambleside CPs. I had 1.5L of water and had ran out before even got to Grisedale Tarn – thankfully could fill-up there.
Prior to the race Barbara was having some concerns about her left knee – had been experiencing some severe pain for a few weeks. She had some treatment from physio a few days earlier and even ran with it strapped with KT. Sure enough, wasn’t long before it started to hurt. Lost track of how many ibuprofen she took during the day……. Not that they seemed to make any impact on the pain. There were many teary moments due to the severity of the pain – she said it felt like running with a broken leg. She’s a tough cookie and takes something major to prevent her from continuing, but at one point things were so bad it was almost certain that we’d pull out when we got to Ambleside (~30 miles). Thankfully we had a quick and enjoyable descent into Ambleside CP, and she perked-up and was adamant she wanted to continue (I was feeling pretty second-hand by then and would have happily dropped out!). Strangely the knee hurt more when walking rather than running…… which meant I had to run loads of bits in the last 20 miles that I would have probably otherwise walked at that point in the race! Funnily there was a moment during the race where I was wondering whether she was making it up about it not hurting as much when we ran…… thinking it was just a devious plan to keep me running.
Unexpectedly the route was really well signed from Ambleside to the finish, which removed any navigational issues during the night section. Although slightly disappointed as had especially recced that section and thought we’d have an advantage over people that hadn’t. But hey, great effort by the race crew to take the time and effort to put up a serious amount of signage and ensure everyone had a good race experience rather than wandering around off route, as there are many points to get the nav wrong. Ironically it’s trickier to nav in places than some of the open fell sections between Caldbeck and Ambleside.
So we were both deliriously happy to make it to the finish line after such a tough course and Barbara overcoming her knee issue. Quite a physical/emotional rollercoaster of a journey….. another epic Lakes adventure. She got a nice free leg massage at the finish, which she really enjoyed.
I’d definitely recommend this event to put on your “to do list”. We won’t do it next year (doing Langdale Horseshoe), but would consider having another go the year after.
Big thank you to James Thurlow RO and the Open Adventure team for a magnificent experience……… have done quite a few long events now and this ranks up there as one of the best in terms of route, organisation and execution. I quite enjoyed the Lakeland 50, but this event is better in terms of value for money and route choice.
We found a great place to stay in Grange-Over-Sands (from AirBnB), a few mins drive to Cartmel Priory School, so was easy to get to/from race HQ/finish on the morning for the bus transfer to Caldbeck. Then equally convenient to get back to having completed around midnight. Enjoyed baked potato, beans, cheese and a cheeky can of lager at the finish……. Before heading back for what felt like a most fabulous shower and a very welcoming bed at the B&B.
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Originally Posted by ba-ba
