Lakeland 100

Nervous before the start of the Lakeland 100

 

 

This was always going to be a case of sheer will power. Luckily this is something I have a lot of and there was no way I was going to dnf.

I flew into the UK on the Thursday and on the Friday we packed the car and set off to the Lakes. We took the scenic route but we were both pretty chilled out and didn’t mind that we were running short of time. I attended the race briefing whilst Jon finished putting the tent up and before we knew it we were off up the hill out of Coniston. 

Jon ran with me for a short while and then carried on powering his way up the hill ahead of me.

I chatted to Will and met Annie and generally enjoyed being out on the hills but was soon fairly near the back of the 300 (ish) runners. 

I made my way over to Seathwaite and felt ok using my poles on the steeper descents. Coming out of the checkpoint I saw John Vernon coming in, so I knew there would be good company if he caught me up. On to Boot, passing through the boggy area and again using the poles to help with the steep bits. The ground underfoot was very wet and people were slipping and falling all over the place so there were a few that pulled out fairly early on.  

I took some nuts at Boot and I am sure they helped stave off the nausea which often gets me. From Boot to Wasdale Head was a nice run – spent mostly on my own but with Maria later on. I was slow on the descents and John Vernon caught me as I stopped to put my head torch on just before the checkpoint. 

Some soup which I don’t normally like helped me to continue without nausea and I set off with Maria up the long long climb out of Wasdale.

The descent the other side was tricky but by then there was a good group of people and some knew the way down better than I did so we all managed to get to Black Sail pass as a team.

From there to Buttermere was nice, once again, team work helped to avoid any wrong turns!

Some tea and a biscuit at Buttermere and I decided I needed to team up on the next section so as to avoid missing the track up the hill. I set off with Karen and Maria and we proved to be a good team. Chatting helped the hills to be more tolerable and together we wended our way over to Braithwaite.

More tea and biscuits and off we went again, once I had gone back to retrieve the trusty poles which I had left by the wall!

I don’t like the next bit - along the road by Keswick is ok but round what seems to be an unnecessary loop  towards the Blencathra centre I felt the need to put my music on. Unfortunately, as had happened in other races, (WHW!) I stopped concentrating and missed a turn and nearly missed the self clip. Music off and concentrate!  

From there Karen and I continued to the checkpoint where her husband and his friend were pulling out. By this time it was completely light so we could navigate our way to the Coach Road without any problems. Going up there went on and on but strangely I didn’t feel as tired as last year when I had laid down for a snooze by the path side until I realised I was sleeping on a gorse bush which was none too comfy. 

Next checkpoint and some more soup with bread and no sit down (fatal last year) and onwards to Dalemain.  At some point along here Flip joined us and we all chatted and I thoroughly enjoyed the rout alongside Ullswater – yes it goes on forever, but unlike last year I knew I would arrive at the checkpoint and NOT burst into tears! 

So – a sit down at Dalemain to inspect the feet and yes, they had trenchfoot but no blisters as yet and I decided to change ALL my clothes so as to carry on feeling fresh, even if it meant I was near the back of the runners. I came out of the portaloo carrying my wet things and Gaynor started to sympathise with me. I reassured her that I wasn’t pulling out and then set off with Karen.

We wended our way through Pooley Bridge – the urge for a bacon sandwich had gone by now – mainly because it was well past breakfast time! We walked a lot of the way down to the next checkpoint which was a mistake but it felt good at the time! I knew we were slower than last year because all the 50 milers had long gone, but still I didn’t feel worried about time cut offs. At the start Julie had said to me that you could walk the event in the 40 hours and we hadn’t walked the whole time so we must be ok surely?

JV was at the checkpoint but was pulling out, sadly. The 100 miler he had completed a mere 2 weeks before had taken its toll. 

Up and up and up the long climb out of the checkpoint, accompanied by Annie and others and eventually after the long rocky path beside the lake, we made it to Mardale Head. This was where Karen and I had pulled out last year but we still felt fine and very positive, even if a little cold. The march up the next hill warmed us up and then as dusk came we navigated the awful rocky paths up and down the hills to Kentmere.

None of this looked familiar but Karen was sure of the way thankfully, as Flip who wasn’t far behind us, had followed some guys who got it wrong and he was sadly timed out.

We had more food at Kentmere and then made our way to Ambleside. Again – the route seemed unfamiliar to me – I must have been so busy chatting to Hannah one year and Mandy the next on the 50 and not paying attention.

I didn’t feel particularly tired but I must have been because the route out of Ambleside completely foxed me! Normally it seems easy but the path through the churchyard just did not seem familiar and poor Karen bore with me whilst I floundered around looking for the right path. Eventually we found the correct route and on we went, up to Loughrigg and over to one of my favourite bits, the checkpoint at Langdale.

Inside the marquee there were large settees which were very tempting but we were getting cold so we needed to crack on to the self clip on the road. It was light by now and the light on the checkpoint which had helped people whilst it was dark, was not visible, so we spent ages in the rain looking for the clip. Karen finally found it but we had wasted a lot of time here too. 

From here, though, we found our way through the paths to Tilberthwaite, watched by the nuns who were having a picnic. (I love hallucinations!)

Before we reached the checkpoint I wondered if the marshalls would tell us we were too slow and needed to pull out. This was the only moment when I considered pulling out,  but not only did Karen talk sense into me, we also got a lovely welcome and were encouraged on our way over the hill and down into Coniston. We had slowed to a walk going over there and looking at my watch I knew by this time that we had gone over our 40 hours, but going down the road (after seeing a huntsman taking aim at us – yes more hallucinations!) we were approached by Karen’s husband and his friend who had been tracking us and knew we were on our way.

Suddenly my tired, aching legs felt no pain. I could run backwards and skip about and we “sprinted” into the village. There was Jon at the finish line, having finished over 2 hours ahead of me. A quick kiss and I ran into the school hall. The clapping was amazing – John Kynaston high fived me and I was the last person to finish the race! Our time was 40 hours and approx. 40 minutes, but we were still given medals and treated like heroes! I believe over 50 per cent of people dropped out, so we weren’t really last were we?? 

Whilst we were running we kept saying we had to complete so as to never have to do the run again. Actually, I had loved (most of) the race – the company form Karen made all the difference. I genuinely had not felt the overwhelming tiredness that I did in 2011 and the fact that my feet only had a couple of blisters meant that I did not experience such pain as before.  

So – maybe next year I can do it in less than 40 hours???