Lakeland 100
23-25 July 2021
105 miles (169 km); 22,493 feet (6,856 m) of ascent
The route started and finished at Coniston with a circular tour of the Lake District taking in Seathwaite, Eskdale, Wasdale Head, Black Sail Pass, Buttermere, Braithwaite, Blencathra Field Centre, Dockray, Dalemain, Howtown, Haweswater Reservoir, Kentmere, Ambleside, Chapel Stile and Coniston Fells. The route consisted mainly of paths and trails and some were quite rocky and stony.
Starters: 524
Finishers: 338 (332 within 40 hours)
Retired: 186
First Man: Mark Darbyshire; MV40; 19:10:27
First Lady: 13th overall; Anna Troup; FV50; 25:09:20
Steven Jones: 313th; MV50; Dark Peak Fell Runners; 39:01:18
The Lakeland 100 race started at 6 pm. It was very, very hot. I was struggling with the heat. At Wasdale I put my headtorch on after running in the dark but the batteries were flat!! I lost a bit of time finding batteries and changing them. It was still very hot in the night.
On Saturday it was hard running in the heat but I had to just keep going! By the time I got to the Dalemain checkpoint at 59.1 miles I was suffering from the heat and chafing. I rested a bit and John Vernon was there and offered some encouragement. There were a lot of flies at Mardale Head which encouraged me to press on rather than having more well deserved rest. By the time I got to Kentmere I was fading and thinking of pulling out. However, Jen Scotney was there and gave me some encouragement. So I pressed on and began overtaking a few others and I urged them to speed up and so a group of us pushed on with a group will to succeed. The rest of them carried on when I got to Ambleside while a medic sorted out some troublesome blisters. I chased after them but they had got a good head start. Just after dawn on Sunday the sun shining through the mist over the River Brathay by Skelwith Bridge was glorious. This helped distract me from the weariness in my legs and the increasing heat as the sun rose higher into the sky. By Tilberthwaite I was limping along but after this final checkpoint there was not far to the finish although there was the final climb and descent. After this last final effort all that remained was the run to the finish for my third completion of the Lakeland 100. I had managed to run through some pain from an existing groin injury which got worse towards the end but it was not enough to cause me to stop.
My right groin injury was very sore making it hard to walk. The injury gradually got worse after resting but eased off after a few days. I was pleased that I had ignored it during the last stages of the race to press on and finish.