Race Date: Saturday 30th March 2019

Report by Amy Duck:

To directly quote the website: ‘42 technical miles with around ten thousand feet of ascent and descent. Under hyped and aimed solely at those with good mountain running and ‘hill skills‘ – this is no tame trail race! A 6am dawn start will set you up for a daylight completion – maybe!

This is a tough, unmarked mountain trail route including the summits of Helvellyn and High Street, on a variety of terrain but predominately Lakeland mountain paths.’

I’d kept an eye on the weather all week and had prepared myself for a day of low could, rain and snow showers, but was very pleasantly surprised to set off at 6am on a beautifully clear, frosty Lakeland morning complete with cloud inversions and sunshine.

The race started with the organiser mouthing ‘GO’ in a whisper so as not to wake the sleepy village of Askham and we all set off. The vibe of the event was true to the description, very low key and a friendly atmosphere among the runners. The climb up to high street was glorious, with the only real chill of the day being at the top of Helvellyn. The route was brilliant, the weather was kind and the vibe was upbeat all day. I was really please to finish in 10hrs 53min, and was in awe of the winners finishing times of Josh Wade in 7hrs 05m and Sabrina Verjee in 8hrs 23min.

Special mention goes to Betty Dog who ran the full race with me, and some. Well done Betty.