The Lakeland 100 and 50 is one of the classic ultra running events of the year. The 100 mile race (actually 105 miles – trust me, you definitely notice the extra 5 miles) started from Coniston at 6pm on Friday 24th July to an emotional live rendition of Nessun Dorma. Pacing strategies then go out the window as classical music is replaced by AC/DC – Thunderstruck being blasted out the speakers and the runners set off on their journey.
The route is a clockwise loop of the Lake District, passing through Wasdale, Buttermere, Keswick, Dalemain, Kentmere, Ambleside and finally back to Coniston, covering 105 miles with 6,300m ascent. There are a number of well stocked checkpoints along the way, all with unique themes. Most runners have to run through 2 nights.
There were 771 runners in the race. For MAC, Jack Cummins and John Thorpe were on the start line. Due to a serious knee injury earlier in the year, John Thorpe retired at Dalemain 60 miles into the race but felt good and had a great time out on the course and will be back another year. Jack Cummins finished in 34 hours 59 minutes in 229th place.
