Fancy running across the Lake District for 30 miles over two days carrying all your camping gear? Then the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon might just be the race for you.
As much a test of your navigation skills as your endurance running ability this is an excellent event and makes a real change to pounding the city streets. You run the race with a partner and there are 8 catergories to choice from – though there is a solo class for the elites – and even one for those who just want to walk. Mind you, for most of the 10 hours I was on my feet, the terrain was so tough I did plenty of walking, scrambling, and even crawling.
The weather in the mountains can always be a bit of a lottery so the organisers insist you have right gear to protect you from the elements and this year every bit of it came in handy. It rained a LOT, and at the times the wind was pretty rough. Specialist shops are the way to go and Lakesrunner, The Climbers Shop and Pete Bland Sports will have everything you need.
But don’t let the thought of bad weather put you off. The scenery is stunning and the feeling of exhilaration you get at completing the course more than makes up for getting a little damp.
The course changes each year and right up until race dayis a closely guarded secret, apart from where the race starts. At your alloted start time You are given coordinates of check points that you have to navigate to, and a time limit is imposed for completing each stage. Good navigation skills are the way to run a quick time and investing in developing these during your preparation, as well as some hill running, will be time well spent. Pete Hawkins’ excellent book Map and Compass is a great place to start, though my advice is to do a navigation course to give you enough confidence over the weekend.
The Saunders is a brilliantly organised event with a friendly atmosphere amongst the runners. At the end you are treated to a hearty broth plus a choice of four different types of cake.
During the last couple of hours of ‘running’ it was all I could think of.
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