As one of the biggest ultra trail events in the UK, The Montane Lakeland 50 and 100 took place on 26th to 28th July 2024. We were very excited to see some of VOOM's top athletes go head to head.
What is the Montane Lakeland 100?
The Lakeland 50 and 100, now in its 17th year, is one of the most popular ultra trail running events in the UK calendar. The events always attract some of the best ultra runners in the country, pitting themselves against an epic route around the Lake District national park over 100 miles of breathtaking scenery and fantastic trail running areas.
What is the Lakeland 100 Route?
The route starts and finishes at John Ruskin school in Coniston, heading first south and then looping round the Western valleys of Dunnerdale, Eskdale, Wasdale, Buttermere and reaching Keswick. After this the route covers Matterdale, and up to Dalemain for the half way checkpoint, which is also the start of the Lakeland 50. Continuing around Ullswater, the course covers Mardale, Haweswater, Kentmere, Ambleside and Elterwater before arriving back in Coniston after an epic clockwise loop of the whole Lakeland region. Without pursuing any of the classic Lakeland summits the route heads more for the valleys and passes but still clocks up an eyewatering 6,300m of elevation!
Preparing for the Lakeland 50 & 100
Whatever your ambition for taking on the Lakeland 100, sound planning, proper preparation and an adequate fueling and hydration strategy are all key. We caught up with three of VOOMs leading ultra runners Gavin Dale, Mark Darbyshire and Dan Weller to learn more about how to prepare for the Lakeland 100, their race nutrition strategy, and how they expected the race to play out.
The winner is usually expected to complete the route in around 20 hours in a non stop effort, but for those on the course longer there are options to sleep at some of the 14 manned checkpoints on the route. Whilst these three shouldn't be worrying about it, the overall cut-off for the event is 40 hours to cover 100 mile and circa 6300m of elevation! Mark broke the course record in 2021 with a time of 19:10:27, so it'll be interesting to see the progression of the Lakeland 100 record in the future.
How to train for the Lakeland 100?
Dan - My training has been fairly good. I had one week where I was a bit ill, but other than that it’s been pretty consistent and more or less what I’d hoped for. It would have been nice to get in more elevation, but it’s not always easy around Oxford.
Gavin - I had a really solid block of training ahead of the summer, with some consistent mileage and some good longer training sessions. I always find the summer season a challenge of balancing racing with training, but I've tried to do fewer big races this year and focus on my main goals.
Mark - Training hasn't been perfect but rarely is! I’ve struggled with hip bursitis after UTS that lingered on for a few weeks. I have had two really good weeks recently and managed to get out on the route and cover 100km over two days so should be fine come race day.
What's the Draw of The Lakeland 100
Dan - I absolutely love the route. I’m just hoping I can enjoy as much of the race as possible, as this is how I race best. I know there will be some suffering in the back half, but the further I can push it into the race, the better.
Gavin - I'm really excited to be racing such an iconic and well known race that I'm lucky enough to live so close to. I can remember googling Lakeland 100 many years ago when I was first learning about ultra racing, and it seemed hugely daunting and impossible to comprehend. To be racing it now is a dream come true.
Mark - I’m definitely looking forward to a beer at the finish line!! It's difficult coming back to this event, especially with it going so well last time, but hopefully I can add some more happy memories this year!
Specific Prep for Lakeland 100
Dan - My prep has been similar to how I’ve prepped for other 100 milers. I got out on the route and did three big days three weeks out from the race, which is more or less what I did for Spine Challenger, The Arc of Attrition and even UTS 100k. That approach brought mixed results, so we shall see!
Gavin - For this event I'm lucky enough to live in the Lakes, which means I've been able to spend plenty of time on the course. I've been trying to do longer runs of around 20 miles with set intensity blocks to push myself and stop longer runs just being a constant steady effort.
Mark - I’ve probably cross trained a bit more during this training block than usual because of the hip problem, including swapping some running sessions for sessions on the elliptical. The route is unmarked so it’s been good to get out and recce some of the route. The only bit I'm unfamiliar with is the first marathon and will hopefully be part of a group of runners at that stage.
Fueling the Lakeland 100
Dan - My fuelling strategy will involve as many calories as I can handle and a hell of a lot of caffeine! One of the interesting elements of Lakeland is that you don’t get a crew and only access your drop bag once. This means you have to carry a lot of nutrition with you, so having carb dense options like the Pocket Rocket makes a big difference in the weight you have to carry. I will use a combination of Pocket Rockets, Hydrate Smart sachets and whatever real food appeals when I reach the checkpoints.
Gavin - My big goal with fueling for this race will be hitting 90g of carbs per hour. If I can manage that and come out the other end I'll be happy!
Mark - A fueling strategy for Lakeland is quite difficult as there's no crew allowed so you need to aim to get the balance right between carrying enough nutrition but without weighing yourself down too much. My plan is pretty simple - carry some VOOM bars, enough for roughly 1 per hour and then use the aid stations to top up as much as needed. This will probably mean lots of cheese sandwiches and coke!
How have you all finished against each other in past races?
Dan - I have raced with both Mark and Gavin before. Gavin finished ahead of me at the 2023 Arc of Attrition 100 mile (he won and I came 3rd) while Mark and I raced the Kong Lakes Short Course last summer. Luckily he forgot his watch and had to stick with me for navigation. Needless to say, we got lost!
Gavin - I raced Dan at Arc of Attrition in 2023, which is where I first met Mark as well. Since then I've raced Mark a couple of times (a joint finish at Lakes Traverse, and soundly beaten by him in Arc24). Dan and I have run the Welsh 3000s together and the three of us have run the 23 Before Tea Round in the Lakes together.
Mark - I’ve raced and trained with Gavin and Dan many times - they are top fellas and strong competitors. Dan is coming in off the back of an excellent performance at the Pennine Barrier 50 and Gavin is running on home trails so will be very determined to go well.
How will the Lakeland 100 unfold?
Dan - I expect that Gavin and Mark will go out sensibly hard and that a few others might try to go with them. I don’t think that I’ll be in that front group early on, but we shall see. From there, I think a lot will depend on conditions and how people feel on the day. If conditions are good, I could see them both running very quick times and either pulling others along or causing some major blow ups.
Gavin - I have no idea - that's what's so fun about long distance racing. Anything can happen! An ideal scenario would be that I get to spend a good 70 miles or so with Mark and Dan before anything exciting happens. It would make the time go quicker!
Mark - My plan will be to take it fairly easy for the first half then hopefully finish strong.
The Main Contenders
What are their main strengths to watch out for?
Dan - Both Mark and Gavin are incredibly strong and have to be the favourites in this race. Gavin is unbelievably quick at a wide range of distances and is really strong over Lakeland terrain. I wouldn’t even like to know how I would compare to him in a fell race. Mark is more of a long distance specialist (though he’s not too shabby over shorter distances either). He tends to run with others for the first half of the race and then finds another gear and just destroys everyone. I could list all sorts of strengths he has, but I'm not sure he likes bad weather, so I’m praying for a storm. Ha!
Gavin - Dan has had some great races this year and is coming to this with a clear race strategy. I think he'll be willing to be patient and wait to attack, something I struggle with. Mark is in excellent form with wins and CRs at Arc and UTS this year. He usually warms up 50 miles in so that will be the time to watch out.
Mark - Both are really strong competitors. Dan recently went extremely well at the Pennine Barrier 50 and Gavin will be as determined as ever, especially since we're racing on his home trails!
Lakeland 100 Results 2024
The early leader, Angus Irvine, built a lead up to around 5minutes over the first 40km or so while the other contenders, Mark Darbyshire, Gavin Dale, Kim Collison were never far apart. The four all went through the half way mark, and start of the Lakeland 50, at Dalemain near Pooley Bridge in a group.
By all accounts Mark worked to push the pace on every climb and Angus was the first to fall back, leaving Gavin and Kim to race the descents and fight off constant attacks from Mark. After running together for almost 90 miles it was in the later stages at Ambleside when Mark managed to break free and push on to break his own course record with a stunning time of 18:45:19 returning into the John Ruskin school in Coniston.
Gavin finishes 16 minutes behind, still in a time under the previous course record, and Kim was a further 21 minutes back to complete the podium. After the event Gavin said "I'm privileged to have shared some very fun and some very brutal miles with Kim and Mark. Its some of the best racing I've ever done. It brought out a level of racing for me that I hoped I was capable of, but didnt know was definitely within me. To stick with Mark for nearly 90 miles and to beat his previous CR is something I'm immensely proud of and I feel I've learnt so much more from this race that I can take forwards."
The women's race was won by Robyn Cassidy by around 35 minutes, followed by ex pro triathlete Lucy Gossage, the only other female to break the 24 hour barrier. There was more success for VOOM in the women's Lakeland 50 with Catherine Williamson surging clear and smashing the course in 08:52:22. a little over 50 minutes clear of Hannah Rickman in 2nd.
