“The Lap” is an ultramarathon that takes place twice a year in the Lake District. The name of the race comes from the fact that the race itself is a full lap of Windermere, with the May event running clockwise, and the September event running anti-clockwise. The distance for the race is 75 kilometres, or 47 miles, with around 2,600 metres of climbing, and the course is mostly off-road on tracks and trails, with occasional sections of road. Newport & District Running Club’s Elly Blake took on the challenge last weekend, and sent us this report of how she got on!

Due to the popularity of the ‘The Lap’, the race fills up for the following year very quickly and entries close, so in May 2024 I entered the clockwise route around Lake Windermere for 2025. With a 75 km distance and 2,600 metres of elevation, I had a year of training to prepare. Whilst I had raced the distance in 2024 it was without any significant elevation, so much of the preparation was hiking hills and mountains. Added to this, I completed 3 marathon distance races in a period of 7 weeks during February and March, two of which were on rocky trails with good elevation. I was as prepared as I could be!

Elly Blake with a map of “The Lap”!

On Saturday May 10th, the alarm went off at 4am, and I set off with a combination of nerves and excitement to the start of the event for a 5:50am briefing. The recent hot spell of weather meant the tracks were good and with a hot, dry weather forecast for the day ahead we all set off to the sound of bagpipes. 

The climbs were challenging, but the views were amazing and worth the effort. The race has a number of aid stations with a fantastic food selection and even pizza! It was very tempting to consider spending longer at each but I topped up on liquids and jam sandwiches and continued on my way.

At kilometre 70, I struggled and my legs refused to run so I hiked the rest feeling grateful that I only had 5 km left. I finished in just under 14 hours and 27 minutes, still in daylight. I was 113th female (out of 380) and 409th out of 954 overall. Although no external help was allowed, I was fortunate to have family and friends present to cheer me on and keep me going which made a massive difference. We all had a fantastic weekend in Windermere, albeit a little slower for me on the Sunday.

I continue my journey to see what my body can do, from my first parkrun in July 2022, to my next race walking around the Isle of Man (85 miles) in 24 hours. With another year of preparation ahead of me I have entered the Centurion 100 mile race in May 2026 which will indeed be another challenge I hope to report back on next year.