On Saturday 6th (and Sunday 7th) June, Newport & District RC member Ellen Deighton tackled the Lake District Ultra Challenge. The event had a number of different distance options available, and Ellen chose to take on 100km in one go.
The route started in Kendal, and took participants on an anti-clockwise loop. They headed north first tackling a steady climb to the first checkpoint, then were faced with over a quarter of the total elevation being covered in the next 18km over three tough climbs. Having made it to Ambleside, runners then followed the route down the west side of Lake Windemere before reaching the halfway point. Here, a lot of runners either ended their route at 50km, or chose to stay overnight before continuing the second half the next day. However, Ellen had chosen to keep going, so she set out again to tackle more hills. Participants continued south to Cartmel, then started to make their way back towards Kendal and the finish.
The weather was better than forecast on the day, with only a few hours of rain, and the sun even managed to break through the clouds on Saturday evening. However, rain in the week leading up to the event meant that there was a lot of water and mud on the course, including points where runners were making their way up and downstream rather than on footpaths, and a (thankfully short) section that involved wading shin-deep.
Ellen knew this event would be a challenge due to the distance and terrain, and that she would be going through the night and seeing daylight on Sunday before she reached the finish. Given the conditions on the day, she was pleased to finish in under 24 hours, coming in with a time of 23 hours, 52 minutes, 19 seconds.
Ellen took on this challenge in aid of Refuge, a charity that supports women and children who have experienced domestic abuse. Her fundraising page is still open for donations, and can be found online at https://www.justgiving.com/page/ellenrunsforrefuge
Newport & District Running Club 