Previous Lakeland finishes:
2014 – 15:13:18
2016 – 12:28:43
2021 – 12:16:07
This year:
2022 – 11:58:07
The year my feet held up and I enjoyed it as good as from minute 1 to the last minute. Yes it was hard, it was always going to be hard but enjoyable sadist hard.
After coming back to ultra trail running in 2020 after a few years out, 2021 was a good solid year and I trained hard with my friends Ben and James. The Lakeland 50 2021 was hot, very hot and I made mistakes with my feet which made the experience somewhat miserable at times. Massive blood blisters on my heals and pain with every step made me want to finish my ultra journey there in 2021, with a PB which I was proud of.
Time heals, and I entered the 2022 event, with one of the main goals to see if I can keep my feet in decent shape. Out went the INOV-8 G270’s from 2021 an in came the Speedgoat Evo’s. Out went Vaseline as lubricant and in came Sudocream. Out went INOV-8 Trail socks and in came Injini Liners with a second thin Enertor Sock as an outer sock.
My feet finished the race in great shape even though it was wet, very wet for much of the run. I had 3 issues at the end, damaged big left toenail which may yet come off and a soon to be lost toenail on my second toe on my right foot. The big toe nail issue was from booting a rock near Mardale Head which resulted in a forward role and luckily no further injury. The other nail issue, I am not sure of the cause. My only other issue which was slightly painful is with my left foot little toe having a double blister as it rubbed on the 4th toe….my little toe does curl under the next toe…is that a case for wider shoes? Issue is wider shoes can equal more movement which can equal more blisters. Thats the low down on the feet and its so prominent in this review because without good feet, races are pretty miserable. I did look after my feet before the event, lots of use of a foot rasp (like Pumice stone) and lots of lotion.
So, the race. Conditions were wet with rain coming and going all day/night. It was not cold mind which was a blessing. Setting off with Ben and James we made solid sensible progress and kept talking and enjoying ourselves. We all reached Howtown together in 1 hour 56 and things were looking good. I had not set myself any goals, had not planned to cross check previous leg times and nor did I even think about PB’s until Ambleside, I think this helped. I had in my race diary set a goal of 11:59:00 but this was just as a course of entering a race in my schedule. I honestly was not chasing PB’s, I had not trained well for this event has I got ill (COVID and then Cough) after Manchester Marathon training over winter. So come Howtown I did not realise I was 9mins 30 down on 2021. That is significant but maybe I set off too fast in 2021. So on from Howtown we ticked the massive climb of Fusedale and it felt slow and steady but consistent, then High Kop and the never ending Haweswater section. James on this section decided to drop back due to his knee issues and eventually finished at Kentmere. Ben and I cracked on. Ben was well undertrained for this due to shin/calf issues but he is a soldier and a battler and even with a lack of fitness he pushed on. We ran together at times, we ran 10-15 meters apart at times swapping roles we marched up hills, we cruised down hills we just relentlessly moved forward. We both knew we would get into Ambleside as good as together and we did.
Checkpoint done and change of shirts we did separate a bit and I caught up with Danny Bruton running the 100, and we kept together for a few miles, well over 2 maybe 3 and I think that helped us both. I saw Ben in Chapel Stile as I was about to leave he had just entered. At this point I have to enjoy thinking about that beef soup, I maybe was not as good as the pasta and smoothy at Kentmere but it was pretty close. Leaving Chapel Stile I have to admit I had a bit of a wobble going up the sharp hill near Side Pike before Blea Tarn. It was one of those section which was pure concentration just putting one foot in front of the other and to keep the momentum going, although it was slow momentum. Unbeknown to me Ben was not far behind keeping his eye on me.
Headtorch like last year went on as I approach the woods near Blea Tarn. Left it as long as I could, and thankfully I did, ill come to that later. The section next to Blea Moss was wet it was like running through a shallow rocky river. This is how feet get messed up, but lucky for me my feet could handle this, this year. I was following a runner called Mariam in this section I saw her sink down to her knee just as I sank down to my knee, definitely the most yucky section. On the road from here is where my maths started to come in. I decided that I was on course if I worked hard for a 7 minute PB. I had no time to lose and I had to be as fast as I thought I was last year to get a PB. Time to role up the sleeves and push on. This section is road and is nice, but there are a couple of steep downhills and my quads were so trashed these needed to be walked (10-15 seconds or so at a time) but the rest was run, well jogged. I have never been this “fresh” at this stage of the Lakeland 50. Adrenaline pumping I was off. Running marching whatever it was full steam ahead. I then passed a 100 runner and give one of the normal ‘well done’ messages and as I got about 5 steps head, I twigged from the location of the number on the front of his shorts it was East Hull Harrier Captain Kris Hoppy. Asking if it was Kris got a ‘yes’ reply, so I dropped back to tell him how well he was doing…..because he was smashing it out of the park. After answering some basic questions like “what day is it” I got the impression he was a bit worse for wear. All he wanted was sleep but all I could tell him was no, that was not possible he had 5 miles to go and he was doing so well, don’t stop now. Loads of people will be dot watching and willing him on so just keep going. I think I spent about 5-6 minutes chatting to him not sure if to crack on and go for my PB or keep him company. Eventually I cracked on, with a heavy heart not sure how he would do. He encouraged me to do so which was nice, but I hated leaving him.
Tilberthwaite was a quick in and out, dropped off my £1 at Jacobs ladder and with as much focus as I could muster went as fast as I could. I passed 10 people on Tilberthwaite which I know well, but it always a challenge. Coming down the other side I got level with another 100 runner, who happened to be another Mark who I have known years. He was struggling with his torch and together we descended well over ½ of Tilberthwaite, chatting away and “enjoying” the tricky decent. By the time I was near the end my headtorch flashed to say my battery was running low, and on low battery you really can not see a lot. Good job it lasted….thankfully I had not wasted battery earlier on. I usually run on medium setting but had accidently left it on high, which really does burn through the battery. Lesson learned.
Running down into Coniston my legs were now hurting, downhill is so much harder than flat running, and flat running isn’t easy. Down the road where the school was I shouted of my wife to no response and then again. Unfortunately the supporters were under orders not to clap or cheer due to the residents which I did not know at the time so the finish was not like that of other years…..but I understand why. Picked up T-Shirt and Medal and then stood upright for a good 5 minutes waiting for food – that was a challenge in itself! Job done. What next?
So how did I do? A total of 18 minute PB to the second, beating 2021’s time.
Drugs. Ibuprofen x8 and paracetamol x4. Plus antibiotics for my ear issue.
It broke down like this:
Howtown – 9 minutes 30 seconds behind
Mardale – 1 minute 36 slower – 11 minutes 06 seconds behind
Kentmere – 16 minutes 38 faster – 5 minutes 32 seconds ahead
Ambleside – 6 minutes 10 faster – 11 minutes 42 seconds ahead
Chapel Stile – Same duration – 11 minutes 42 seconds ahead
Blea Moss Checkpoint – 57 seconds slower – 10 minutes 45 seconds ahead
Tilberthwaite – 1minute 35 seconds faster – 12 minutes 20 seconds ahead
Coniston – 5 minutes 40 faster – 18 minutes 0 seconds ahead
My Ultra running memories 