30/07/2026
https://gkcct.enthuse.com/pf/lesley-lewis-lakeland100?
**Warning - pretty long running post alert😭**
4 days out, I feel pleasantly surprised to be pretty much back to normal physically. Even my Garmin judged me to decently recovered today which meant a tentative 5k trot out to check everything’s in working order( it is😅) so no more loafing around, eating ALL the food, but God it’s been fun times!!!🥳
Still trying & failing to find the words to do justice to the weekend’s events but I ll give it a go…
I got the train up to Penrith on Thursday afternoon & was collected by my oldest friend Helen, who has also been the most incredible support crew on other daft things I ve entered, bless her. Her family have a caravan about 40 minutes drive from Coniston & they were along too for the weekend. I just can’t begin to thank them for looking after me so well- I didn’t have to lift a finger( well , apart from running 105 miles 🤷♀️) & was sooooo well fed by top chef Stepdad Andy. Helen & her Mum Marion, kept popping up wherever they were allowed on the course to cheer me on& Helen was even there in the early hours of Sunday morning in pouring rain at Ambleside.Definitely my lowest point when I was so sleep deprived on night 2 & suffering massive anger management issues at all the horrendous downhill rocky terrain that was slowing me up. I m used to being strong on uphills & Lakeland 100 was no different but I don’t think I ve ever done a race with so many consistently awful downs. I fell over numerous times & still have a really sore wrist. It was a humbling experience too beginning to become anxious about making cut offs- I m used to being top end of the field for my age & top half generally. I had no expectation of any podium places believe me on this one- to even qualify to stand on the start line is a massive privilege & all I ever dreamt of was that finish within the 40 hours. Almost half of women entrants & 36% of all starters didn’t finish this year.
Race Day in Coniston before the 6pm start was amazing. Such an exciting atmosphere to soak up & I felt like a film star running up the mile or so from the start with the streets lined with people clapping & cheering. Around here I caught up with fellow Hardmoors runner Justin Bramall & it was lovely to share a few miles & settle my nerves chatting before he moved along more speedily.
It was hilarious to see the inflatable dinosaurs, sloth & baby shark entertaining everyone at the infamous bottleneck on the first climb where 771 runners have to climb one by one over a stile( or was it through a kissing gate, I can’t even blimmin remember now but it takes a long time whatever!! No one minds as it’s a great chance for a rest🙈)
For context-on Frank’s bucket list was walking through Hereford dressed as a dinosaur along with his best friend Lake. The Sloth here was even wearing a sign saying “ Be More Sloth” Too good to miss a photo opportunity & coincidence like that & a chance to tell them about !!
And so the miles & the hours rolled by including the first night. There’s something really special about running through the night & gradually seeing fingers of light spread across the sky until that wonderful moment you can turn off your head torch & the new day is really here!!
So many people to share a few minutes or miles with, so many stories to hear about people’s whys for being there. Incredible checkpoints staffed by the kindest of volunteers,many with different themes such as “ Zombie Apocalypse “ “Wizard of Oz”& even The Chocolate Cake one at Blencathra in honour of a valued member of the Ultrarunning community who had recently died, plus my obvious favourite of course-The Hardmoors one- number 7 at Dockray, nearly halfway!!! Absolutely lush to feel the Hardmoors love & get my poorly grazed knee sorted out.
The field was really thinning out into Saturday & I spent lots of time alone too, very content in my own company as well as with the pockets of time I spent with others. I was aware my time was slipping with the awful rocky terrain & I think as sleep deprivation was kicking in I was getting increasingly rage filled that i couldn’t move faster, which wasn’t helped by rain making the ground slippery too. I m chuckling now thinking back but it definitely made me want to not be around people as I was thinking I wouldn’t be great company😭 At Ambleside, I laid down on the checkpoint floor with my coat over my head meaning to get about 30 minutes sleep. I don’t feel as if I slept but suddenly it was 45 minutes later & I needed to get my arse out of there ASAP even though heading out into the pitch dark & pouring rain didn’t feel like a very appealing prospect!! It was here I met Laura Goodwin ( thank God!!) & we set out together. Before long another trail angel lol in the form of Ryan Plews caught us up & the 3 of us really kept each other propped up & moving forward, united in our grumbling & complaining 😭but never really doubting that we d get there in the end & of course , as dawn broke, it all seemed so much better!!
At the last checkpoint- number 14 - Tilberthwaite , only 5k ish to go, I knew there was a supposed “ sting in the tail” & my God was there ever?!!!😭 A seemingly endless scramble uphill from Jacobs Ladder then resulted in apparently the worst downhill of the bloody course too😤😤😤 A never ending torturous near vertical slog downhill on mud, shale, rocks & gravel delightfully combined 😩 to the copper mine…. but then…… TARMAC!!!!! Real actual gently sloping downhill tarmac!!!!🥳🥳🥳
It felt surreal- putting my poles away & actually running freely. Absolutely felt like I flew that final mile & with the biggest grin stretched across my face, absolute wings on my feet & the reception coming back into Coniston & the Finish is something I will never forget EVER!!!
Would I do it again???? I don’t think so, there’s too many amazing races out there & so much to learn & take away from each one. I did what I dreamt of doing for around the last 3 years in getting a finishers T Shirt at one of the toughest 100 milers in the UK. The thing I was most concerned about was the second night of sleep deprivation but as it turned out I really didn’t need to be as worried about that as I thought. Hallucinations are very common amongst Ultrarunners & mine weren’t bad at all- I think having had 7 kids has probably given me ample preparation & training🤣 Amusingly during the dark around Ambleside I was starting to see the rocks I was absolutely cursing, turning into chocolate cakes of varying shapes & sizes but strangely all with vanilla cream in the middle!!🤷♀️
I just want to say hugest thanks again for the generous donations I ve received for Without my involvement with The Cleals I m pretty sure I’d still be an anxiety-filled,casual jogger,drinking too many alcohol units.The life I have now, the adventures I ve had ,the wonderful friends I’ve made & the strength I feel mentally & physically are light years away from that person I was a few years ago & I m so very grateful.It means so much to me to try to give a little back in helping support families facing a child’s cancer diagnosis.
All the messages of encouragement before, during & after my Lakeland 100 have absolutely meant the world to me-to know so many of you were dot watching & willing me on, all my heartfelt thanks❤️
Watch this space then for possibly an even longer opportunity for race dot watching….maybe…🤔
