Lakeland 100 & 50 – Words by John Allan
Once again, Todmorden unleashed some of their hardened ultra-distance runners on the unsuspecting Cumbrian landscape this weekend. The event was the Montane Ultra Tour of the Lake District and Todmorden Harriers were represented in both the 100mile and 50mile race catagories.
The full, 100 mile circular route encompasses the whole of the Lakeland fells, starting and finishing in Coniston and includes over 6 kilometres of accent and decent.
Todmordens Craig Stansfield, still recovering from his recent success at the Mont Blanc Ultra, ran shoulder to shoulder with the very best of the elite, finishing 5th overall in an incredible time of 23 hours and 8 minutes. Todmordens female representative, Elise Milnes was running a fantastic race but was forced to retire after an astonishing 75miles.
The 50 mile route is run over the second half of the 100 mile circuit. Starting from the northern end of Ullswater and winding through beautiful, quiet valleys and hillsides to finally finish in Coniston after the competitors have covered more than double the marathon distance with an added 3km of vertical climb.
Steve Radcliffe of Todmorden Harriers ran a superb race despite suffering with digestion problems, and finished in 26th position with a time of 9 hours 38 minutes. Steve has been raising money to help support the mental health charity, Mind, and secured over £1000 in sponsorship for his monumental effort.