Windermere Marathon
Report by Lena Conlin
Yesterday Neil Dring and I completed the Windemere Marathon. The website describes it as: a 26.2 mile anti-clockwise circuit of Windermere, taking in Hawkshead, Newby Bridge, Bowness-on-Windermere and Ambleside along the way.
Over half the course is run on partially traffic-free roads or roads with a dedicated running lane.
It has outstanding local support and, to top it all, you get to see the inspirational men and women who will be completing the final marathon of their Brathay 10in10.
The weather forecast was for overcast and up to 17 degrees, perfect running weather, and it was at the beginning. There was a race briefing and then the runners were walked to the start, led by a brass band.
The first half of the race is on quiet country roads, some of them closed, it was not too warm and the views were stunning. During the second half of the race the sun came out and it felt quite hot, but there were refreshment stations around every 3 miles. The last section of the race from Bo’ness on Windemere to Ambleside is along the busy main road, mainly on a path but occasionally sharing the same space as the vehicles, at this point the view is irrelevant.
I have not seen the full results yet, but with chip timing I know that Neil ran 4:27:18 and I ran 4:56:18.
The course was undulating, 1814ft of ascent and around 1000 runners take part.
You got a medal, some gingerbread, a bottle, and some Kendle mint cake in your goody bag. If you wanted a t shirt you had to buy one £20, before the race rather than after as they may run out.
The Brathay 10 in 10 is for those lucky folk who can get the time off work and run the same route every day for 10 days, day 10 being on the main marathon day. This year there were 17 participants, 16 completed.
If your family wanted to come and support there were activities like a 5km run, guided trail run, archery, and paddle boarding to keep them busy whilst you run.
Neil and I both recommend this race, it was well organised, lovely atmosphere and race village.