The Beautiful Ultra…Lap Windermere 75km
Estimated reading time 3 minutes
I headed up to the Lake District last week to take on the The Lap Windermere challenge. It's a 75km (47mile) hike covering forests, open plains, hills, fells, and a couple of wainwrights along the circumference of Windermere. Its is a timed challenge with 24 hours to complete before you are cut off.
It was definitely a much bigger distance than I'd ever walked by a country mile(!) but I was in good company along the journey with Hannah and Rebecca by my side.
The scenery and views long the route were absolutely spectacular. We were treated to some amazing weather as well so we could see the ranges, lakes and mountains for miles ahead.
But don't be fooled..... This walk was hard, very hard! There was little shade for most of the day so the sun beat down on us mercilessly!
The hills were very steep and technical to climb up and down.
We were also timed so were constantly against the clock to reach the next checkpoint or risk getting disqualified.
And that was just the beginning! After 12 hours of hills we still had another major issue to deal with... Night time walking! And what comes with it.... Delirium!
Walking in the night really beautiful though lots of wildlife and sounds that you don't here in the day it's actually very special.
Our feet and legs ached, we were all knackered, we bickered, and we probably didn't eat or drink enough even though we ate loads!
The one thing that kept me going though was the fact that I was out in the great outdoors. No longer the boy from the east end concrete jungle, getting outside has seriously improved my physical strength , helped me reduce stress in my life, all while giving me a renewed mental clarity, and helped really boost my social well-being with all of the amazing people I have met! This is a new stage in my life and I feel very privileged to be able to have these experiences with wonderful people around me
There were multiple times I thought about throwing in the towel and grabbing a cab back. Multiple people fitter than me did not finish and one poor woman suffered a heat stroke on top the mountain and had to get rescued.
With dawn approaching we made a last 8km dash to the finish line along the bonny banks of the river and the finish line with time to spare! 75km in just shy of 24hrs.
So am I crazy, who knows? My legs are sore but my heart is full. I certainly haven't turned my back on ultras just yet.
