Race Date: Saturday 7th July 2018

Regan and I had come to the Lake District on the 2nd half of our honeymoon so naturally we did a quick Google search to see if there were any races on. Sure enough we came across the Barrowdale trail run. There were 3 options 5k, 13k or 21k. After a week of celebrating our marriage we thought the 13k looked the better option. We both love trail running so this looked perfect. We arrived at Crow Park to register which was quick and easy and were even given a choice of buff. We then had a 2.5 mile jog to the start which was at the opposite side of the lake. The terrain was a well balanced mix of undulating woodland trails and rocky lakeside single tracks which took us down to the bottom of Derwentwater where we were then confronted with a testing climb which involved rock climbing up Shepherd’s Crag, Running was not an option here and by the time I reached the top my legs were like jelly so had to continue walking for a while. The water station was apparently here but as it was slightly off route and not marked I missed it, gutted. The next few miles were up and down more rocky paths which proved difficult to get any rhythm or speed going. We then re-joined the lakeside path which felt like heaven at this point and made it to the finish.

Hot and humid the conditions weren’t ideal but the stunning scenery made up for it.

The route was designed to incorporate many of the iconic locations around the Borrowdale Valley including Castle Crag, Suprise View, Ashness Bridge, Great Wood, Friar’s Crag, the traditional lakeland hamlets of Grange, Rosthwaite & Watendlath.

There were 101 entrants to the race. The male winner was Craig Marsh of Keswick AC in 58.25. The first woman home was Natalie McCarron of Cumberland AC in 1.04.38

Striders Results: