From Colin Williams…
On Saturday I took part in the 33rd Langdale Marathon, my third time of running this race, a very hilly road marathon, advertised as “the toughest road marathon in the UK” with 3,400 ft of climb and some ascents as steep as 1:3. It also has some fantastic views that keep me coming back year after year.
This year, due to Covid 19, the organisers Brathay, gave the option to start early or join the mass start at 10:30, I opted for an extra hour in bed and join the mass start. As always the start was put back by 10 minutes, as the final runners were delayed in getting into Langdale and getting parked.
The forecast for the event was looking dry, but the Cumbrian weather had a different idea, with a light drizzle from the time I got out of the car till the end of my run, but not enough to put on a waterproof. The race was very well organised as always, lots of very friendly marshals and the route is well marked with big yellow arrows which, after running a few ultras with tricky routes over the last couple of months, was a nice change.
The race was won by Jarlath McKenna of Bristol and West AC, in I think a new record time of 2:41:34. I finished in 41th place in a time of 3:58:16 and 167 ran.