RACE REPORT by John Bennett
Members of the club are starting to resume to in-person events as COVID restrictions begin to lift. Three club members (David Goodwin, Rachel Brock, & John Bennett) made the trip north for a weekend in Ambleside to take part in the 2021 Windermere Marathon on the 23 May 2021.
The race was based solely on chip times with staggered starts from 0800 to maintain social distancing. This worked well; we’d all booked a 0830 start so arrived at Brathay Hall on foot from Ambleside at 0815. We started together in a small group of about 50 around 0825 after a quick registration / loo stop / bag drop. The weather was traditional for the Lake District, it was raining at the start, and we were subject to a couple of hail storms while running. The course definitely lived up to the reputation for being tough with around 600m of ascent across the 42.195km. It isn’t an event for a PB, but is a great route, anti-clockwise around Windermere on mostly closed roads – https://www.brathaychallenges.
There were 555 finishers overall and the detailed results are available via – https://www.tdleventservices.
- John 4:31:00 (366 of 555, MV50 36 of 47, of 289 of 394 males)
- Rachel 4:37:10 (390 of 555, FV45 24 of 34, 89 of 161 females)
- David 4:54:03 (449 of 555, MV45 54 of 67, 337 of 394 males)
Spectators / supporters were not allowed at the start / finish but we received great support and encouragement on the route from Anne-Marie Goodwin and Nickie Bennett who had a driving tour to meet us at various points. The ‘Ambleside Five’ finished off the day with a meal in a local pub followed by a few beers.