Lakes Mountain 40
LAKES MOUNTAIN 40 - Saturday 19th April 2025
Welcome to the 2024 British Trail Running Championships - Middle Distance event page!
OVERVIEW
Forty fell miles with around ten thousand feet of ascent and descent. Under hyped and aimed solely at those with good mountain ultra running and hillskills, this is no tame trail race! A 0600 dawn start should set you up for a daylight completion - if all goes to plan!
This is a tough, unmarked mountain trail route including the summits of Helvellyn and High Street on a variety of Lake District terrain predominantly using Lakeland mountain paths. Good basic navigational skills will be required; gps devices are permitted also.
Unlike ‘TdeH’, ‘LM40’ has a mass start to appease the racing snakes amongst you who like to share start line banter or exchange steely glances with your peers. Springtime in Lakeland means the weather could be doing anything - and dusk may come early on a gloomy evening, but we expect the majority of runners to take around ten to twelve hours, with some racing the sun home on a fifteen or sixteen hour day (don’t miss last orders in The Queens!). This is a tough route for mountain runners, and a good early season motivator. Whether you are training for The Fellsman, Lakes 50/100, UTMB, The Spine Race, or a BG this will be a big tick in your training log.
ROUTE
A mixture of mountain paths, trails and tracks, and the occasional bit of tarmac provide a logical route between checkpoints. You are welcome to take any route between checkpoints as long as it’s legal ie; does not cross private land, uses rights of way through enclosed farmland. You have free route choice over open access land. Three main roadside checkpoints will re-supply you with food and drink and there will be our infamous ‘Soup Plus’ on your return to the Start / Finish. Route information follows:
513 237 Askham Community Centre – Start / Finish
457 182 Loadpot – Trig Point
441 110 High Street – Trig Point
417 144 Angle Tarn – Large Boulder on ‘Isthmus’ *
394 160 Patterdale – A592 / Track junction (drinks+)
351 123 Grisedale Tarn - Path junction
342 152 Helvellyn – Trig Point
394 160 Patterdale – A592 / Track junction (drinks+)
406 169 Place Fell – Trig point
435 191 Martindale Church – Sign by front gate
* An Isthmus is a ‘narrow neck of land joining two large bodies of land’
(drinks+) = hot and cold drinks and some small ‘nibbles’ – savory and sweet but no gels or sports drinks.
EVENT CENTRE / REGISTRATION / START & FINISH
Registration will be open at our Event Centre, Askham Community Centre between 0800 and 2200 on Friday and again from 0500 on Saturday. Askham Community Centre will be a quiet zone between 2330 and 0500 as people will be sleeping.
The start will be from Askham Community Centre at 0600 on Saturday and the finish will be at the same location - we recommend before sunset!
KIT
Full winter running gear most likely required!
This is high and exposed mountain running; therefore you need to wear or carry good mountain running safety gear. Waterproof jacket and trousers (no uncoated pertex), winter weight long sleeved thermal base layer, long thermal leg covering, spare fleece or primaloft jacket. Warm hat and gloves, mug and/or drinks bottle, head torch, compass, whistle, map (your choice), food and drink, survival BAG, (not a blanket please). First Aid kit advised.
YOU WILL NEED A MUG OR BOTTLE
LOGISTICS & ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Parking; will be onsite at Askham Community Centre or adjacent with campervan spaces available. Penrith has a mainline rail station just five miles away, and shuttle lifts are easily arranged. To arrange car sharing try posting on our NAV4 Adventure facebook page.
Accommodation; Askham is a great venue being on the edge of the National Park, with a range of local accommodation options, and good rail connections via Penrith. You can also book a bit of floor space at Askham Community Centre for Friday night, if you wish, ready for the early start.
Entries; are restricted in line with our ethos of responsible event management; max 150, so don’t miss out!
Training / Recce Opportunities; although the course is unmarked, the navigational skills required are not too difficult. Our 'NAV4: Navigation for Runners' one day course will give you all the skills and confidence you need to tackle this event. With regular courses throughout the year you can quickly get yourself up to speed. Also, being effectively a figure of eight route it is easy to recce in two halves based from Patterdale.
AND FINALLY
All / any event updates will be issued via the email you supply at signup so please type carefully!
We look forward to dodging April showers with you!
Joe and the NAV4 Adventure team.