Ullswater Trails Festival
Sun Shines on New Ullswater Trails Festival
Graham Patten / 19.12.2008
Saturday’s new Helvellyn Trail Race and Challenge covered 15km of bridleways skirting the foothills of Helvellyn. With fresh snow on the mountain summits and bright autumnal sunshine, the setting could not have been more beautiful. Setting off from the shores of lake Ullswater, the runners passed through Glenridding village, before heading up and around the Greensides valley, past Lanty’s Tarn, then up and around Grisedale valley before finishing on Jenkins Field next to the lake. Big teams from running clubs in Southampton, Dorset, London, Reading, Birmingham, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh had all made the long journey to take part in the weekend’s events. The race was won by in-form GB International John Brown (Salford Harriers), taking just 53.10 for the challenging course. Second in 55.03 was Ricky Graham (Fell Ponies RC) and Ben Reese in 55.08 in third. The women’s race was a battle between International athletes Vicky Graves (City of York AC) and Anna Lupton (Radcliffe AC), with the GB Triathlete, Vicky coming out on top winning in 62.58, from Anna’s 64.30. Third place went to World Veteran Mountain Champion Maureen Laney (Clayton le Moors H) Spectators and children were entertained with a race commentary by former National cross country champion Anne Buckley, with bouncy castles, slides, face painting, retail stands and local produce stalls. Sammy the Squirrel, mascot of the main sponsors Ullswater Steamers, made a guest appearance for the start of the children’s Sammy the Squirrel Fun Trails.
On Saturday evening VIP guests, festival sponsors and competitors joined the organising team on board the Ullswater Steamer “Raven� for a champagne reception, a Cumbrian carvery and entertainment by the Ragtime Rascals Jazz Band. The fantastic weather continued on Sunday as competitors boarded the Ullswater Steamer for a half hour cruise across the lake to the hamlet of Howtown, with singer/songwriter Pete Lashley playing some re-written classics especially for the occasion. The 13km Ullswater Trail course proved a big hit last year, and was named as the best new running event in the UK by the readers of Runnersworld magazine.
Each of the three sailings carried 200 competitors, with everyone singing along with Pete, and cheering fellow competitors returning along the lakeside trail. John Brown made it two wins out of two with a tremendous victory in 52.16, a new course record, three minutes clear of Philip Graves (City of York AC) in 56.57, with Tom Annable (Vale Royal AC), 58.11 in third. In the women’s race, the tussle between the previous day’s first two continued, this time International mountain runner Anna Lupton (Radcliffe AC) turning the tables and winning in 61.07, another course record from her young rival from York, Vicky Graves in 62.17, with from Border Harriers’ Clare McKeown finishing a fabulous third in 67.08. Canadian visitor Annette Hiom, who lives in Calgary, won the women’s veteran 60 class, despite jetlag from arriving in the UK late the day before.
The whole weekend was a success and will help promote the region’s Adventure Capital UK strategy. With a huge economic benefit for Cumbria from all the out of season visitors, the organising team are looking forward to working with their regional partners for next year’s Ullswater Trails Festival. The event also helped raise nearly £600 for the Patterdale Primary School Support Group who provided tea and cakes at the weekend.See All Event Posts
