Montane Lakeland 100 and 50 Mile preview.
TRACKING LINK FOR THE MONTANE LAKELAND 100 AND 50 MILE RACES IS HERE
In my other post on the Lakeland races, I collated some interesting statistics on the event,You can read that HERE. This post looks at some of the main contenders in a Montane Lakeland 100 and 50 mile Preview. With such a large entry, it may not be definitive and I am sure to have missed someone. Most years too, there is always a runner, slightly under the radar, who will have a breakthrough race.
Both the men’s and women’s 100-mile fields look to be the strongest for many years.
In total, there are over 500 men and over 120 women listed for the 100 mile, all hoping to be on the start line and then have a grand day out in the hills.
6 Main Men’s Contenders for the Montane Lakeland 100
Kim Collison and Andy Berry
KIM COLLISON Pic Adrian Stott
Andy and Kim have what people know as ‘Home advantage.”They both live in the north of England and know the trails and summits as if it was their back garden, which in some ways it is. They are also good friends, with Kim acting as a coach to Andy.It seems to be a good double act.
Kim’s exploits over many years are too many to list here. A former Great Britain ultra trail team runner and numerous podiums in many events. The Winter Bob Graham record ranks as one of his best all round achievements along with the Scottish 24 hour Munro record. He is also a previous winner (2014) of the Lakeland 50
Andy has a history of long races and adventures, with podium finishes at the Cheviot Goat and The LakesSky Ultra. He started 2023 with a winter record on The Tranters Round in Lochaber, Scotland.
They have both taken on and beaten the Lakes 24-hour record in recent years.
The Lake’s 24-hour record involves climbing as many Lake District fells over 2,000ft as possible within 24 hours. Kim achieved 78 peaks in 23 hours and 45 minutes in the summer of 2020. His route was approx 145km with 11,750 metres of climb.
Andy Berry, Pic Inov-8
Andy ran the same 78 peaks 20 minutes faster in May this year with 23 Hours 23 Minutes. Andy is the man in form however, Kim has that invaluable commodity of experience! It will be interesting to see how they both go.
We also have the experienced Ryan Smith making the trip from the United States. Ryan was born in Dundee and went to University in Edinburgh, but now lives in Colorado. He has twice represented GB at the World Ultra Trail championships.
RYAN SMITH.
On visits home, he has also run a very fast Bob Graham in 14 hours 17 minutes, the 6th fastest ever, and an unsupported Ramsay Round.
He has multiple finishes of some serious 100 milers, including Hardrock and UTMB, with one of the top 6 Hardrock times.
He has also run the lesser-known Hi Lonesome 100 and High Five Hundred races, which take place in remote mountain regions In Colorado. Both events involve a huge degree of self-sufficiency, with summits over 13,000 feet/4,000 metres.
Smith also likes mixing things up and ran a 2:28 marathon in Chicago last Autumn to keep some zip in his legs.
For all these three, it seems like a pretty runnable 100 miles on terrain they know already. It almost sounds like a fun day out.
Of other contenders to watch, Jarlath McKenna could challenge. He won the “Lakes in a Day” 50 miles last Autumn in a new course record and ran a speedy 6 hour 37 min road 100km when winning the British title at the Anglo Celtic Plate in Northern Ireland in April. It is his first 100-miler, so it is a slight step into the unknown for him.
Geoffrey Cheshire From Hertfordshire has a string of podium finishes at the Centurion race series, the Country to Capital etc. How he fares on the steeper Lakeland slopes will be interesting to see.
Marcus Scotney is a former GB 100km international and winner of both the Dragons Back and Cape Wrath multi-day stage races. He hasn’t raced much in recent years but always prepares well for events he is targeting.
Cees Van der Land is a Dutch national now living in the northeast. Like Jarlath McKenna, he is a Tyne Bridge Harrier. He has had good results at Hardmoors and the Pennine Journey.
James Hauxwell ran at Lakeland 100 in 2017 when he finished 9th. He has podiumed at several races in the intervening years, including winning The Lap Around Windermere in 2022 and the Hardmoors 60 in 2020.
Flying the flag for Scotland will be Jamie Pallister, previous winner of both the Moray Way 100 mile and the Speyside Way 100km.
6 Women to watch in the Montane Lakeland 100
Sabrina Verjee is a Lakeland Legend. Winner of a string of Lake District races, including the Lakeland 100 in 2017 and 2018. Ventures into Multi Days have brought her success more recently with victories at the `Tor Des Gaents in 2022, The Winter Spine in 2020, and a third place at the Cape Wrath Ultra in 2021. She also claimed the record for the 325-mile Lakeland Wainwights circuit. An event that has been well documented. Can she make it a hat-trick of victories?
Anna Troup has an impressive CV. Like Sabrina, she is also aiming for a hat trick of Lakeland victories as a two-time winner in 2019 and 2021 along with 6th in 2022. Victories at the Arc of Attrition 100 mile in 2021 and the Summer Spine in 2022 certainly mark her out as a challenger.
Lisa Watson won the women’s race at the Dragons Back Race last year and placed 4th overall. She also won the 300km Northern Traverse in 2022. In March of this year, she placed 8th at the Technical Transgrancanaria 84km in a good quality international field. She is certainly on an upward curve and one to watch.
Elaine Bisson was second behind Lisa at the Northern Traverse in 2022. She also placed 2nd woman at the Winter Spine Race. This year she was second at the Cape Wrath Ultra in May. In 2021. she was runner-up in the Lakeland 100 behind Anna Troup.
Lynne Allen flies the flag for Scotland. She is a two-time winner of the 96-mile West Highland Way as well as being a Scottish 100km international on the roads. She was also first Lady at the Ben Nevis Sky race last September.
Key Lakeland 50 runners to watch, Again with well over a 1000 entries, there could well be a newcomer who will come out of the pack, but there are three experienced men to watch out for.
Andrew Siggers
Andrew is the returning Lakeland 50 champion having recorded 7:56:25 last year.
Rory Harris
A previous winner of the 100 mile in 2019 and 3rd in 2021.Earlier this year `Rory won the Winter Spine Challenger event.
Simon Roberts
Simon completed the full winter spine race in 2020. In 2022 he won the shorter 160 mile Spine challenger North, along with victory in the 47 mile Beacons ultra.
Neil MacNicol
Neil was second in the Lakeland 100 in 2019 and 2022. He has opted for the 50 mile this year, but on his own admission, he probably doesn’t have the speed to be competitive at 50 miles.
Can Katie Kaars- Sijpesteijn make it 4 lakeland 50 wins?
In the women’s race it is hard to see past Katie Kaars-Sijpesteijn for the women’s win.
Katie Kaars-Sijpestein at 2022 Skyline ultra.
A regular member of the Great Britain ultra trail team in recent years, her record at Lakeland is impressive with 3 victories in the 50 mile race and the two fastest times..
She is the returning champion from 2022 when she set the current course record with a time of 8:02:19. She cut it fine as she only dipped under her previous course record from 2017 by 14 seconds.
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