Mens Records Fall at Montane Lakeland 100 and 50 mile races 

Both mens records fell in the Montane Lakeland 100-mile and 50-mile races this weekend.

Mark Darbyshire broke the 100-mile record he set in 2021, and Jarlath McKenna broke Casper Kaars-Sijpesteijn’s 7-year-old 50-mile record from 2017. Read on for how the races unfolded and a comparison with the new and old records. 

The Montane Lakeland 100 and 50-mile races is one of the most popular events in the GB trail calendar.

The 100-mile race starts and finishes in Coniston and takes in a circular loop including Wasdale, Buttermere, Blencathra, Dalemain, Mardale, Ambleside and Langdale before returning to Coniston.

The 50-mile event starts at Dalemain and follows the 100-mile course to the same finish in Coniston.

Men’s Montane Lakeland 100.

The 100-mile race lived up to expectations as the three pre-race favourites, Mark Darbyshire, Kim Collison and Gavin Dale, were never far from the front. As the race progressed, these three, together with Northern Irishman Angus Irvine, ran as a group, to beyond the halfway point at Dalemain. 

Irvine was to fall back on the stretch over to Mardale Head, leaving the other three to press on together, through Kentmere and on to Ambleside(87 miles). 

 Ahead of Darbyshire’s 2021 time from the first checkpoint at Seathwaite, as a group, they were always between 10-15 minutes ahead of the 2021 record schedule. 

At Chapel Style, the Langdale checkpoint, Darbyshire had pushed on opening a small gap on Dale, with Collison a little further back.  

After Ambleside, Darbyshire slowly increased his lead, and by the finish, he had also gone further ahead of his 2021 record pace. He finished in 18:45:19, 25 minutes faster than his 2021 time of 19:10:27. Dale was to finish in 19:01:30, also inside the previous record with Collison, although falling behind the record schedule in the final 10km, recording 19:22:48, the fourth fastest time over on the course.

For Darbyshire, it was his second Lakeland 100 victory. For Dale and Collison, it was their first finish, though Collison had run and won the 50 miles in 2014. All three are previous winners of the Winter Arc of Attrition 100.

As if to further illustrate the quality of these three runners, it would be another 90 minutes before 4th place Angus Irvine arrived in Coniston.

Women’s Montane Lakeland 100 

The women’s race saw a clear win for  Robyn Cassidy in 23:02:47. Cassidy had achieved second places in 2023 at the Arc of Attrition 100 Mile and the Ultra Trail Snowdonia 100km,plus a win at the Dragons back multi-day,stage-race. It is, to our knowledge her first 100 mile victory. She led from the start and narrowly missed Sabrina Verjee’s winning time from 2023 of 23:00:06. Beth Pascall’s impressive 21:29:36 record run from 2016, survived comfortably.

Lucy Gossage took second in 23:47:35. Daria Bodner was third in 25:41:29

Full Results of Montanr Lakeland 100 HERE

Mens Montane Lakeland 50 mile

Records continue to fall in the Montane Lakeland 50 mile as Jarlath McKenna lowered the men’s record by over 16 minutes.

He had Michael Kenyon for company in the early stages but, by Kentmere, had built up a 4-minute lead, with both being well ahead of Sijpesteijn’s 2017 time. By the Chapel Style checkpoint in Langdale, McKenna had a 10-minute lead on Kenyon and was also pulling clear of the record schedule.

He reached Coniston in 7:17:49, 16 minutes inside the previous record. 

Kenyon, in second, with 7:30:11, was also inside the previous record. With Dan Hacker, replicating his third place from 2023, just 10 seconds outside it.

McKenna, second in the 2023 Lakeland 100 behind Andy Berry, had run and won the 95-mile West Highland Way race just four weeks previously. He confided to your writer that he didn’t feel that he was fully recovered from his Scottish adventure, and will probably stick to shorter events for a few weeks.

Women’s Montane Lakeland 50 

There were no records butCatherine Williams was a clear winner of the women’s race in 8:25:22 from Hannah Rickman and Anna Klucnika.

Men’s Montane Lakeland 50 Results 

Jarlath McKenna 7:17:49

Michael Kenyon. 7:30:11

Dan Thacker.       7:34:18

Women’s Montane Lakeland 50 mile results 

Catherine Williams  8:25:22  

Hannah Rickman    9:18:32

Anna Klucnika.     9:36:46

Full Montane Lakeland 50 results HERE

Go Here for inteview with Jarlath McKenna on his recent West Highland Way victory

Go Here for interview with last years Lakeland 100 winner Andy Berry

PLEASE SHARE!

Thanks for reading . If you have enjoyed this post, do see our other ones HERE

If you have a comment, please feel free to add it below.

If you are inspired by this or think someone else you know will be, please do what you have to do by sharing. You all know how these things work by now:-) You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram @tarittweets

Sign up to receive our newsletter alerting you to new posts 

Adrian Tarit Stott.

The author is a former GB 24 hour ultra international with over 100 ultra race completions.  He has also been involved organising ultra distance races for over 30 years.  Still an active recreational runner, he is currently a member of UKA’s Ultra Running Advisory Group (URAG) and part of the selection and team management for both Scottish and GB ultra teams.He is also a freelance writer in his spare time, contributing articles and reports to several websites and magazines including Athletics Weekly and Irunfar.