On Friday evening and Saturday morning, ultra runners descended on the coastal town of St Bees in Cumbria ahead of the epic SILVA Northern Traverse and Lakes Traverse. Some of the top names in ultra running are set to compete in the two races, which started on Saturday morning.

For the Lakes Traverse runners, their journey will take them along the dramatic sea cliffs of St Bees before heading inland to the wild and remote Ennerdale Valley. From here, they will journey over higher ground to Borrowdale, before heading onwards to Grasmere. They must then climb to Grisedale Tarn before dropping into Patterdale. The final tough climb is up to Kidsty Pike before runners follow the breath-taking lake side trail along Haweswater. It is then a final run through fields to get to the finish line in Shap.

For the Northern Traverse participants, this is just the beginning of their journey, as from Shap they must then pass through the beautiful Yorkshire Dales, on through a flatter section of the Vale of York, before the final hurdle of the North York Moors. They will then finish in Robin Hood’s Bay, where they can celebrate their achievement with a hearty finishers’ meal.

*Big smiles before the adventure ©No Limits Photography*

There was a feeling of nervous anticipation at registration

The atmosphere in registration was buzzing, as runners nervously queued up to collect their trackers, race numbers, event maps and event T-shirts, and drop off their support point bags and finish bags. Title sponsor SILVA were also there with a ‘Spin the Wheel’ giveaway, and they led a head torch walk down to the start line on St Bees on Friday evening.

*Title sponsors SILVA were on hand at registration ©No Limits Photography*

We caught up with a few participants as they got ready for their adventures.

James Nobles is one of the favourites to win the Northern Traverse this year, following his victory at the Dragon’s Back Race last year.

For James, this is a new kind of challenge. He said, “I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve never done this distance all in one go before. Obviously, I’ve done the Dragon’s Back but that was over 6 days, whereas this is non-stop to the end, so I’m excited about it but we’ll just see how my body holds up.”

We asked whether he was looking for another win. He said, “I’ll give it a crack, but we’ll see. As long as I’m still smiling at the end, I’d be happy with that.”

James arrived with Richard Lazenby, a fellow Dragon’s Back Race finisher. Richard is nervous ahead of the challenge. He said, “I’ve been carrying a niggle since the back end of last year, so we’ll see how it goes and get to the end hopefully.”

Seasoned ultra runner, Eoin Keith, was also registering on Friday night. He has won the event twice, and this is his fourth Northern Traverse. If he finishes, he will hold the accolade of the most completions out of any participant.

He said, “It’s a route that gives you highlights no matter what goes on.”

He is fresh from the infamous Barkley Marathons, a notoriously difficult race in Tennessee. We asked how he was feeling about tackling the challenge after the Barkleys.

He said, “There’s an upside and a down side. The down side is that Barkley takes an awful lot out of you. But then that’s an excuse for not having to win the thing or be that competitive. I’m really out here to enjoy myself first and foremost, and any result that pops out is great. The other upside is everything seems kind of flat after that. I’m hoping at least the first hills won’t seem quite as hilly as they have done in the past, so we’ll see.”

*Participants get an exclusive event map ©No Limits Photography*

Adrian and Janet are running the Northern Traverse together with some friends after completing the summer spine together last year.

“I’m very nervous but once we set off we’ll be absolutely fine,” Janet said. “The four of us decided we would definitely be doing the Northern Traverse this year. The Lakes are probably our favourite place, but I’ve never been across Nine Standards Rigg so that’s the bit I’m looking forward to.”

Pascale is a Belgian runner based in Cambridge, so the Northern Traverse course is much hillier than she is used to. She said, “I’m feeling half excited, half scared…maybe 75% scared. I started doing more long races and I really love this part of the country. I saw a movie about the race and thought this looks fantastic, and I love the winter weather. It’s more challenging but in a nice way.”

*A runner has his photo taken for live tracking ©No Limits Photography*

The SILVA Lakes Traverse Participants were excited for the challenge

The Lakes Traverse participants were no less excited for their adventures. Kerry, Natasha and Caron all arrived together for the start of their adventure.

For Caron, she is hoping the Lakes Traverse will be a stepping stone to bigger things in future. She said, “I love the Coast to Coast route, so that’s the eventual goal to do the Northern, but the Lakes Traverse is just lovely – some great hills.”

For Michelle Grimwood-Read, this is also a stepping stone event, albeit for a different kind of challenge: “I’m doing Dragon’s Back in September so this is like a little taster.”

“I’m just looking forward to seeing the whole way across the Lake District. I love the Lake District. I did the Cumbria Way last year so I’m looking forward to seeing the width rather than the length,” she said.

*Many runners were nervous about such a big challenge ©No Limits Photography*

The atmosphere at the start line on the beach was electric

It was a beautiful morning, with the sun highlighting the spectacular cliffs of St Bees as participants gathered on the start line. 139 participants set off on the SILVA Lakes Traverse at 7:30, with 98 runners beginning the SILVA Northern Traverse an hour later.

At the start, we caught Gavin Dale who is set to be a frontrunner of the Lakes Traverse, where he will be battle it out with friend and rival Mark Darbyshire and Katie Kaars Sijpesteijn.

He recently won the Arc of Attrition, but is looking forward to a different adventure. “It’s quite nice to be back on home ground. I live in Ambleside so I know a lot of this reasonably well. I’m looking forward to doing it in the daytime mostly and taking in the views. We’ve got sunshine which makes me really happy.”

*Gavin Dale looking focused on the challenge ahead ©No Limits Photography*

On the start line, we also caught one of the favourites in the Northern Traverse, Ian Stewart, who won the Cape Wrath Ultra in 2021. Although he is an experienced ultra runner, this is the first time he’s done an event of this format.

He said, “I was flip flopping between relatively confident and totally overwhelmed over the last few days.”

“I’ve done quite a few of the 24 hour things and the multi-days things, but it’s the first time I’ve put the two and two together. It’s a total experiment in sleep deprivation. I’m relatively confident until Richmond but after that I’ve no idea.”

In the women’s field, a top contender is likely to be Alison Walker, who is competing after having to pull out of the Spine Race with an injury back in January.

She said, “I just want to finish, I don’t want to fall again this time. At the spine I fell on some ice. I bruised my femur and carried on another 100k but the pain was excruciating. Hopefully today will go a bit better – if I just don’t fall that would be great.”

*Excited participants take pictures before the start ©No Limits Photography*

Both races are now underway

Participants will likely be grateful for a dry start to the race, with perfect conditions of a cool, sunny spring day on the start line.

The first finisher of the Lakes Traverse is expected into the finish line late Saturday evening.

Last year saw a nail-biting sprint finish between Daniel Weller and Katie Kaars Sijpesteijn, with Daniel just taking the win. Katie is back this year so it will be interesting to see if this time she can take the win, though she will face some fierce competition from Gavin Dale and Mark Darbyshire.

The winners of the Northern Traverse are expected into Robin Hood’s Bay on Monday, and with such a huge distance to cover, it’s anyone’s game.

*Katie (centre) sets off on her adventure ©No Limits Photography*

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Ultra Runners gather for the start of two epic races on the SILVA Lakes & Northern Traverse