Ambleside, United Kingdom · Saturday, July 11, 2026

Fixed Distance 50K

Lakeland Trails Ultra Challenge 55 km

Race completed
55 km Distance
2,164 m Climbing
6.0 Grit · Hardcore
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54.4326° N, 2.9617° W © OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap

What the course asks

Climbing rate 39 m / km Rolling. Moderate undulations. Requires consistent effort across varying grades.
Time limit 13 hours 14:11 min/km average. Comfortable. Room to walk the climbs and stop at aid. More forgiving than 69% of 50K races. Measured against 1058 races of the same distance. Cut-off calculator →
Field size ~111 Mid-sized. Company early, well spread out by halfway.

DUV results for the 2024 edition (55km) — finishers only. Starters are not published, so the field was at least this big and no finish rate can be given.

Typical conditions, July

Daytime high 17°C
Night low 12°C
Rainfall Showers likely
Daylight 16 h 54 m of light

Regional 2001-2020 average for July — NASA POWER, grid elevation 164 m. Not a forecast.

Results history

Year Race Finishers Men's winner Women's winner
2024 55km 111 Julian Hood · 05:43:51 Corinne Watson · 07:04:22
2023 55km 204 Stuart Fludger · 06:45:10 Louise Dermott · 07:40:50
2023 55km 102 Jonathan Cox · 05:11:55 Penny Addison · 06:33:46
2022 55km 330 Adam Hartley · 05:49:27 Mary Heald · 07:30:09
2021 55km 322 Julian Hood · 05:39:20 Jane McCarthy · 06:54:29
2019 56.9km 342 Damian Hall · 05:39:12 Zoe McLennan Murphy · 06:58:15
2018 55km 374 Damian Hall · 05:25:21 Gemma Carter · 06:26:47
2017 55km 436 David Stoneman · 05:52:24 Holly Rush · 06:10:19
2016 55km 449 Michael Barron · 05:26:07 Fiona Lynch · 06:48:03
2015 55km 312 Keith Siddle · 06:45:21 Sophie Moore · 07:22:31

The field shrank 46% between 2023 (204) and 2024 (111). 27% of the 2024 field were women.

DUV results for the 2024 edition (55km) — finishers only. Starters are not published, so the field was at least this big and no finish rate can be given.

Course notes

  • terrain This is a rolling course. Expect fast, runnable sections where rhythm is key.
  • gear With trail terrain, choose a shoe with moderate cushioning for optimal performance.

Gear for this race

Chosen for 55 km of trail with 2,164 m of ascent.

New Balance

Fuel Cell Super Comp Trail

★★★★★ 4.5

Adidas

Terrex Speed Ultra

RunRepeat found the Adidas Terrex Speed Ultra to have a grippy outsole and great lockdown, while iRunFar noted that the shoe works on a variety of trail conditi…

★★★★★ 4.5

Tailwind

Endurance Fuel

All-in-one calorie and electrolyte drink mix. 200 calories per serving.

$25 ★★★★★ 4.8

Salomon

ADV Skin 12

Industry-standard 12L race vest with front flask pockets and minimal bounce.

$180 ★★★★★ 4.8

LEKI

Ultratrail FX.One

Ultra-light carbon folding poles (135g each) designed for mountain ultra racing.

$200 ★★★★★ 4.6

Petzl

NAO RL

1500-lumen reactive lighting headlamp with 15-hour runtime. Automatic brightness adjustment.

$150 ★★★★★ 4.7
All gear guides →

Overview

Based in Ambleside in the United Kingdom, the Lakeland Trails Ultra Challenge 55 km packed 2164 meters of ascent across its 55-kilometer course, averaging 39.3 meters of climbing per kilometer. That gradient meant sustained mountain work throughout the July route, though the generous 13-hour cut-off allowed an accessible average pace of 14.2 minutes per kilometer—more generous than 69% of 50k events and tighter than only 31%.

The event reached 10 editions between 2015 and 2024. With 111 finishers in the 2024 edition, its starting pack remained bigger than 81% of 50k fields and smaller than 19%, offering an established group on the trails without the congestion of massive ultra lineups.

Similar races

Other 50K trail ultras, closest in distance first.