Lakeland Trails Marathon Date For 2012

5 AUG2011

Organisers of the Lakeland Trails Marathon, buoyed by the success of the inaugural event on July 3, have set a date for 2012 - Sunday, July 1. A sunny day last month saw over 1,000 participants from all over the UK and from as far afield as New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Dubai, USA, Ethiopia, Switzerland, Germany, France, Belgium and Ireland take part in the first Lakeland Trails Marathon.

The feedback post-race has been extremely encouraging. One runner summed up the general response: "It couldn't have been a better day for experiencing some breathtaking scenery in the Lake District. For a first marathon event the organisation was spot on, marshals and stewards were friendly and encouraging, plenty of water stations to supplement my own supply and a nice touch at the finish being handed a well earned medal by the race organiser.

"A challenging course but that was expected for an off road marathon around Coniston... that's what the event was all about in my mind. I'll be back for more - please do it again!"

Over £100,000 was raised by participants in the event for various charities, including £1,000 for the Fix The Fells project, and over £1,000 for Coniston Mountain Rescue.

Event director Graham Patten told northernrunninguide.com: "The event went better than I could ever have imagined and now our aim is to make the Lakeland Trails Marathon one of the world's iconic marathons."

Lakeland Trails plan to produce a dedicated e-newsletter for the marathon; they already circulate an informative monthly email update on their other popular trail events. Check out information about all of their events online.