Coniston 14

The last weekend in March, I headed to the Lakes with Gareth, Susan, Scott and Ruth for the Coniston 14 - a 14 mile loop around Coniston Lake. We stayed in the youth hostel in Hawkshead on the Friday night and headed to the race the following morning. It seemed to be a really popular race, apparently 1600+ runners. The weather conditions were perfect for racing, cool but sunny. Much like the Lasswade 10 from a few weeks ago this was an 'undulating' course. I felt strong all the way round, although mile 12 was a tough one, climbing to the highest point of the route. However, we were rewarded with a steep downhill to follow and a flat final mile or so to the finish line. I was taking in the beautiful scenery on the route round and really enjoyed this course. I felt strong in the final mile finishing 8th woman in 1hr38.25. A Coniston slate coaster for finishing and a slate place set for 8th woman. Gareth was 10th man too. Scott ran a really fast time and broke his half marathon PB en route! Susan also had a great run and Ruth, although struggling with fatigue recently, had a good run and enjoyed the route. After some lunch and prize giving, we headed back to the hostel for a quick shower and rest, and then walked to Hawkshead for some well deserved drinks and food. We had a feast of local foods, including Cumberland sausage and mash and Lancashire Hot Pot - yum!

The following day the sun was shining, almost felt like summer. We headed out for a walk from Coniston to Tarn Hows - a 7 mile loop, not too taxing on our weary legs from the day before. A great weekend.