Take on England’s finest countryside at your pace. The challenge basecamp is in Kendal, and it’s a 100km loop taking in a couple of tough hills, the Garburn Pass, historic Ambleside, a halfway point by Lake Windermere, forests and nature reserves – with some stunning views en-route, before a huge welcome and celebration back at basecamp after a momentous journey. You’ll get full support and hospitality, optional camping / hostel and various distance options available, there’s a Lake District Challenge for everyone!
This challenge is part of the UK's number one series of trek and trails runs for a wide range of ages, fitness and experience levels.
Choose your challenge and do it at your pace. The level of support enables you to go further, whilst enjoying the great outdoors, camaraderie, and the challenge. There are marquee rest stops, lots of food and drink, medical and massage teams, with a fully signed route to guide you.
A big finish-line celebration awaits with an amazing sense of achievement and once the aches subside you’ll feel energised, up for more of life’s real challenges – and, maybe, personal horizons redefined.
Whether you’re a walker and new to challenge events, an experienced trekker, a marathon enthusiast upping the distance, or a seasoned ultra runner after UTMB points – there’s an Ultra Challenge® for you! Walk, Jog, or Run at your pace, as an Individual or a Team, for a charity of your choice or just for you. There’s an Ultra March® option for ‘fast walkers’ – and a new ‘Solo Challenger’ start time to join up with others.
This Ultra Challenge® famously lays on the best support and hospitality available on any UK endurance-style event. This enables you to step up and confidently tackle an 'Ultra' distance, with the best chance of success - and to enjoy your challenge! Here's a summary:
A fantastic ‘Quarter’ challenge which squeezes a lot in! Starting from our Kendal Base Camp (where you can camp Fri / Sat), it’s north up the Longsleddale Valley, and over the testing Garburn Pass with stunning 360 views towards Windermere, and then on to the charming town of Ambleside, on the shores of the Lake and a welcome finish line.
Every year hundreds of challengers get a discounted charity place in this event and fundraise for charity. While this is hugely beneficial to the charity it gives the participant advantages too, from saving tens of pounds on the registration fee to supporting a cause that is close to your heart and much more.
Committing to raising money for charity gives you motivation to get outside and train, plus all of these extras which will elevate your event experience:
Charities know that raising money is all part of the challenge, which is why they provide advice, branded materials and a personalised online fundraising page to help the donations roll in. Think videos for social media, branded imagery and testimonials from previous participants.
Whether this is your first ultra or your fifth, you'll need to train for it! You'll receive an in-depth training plan with guidance, plus many charities have access to expert coaches and elites too, who can provide exclusive tips for your challenge preparation. Experts include Runningwithus, Full Potential and Olympic champions.
When you show up on the day, people need to be able to see clearly that you're supporting a charity. Most charities will give you a branded and personalised t-shirt or vest for the big day, and often a training top too.
You won't be the only person taking part for that charity, so it's well worth meeting others through the charity's invite-only social media pages! You can organise to meet up for training days, chat with the charity's expert coaches and share tips and stories with each other to keep the motivation levels high.
Ultra challenges and charity fundraising go hand-in-hand - which charity will you go the distance for?
An excellent experience from start to finish. The route was brilliantly marked out, the food was gorgeous and plentiful, the staff couldn’t have been more helpful and supportive if they tried, a wonderful event that I can’t praise highly enough.
An amazing event, extremely well organised with fantastic, enthusiastic staff. So much support, food, drink and tonnes of information available if you ever had any questions. I’ve done lots of different races and this ranks as one of the best. It was tough but so worth it...a little bit sad it’s over.
