A Marathon and a Mountain

I was going to make two posts from this but, honestly? A marathon ain’t that interesting, mountains are though 😂 So, Windermere Marathon is undulating, well it would be it’s in the Lake District.

It was fairly uneventful (unlike Boston) Great atmosphere, fabulous weather and some hills. What more could you want? I loved the first 20miles, but the quads on the downhills weren’t very happy for the last 6miles. Probably to be expected with an elevation of roughly 2500ft. It was a little slower than I’d hoped but I did stop at water stations, and even managed 2nd place in my Age Group. Afterwards I was treated to a Thai meal with beer and a couple of glasses of vino.

The next day I had ageed to climb Catbells on Derwent Water. It’s the least I could do as I’d dragged Gillian away for a weekend and she’d supported my run.

Catbells is listed as “Easy” It’s only 8k and about 1500ft high, so I’d go along with that, except the day after a marathon made it a little tougher😂. You catch a launch from Derwent Water to Hawes Landing which takes about ten minutes.

The weather was perfect and after a few kilometres the old legs loosened up. It looked a long way but I think when you’re going upwards it usually does.

When we had nearly reached the summit I was surprised to find we had to scramble up some rocks. I asked Gillian if she was ok with it, but she’d already switched into mountain goat mode, and so I tagged along behind.

There was nothing for miles, except a few people, so we found a quiet spot to eat our sandwiches. If you’ve ever had fish and chips or an ice cream in a seaside town you’ll know that you need to keep an eye out for seagulls. But on top of a mountain?? He/she arrived within a minute of getting the food out 😂

After admiring the views, eventually it was time to head back down, and we were just in time to catch the last boat back. It was certainly worth the climb, and a beautiful part of the country. Oh! and I’ve booked a hotel for next years marathon 😂

Happy Trails, Folks x

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Author: Charlie

They say I’m retired. Huh. I prefer to say I now work for myself. I published a debut novel a couple of years ago and have now published the sequel. For my sins I am a Yorkshireman, albeit well travelled, but back home in God’s own country now. I run, cycle, swim and drink Red Wine. If you want to know anything else just ask.

15 thoughts on “A Marathon and a Mountain”

  3. Second in age group is an excellent result. Just think what you can do once you become the youngest in the 70+ age group! Is it time to start Sanatogen loading yet? And is anything really “easy” the day after a marathon? Or are you a born optimist?

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    1. Thank you 😀 The thing is, everyone moves up 😂 But I do have a window between now and next June, a couple of faster runners have already moved up😂
      COD liver oil and aloe Vera juice. I think it’s more of a “may as well give it a go” rather than optimism 😂

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      1. Give it a go, something good might happen. Remember that compared to me you are already superman. :-)
        And yes, I forgot others would move up.
        Finally, man who can drink aloe vera juice is capable of anything.

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  4. Congratulations on the marathon results, Charlie! I admit, I’m among those who’d find the mountain more interesting, but I’m not a runner. Beautiful sights, and that seagull still has me laughing. We have lots of them here, by the sea, and sometimes they’re louder than tourists in August, but I’ve never seen one in the mountains. :-D

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