Why I signed up for The Lap

In September I'm running 75 kilometres around Windermere. Not across it, not near it — around it. The whole thing. One continuous loop of the Lake District's largest lake, in a single push.

It's called The Lap, which is about as straightforward a name as you can give an ultramarathon. You lap the lake. That's it. No drama in the description, plenty of drama in the doing.

I should probably explain how I ended up here.

I've been running on and off for a number of years — done a few events along the way, including Man vs Lakes, some halves, the odd marathon, but if I'm honest my relationship with running has never been entirely consistent. I fall off the wagon, life gets in the way, and then something pulls me back. It always does. This time the thing that pulled me back was a 75 kilometre lap of a lake, which probably says something about my judgement.

The honest answer to why I signed up is that I saw it and thought it sounded brilliant. A lap of Windermere. The route takes in both sides of the lake — the busy tourist side and the quieter western shore — along trails, tracks, and the occasional road. The whole thing is around 75km depending on which GPS watch you believe, with enough elevation to keep things interesting without being a mountain race.

I also liked that it had a built-in story. "I ran a lap of Windermere" is a sentence that makes sense to people who have never run an ultra in their life. Most people know Windermere. Most people have driven around part of it and thought it looked big. The idea of running the whole thing in one go lands immediately.

Training is going. That's probably the most accurate thing I can say about it right now. The long runs are getting longer, the legs are getting used to back-to-back efforts, and I'm learning which tracks near home are worth running and which ones turn into ankle-deep mud the moment it rains — which in Lancashire is most of the time.

Most of my runs happen in that window before the school pickup — it gives me a natural deadline to work to, which stops me from cutting things short. There's something about knowing you have to be back at the school gates that makes you push on when your legs are telling you otherwise. I do like the idea of morning runs, but getting out at 5am risks waking the house, and trying to fuel properly at that hour is its own challenge.

I'll be posting updates here as September gets closer — training, kit, what's working, what isn't. And then the race report afterwards, whatever state I'm in when I write it.

If you've run The Lap or know the route well, I'd genuinely love to hear from you. And if you're thinking about signing up yourself — the entry page is worth a look. Just maybe don't do it at 11pm on a Tuesday.