by Shane Ohly, Event Director

Introduction

In November 2021, we agreed to take on the organisation of the Northern Traverse and Lakes Traverse from James Thurlow and his team from Open Adventure. The success of the event this year is due, in large part, to standing on the shoulders of giants, and I would like to express my sincere thanks to James for his original vision to create this wonderful, logical and challenging event.

This report will focus on the SILVA Lakes Traverse. The SILVA Northern Traverse Event Director’s Report will be shared in the next few days. You’ll need to read both to get a full and rounded view of the entire event week.

*Runners enjoying the sights of wild Ennerdale © No Limits Photography*

My recce of the route

In December, I walked the Lakes Traverse route over two and half days. It was a self-supported, wild camping mini adventure and I loved it! Camping in the high fells each night, feeling the raw wintery weather and reflecting on the journey through the mountains away from the hustle of ordinary work and life commitments... Although I will admit to stopping in the Travellers Rest for chips and coffee! I already knew the route well from decades of running and walking in the Lake District, but there is always value in walking a race route afresh whilst holding in your mind the experience you anticipate the runners will have while participating in your event.

*The sun was shining in the Lake District on Saturday © No Limits Photography*

Behind the scenes

Since November, the team at Ourea Events have been working extremely hard to incorporate the Lakes Traverse into our portfolio of events. This has involved everyone in the business, from marketing and course planning to operations and customer service. I can confidently say the entire team has really got behind understanding and energising the event ready for April 2022.

*The start line was buzzing in St Bees © No Limits Photography*

Welcome to SILVA

We were fortunate to have an existing relationship with SILVA who are the title sponsor of our sister event, the Great Lakeland 3Day™, held in the Lake District since 1998. When we shared the news of our acquisition of the Northern Traverse and Lakes Traverse with Tim Young from SILVA, he immediately jumped at the idea of also sponsoring our new event. Very quickly, we went from excited talk and shared vision to updating branding to relaunching with SILVA proudly taking centre stage as our title sponsor. SILVA have made a serious and long-term commitment to supporting the event and we are delighted to be working with them.

*Tim from SILVA enjoying some scrambling near Ennerdale Water © No Limits Photography*

My highlights

Undoubtedly, the brilliant atmosphere at the start line was a real highlight. We were really lucky with the weather – it's always nice when the sun is shining at the start, and the cliffs of St Bees looked fantastic in the sunlight. There was a real sense of excitement, as St Bees was buzzing with runners chatting and looking forward to their journey. Watching the line of runners climbing up and eventually disappearing along the coastline of St Bees is definitely a sight to be remembered!

It was great to see the event come alive and follow all the runners making progress across the course, tackling the steep climbs in the fells. It was also a pleasure watching the event team springing into action to help the runners. Many of them have helped or participated in these events before so it’s great to see old and new faces being so dedicated to make this such a good experience for our participants.

For sure, watching Katie Kaars Sijpesteijn confidently move through the field is a personal highlight for me. Catching the race leader, Daniel Weller, at Shap Abbey, just a few kms before the finish, was amazing, but Daniel wasn’t finished and in a final spurt managed to finish a minute ahead of Katie. What fantastic racing.

It was an experience to see runners coming into the finish throughout the night in Shap. People looked exhausted – you could tell they had really been pushing themselves, but they also had a smile on their face. It was rewarding to see the satisfaction on people’s faces when they realised what they had achieved.

Thanks to the Event Team

Of course, this event wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our awesome event team. So much work goes on behind the scenes to put on an event like this, and our event team worked tirelessly at support points and in between, sometimes in really challenging conditions. Most of these people went onto support our Northern Traverse runners for the rest of the week as well! Thank you so much for your dedication and hard work.

*Our event team have worked tirelessly to deliver such a brilliant event © No Limits Photography*

Team 1 – St Bees/Shap

Ian Cowie
Glen Davies
Colin Harding
Jacob Holder
Peter Huzan
Susan Nash

Team 2 – St Bees

Julie Gardner
Fiona Murphy
Liane Shaw
Ed Walker

Team 3 – Rosthwaite

Duncan Anderson
Robert Campbell
Ramsay Mackay
Alexander Major
Jennifer O'Neill

*Feeling refreshed after a visit to the Rosthwaite support point © No Limits Photography*

Team 4 – Glenridding/Lion Inn

Alan Konopka
Richard Lawrence
Michael Letheren
Daren Piper
Jo Shelmerdine

Team 5 – Shap/Robin Hood's Bay

Emma Hadley
Paul Hadley
Fred Newton
Janet Richards

Bag Drop Vans

Roddie Grant
Derek Allison
Lawrence Jones
Guy Redmond

Medical Team

Anna Curragh
John Hayes
Anna Maciejkowicz
Larissa Robson
Charlotte Hattersley

Response Team

Katie Cole
Dave Howarth
Natalya Kennedy
Stuart Smith

Race Control

Abbi Forsyth
Matthew Gemmell

Catering

Tim Glasby
Hilary Malyon

Media Team

Stephen Ashworth
Ross Brackley
Harriet D'Alessio
Jimmy Hyland
Christiaan Le Roux

Logistic support

Joe Faulkner

Office Team

Eleanor Claringbold
Neil Davies
Sue Dowker
Jen Edson
Graham Gristwood
Tom Hecht
Lisa Knipe
Greg Mickelborough
Janie Oates
Lucy Scrase
Charlie Williamson

Stakeholder Thanks

The SILVA Lakes Traverse would not be possible without the consent and support of various landowners and stakeholders along the route. I would like to extend a sincere thanks on behalf of all the participants to these organisations and individuals. In particular, I would like to thank the National Trust, Lowther Estate and Natural England.

*An enjoyably runnable descent to Honister © No Limits Photography*

Results

The results for the SILVA Lakes Traverse are now live here.

Event coverage

You can view our event gallery photos here and on Facebook.

Our awesome film team have put together an excellent video of the event if you would like to relive your experience. You can already watch it on Youtube.

You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram if you'd like to catch up with everything that was posted during the event. There were also blog posts covering the event which you can find on our news page.

*It was a long way from sunny St Bees to Shap © No Limits Photography*

Feedback

We would really love to hear your feedback on this event. If you have any comments you'd like to make, we would really encourage you to use the form here. If there’s anything specific you’d like to tell us about, or if there’s anything you think we can do better, please do get in touch.

As it’s the first time we’ve run this event, feedback is really important to us.

Keen to come back next year?

Don't forget, entries are already open for the 2023 SILVA Lakes Traverse and SILVA Northern Traverse - taking place Saturday 1st April to Wednesday 5th April 2023.

Maybe you would like to improve your time on the SILVA Lakes Traverse? or you fancy tackling the longer distance of the SILVA Northern Traverse?

You can sign up for next year here

*It's been an amazing journey © No Limits Photography*

What's next?

Looking for some future inspiration? Take a look at some more events from Ourea Events below:

2023 SILVA Great Lakeland 3Day™ - ENTRIES OPENING SOON!

A relaxed and friendly 3-day mountain journey around the beautiful fells of the Lake District. 4 courses will be on offer from Cafe to Expert so something suitable for every level and experience.

2023 Entries will open on Monday 2nd May 2022.

Subscribe to be notified when entries open.

*Join us for a 3 day jaunt across the Lakes © No Limits Photography*

2022 Cape Wrath Ultra® - LAST FEW PLACES

Interested in a multi-day racing experience? Well come and join us for 8 amazing days of running through the stunning Scottish Highlands on the epic Cape Wrath Ultra®. This is our expedition race that starts in Fort William and winds its way through some iconic Scottish landscapes to finish at the Cape Wrath lighthouse, the most north-westerly tip of the British Isles.

There are still a few places left for the May 2022 event, taking place on 22nd - 29th May. FIND OUT MORE

Entries are also opening for 2023 on 5th May 2022.

*Take on an epic journey through the Scottish highlands © No Limits Photography*

2022 Montane Dragon's Back Race® - LAST FEW PLACES

Looking for a once in a lifetime adventure? Join us for six epic days of mountain running through stunning Wales! The 2022 Montane Dragon’s Back Race®, taking place on 5th - 10th September 2022, starts from Conwy Castle and over six incredible days runs the length of Wales linking many of the country’s iconic mountain summits, to finish in Cardiff Castle on the South coast of Wales. FIND OUT MORE

*Are you ready to tackle the Dragon? © No Limits Photography*

2022 Salomon Skyline Scotland® - ENTRIES OPEN

The UK's biggest weekend of trail running and skyrunning - taking place 17th-18th September 2022.

If you're looking for a skyrunning challenge, why not try the 52km Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra? Or for something a bit longer, why not enter the Lochaber 80? Brand new for 2022!

Entries are open now

2022 SILVA Lakes Traverse - Event Director’s Report