Starting and finishing at Hawkshead, the 16K Hawkshead Trail Race, 16K Hawkshead Trail Challenge and 10K Hawkshead Trail Run follow circuits along fully marked and marshalled footpaths and bridleways, taking in panoramic views of Windermere and the surrounding peaks of the Coniston Hills, the Langdales and most of the Lakeland fells. All of the routes take in the infamous, mile long, near vertical, killer climb of the "Coffin Trail"! Underfoot conditions are generally good, particularly for those used to off-road running.
10.45 OR 11:00
£32.50 / U25 £15
A shorter distance event for everyone over the age of 16 on a well marked and marshalled course, with graded runnable climbs and descents. There is a time limit of 2 hours. There is an option to purchase an event specific t-shirt when you enter.
13:00
£32.50 / U25 £15
An event for less competitive runners and Nordic walkers or if you want to take it easy and enjoy the views, this is the one for you. There is a time limit of 3 1/2 hours and to enter you must be at least 18 years old. There is an option to purchase an event specific t-shirt when you enter.
14:00
£32.50 / U25 £15
For the competitive runner, a well marked and marshalled course with fast, graded runnable climbs and descents for those used to off road running. There is a time limit of 2 hours and to enter you must be at least 18 years old. There is an option to purchase an event specific t-shirt when you enter.
All of the pre-race information is now shown below rather than in an Event Guide to make it more accessible. Please take time to read this information, especially the section about Car Parking.
✅ Park and Ride from Ambleside
❌You are requested to NOT bring dogs into the Recreation Ground
✅ Race number to be collected on the day AT LEAST 45 minutes before your Start Time
✅ Start Times and numbers will be found on the Start Lists on the event page on our website
✅Your race number must be attached HORIZONTALLY or the timing chip won’t be read
✅Let us know if you want to change your start time / race distance at least 45 minutes before the earliest Start Time of the two (e.g. if you want to swap from the 1pm Challenge to the 2pm Race, 12:15pm is the deadline)
❌ No on the day swapping possible between the Trail Run 10k Early Start and Main Start
✅ Set off at your allocated time or you won't show on the Results
✅ Carry your own water and bring your own cup.
✅ If you arrive at a closed gate, please close it behind you - we don't want lambs escaping
✅ If you find the terrain is tricky, be prepared to slow down so that you can negotiate it safely
❌No over ear or in ear headphones (bone conducting ones permitted)
❌Snot rockets or spitting on the course
❌Dogs are not permitted on the course
✅ Have a great day
Please note that there are separate Start Lists for the Trail Run 10k and Trail Run 10k Early Start.
If you want to swap to a different contest, you can do so through your account HERE up until 6 days before the event.
Any later than that, please visit the Enquiries desk at Registration on the day, at least 45 minutes before the earliest start of your current and desired contest. e.g. if you'd like to swap from the 13:15 Challenge to the 14:00 Race, the cut-off would be 12:30.
The Start Lists will be updated on the Monday before the event to show any last-minute entries.
09.00 Registration opens in the registration marquee at Hawkshead Recreation Ground
10.45 Trail Run 10k Early Start
11.00 Trail Run 10k
12.30 Fun Trails with Zeraffa the Giraffe
13.00 Trail Challenge 16k
14.00 Trail Race 16k
15.30 Après Trails live music with singer / songwriter Pete Lashley
16.30 Prize giving & spot prize giving
All Race Numbers must be collected from Registration in the main marquee on race day.
Registration opens at 9:00am on Saturday. You can collect your number up to 45 minutes before your allocated start time.
Start Lists won’t be on display in the marquee but will be available above and we will confirm your number by email a couple of days before the event.
If you forget what your number is, you can check it on a tablet in Registration.
If you’ve got any questions about your entry, please go to the Enquiries desk on the right-hand side of the main marquee and a friendly face will help you.
There will be a baggage storage adjacent to the main marquee.
Please note there are no entries on the day and entries are not transferrable. Runners competing with someone else's number will be disqualified and will not be eligible for prizes or appear in the results.
We will also prevent them from taking part in future Lakeland Trails events, such is the safety risk if something were to happen to a person whose details we don’t have on our system.
All contests set off from Hawkshead Recreation Ground with the awesome Boom Dang keeping you entertained on the start line.
The finish is under our inov8 gantry. When you cross the finish line, it’s really important that your whole number is clearly visible so we can give you a shout out and cross check our timing system in case of any queries. Failure to display your number may result in disqualification
Once you’ve finished, you’ll go through the main marquee. If you've ordered a t-shirt it will be available to collect inside.
If you haven't ordered a t-shirt, please pass straight through the marquee.
Event T-shirts are no longer 'free' and must be ordered in advance. It's possible to add a t-shirt to your entry up to 4 weeks before the event if you didn’t do so when you entered. You can do that HERE.
Your race bib will indicate the style (male or female) and size of your t-shirt. If you have deferred from last year, we will order you a t-shirt if you requested one when you entered. T-shirts are available in the marquee after you have completed your run and cannot be collected on behalf of other people.
Please note - if you are not attending the event and want us to post your event t-shirt to you, we can do so for £5. Please make that payment HERE a minimum of 7 days before the event. We cannot arrange this any later and refunds are not available, in line with our Ts and Cs.
Any surplus t-shirts will be available for sale for £10 after the last runner has crossed the line. All profits from the sale of the surplus t-shirts will be donated to Cumbria Wildlife Trust.
All courses will be well marked and marshalled by our magnificent Lakeland Trails volunteers, all of whom work hard to make your run as enjoyable and safe as possible.
The courses have a variety of terrain, mainly beautiful, scenic trails with short sections of tarmac and, of course, the brutal Coffin Trail climb!
Some descents are quite steep and rocky. If you think the terrain is too tricky, it’s fine to slow down or walk! Some gates on the course may not be staffed so if you arrive at a closed gate, please close it after you – we want any lambs to stay in the right place. Please put any litter in your pocket until you reach a bin.
Please stay alert at the road crossing close to the finish. Our marshals don’t have authority to stop traffic, so please be prepared to slow down and wait if necessary.
VERY IMPORTANT: DOGS AREN’T ALLOWED ON THE COURSE
As part of our commitment to reduce our environmental impact, please play your part by coming self-sufficient with your own water supplies or bring your own re-useable cup. We will not be supplying cups at the Water Stations so please bring your own to be filled with Lake District water.
There will be TWO water stations on the 16k course and ONE on the 10k course (at 7k on each and 11k on the 16k). Drinking water will also be available at the finish.
We recommend you wear suitable inov-8 trail running shoes and bring with you hat, gloves, a waterproof jacket and overtrousers. It's not uncommon to have snow in the Lake District in April and if you need to stop out on the course for any reason, you will soon get cold.
Advanced Life Support Medics from Event Safety Group will be in attendance and our in-house Comms Team will provide radio coverage to the marshals and crew. The medics priority is medical emergencies and more severe injuries. With that in mind, they may not be able to help you with minor cuts and scrapes that you’d normally be able to sort out yourself.
If you are unable to finish your event and need to retire, you must report to the finish line or an event marshal and hand in your race number.
Please remember to treat fellow runners, members of the public, our volunteers and crew with respect. We want everyone to have an enjoyable day!
Pete Bland Sports will be onsite providing expert advice, selling a wide range of the latest inov8 products and race essentials with great discounts on all inov8 footwear and clothing – even their exciting new products.
There will be some great food and drink stalls including exciting offerings from our local caterers. Our regular caterers include Fiery Mammas Pizza and Wrap Ninjas, with great coffees from The Coffee Bug and Fellside Coffee. We sometimes have guest traders too! We use all small local businesses who sell locally sourced food.
A PA system with race commentary from our fantastic MC will keep you informed of progress of runners and give you a warm welcome as you cross the finish line!
Portable loos and a urinal unit are also on site.
We have a fantastic selection of merchandise available, including hoodies, long sleeved technical t-shirts and Big Bobble Hats. Check out our SHOP page for further information.
We'll have some great deals on end of line products.
All children Under 12 have the chance to run alongside, or maybe even in front of, Zeraffa, the long-lost cousin of the late and much-loved Gerry the Giraffe and experience the buzz of racing. Entry is only available on the day and is free for competitors’ children. All the children are rewarded with a special finishers’ medal.
Please note: If the weather's bad, we might have to cancel this Race to avoid soaked children!
The legendary Singer / songwriter Pete Lashley will be performing live for an hour with Prize Giving following on afterwards. This is a great opportunity to meet fellow competitors, the organising and marshalling teams.
There will be a great range of Spot Prizes up for grabs. We’ll choose the winning numbers at random during our Prize Giving ceremony where you’ll be in with a chance of winning, amongst other things, a free race entry or Lakeland Trails merch.
Results will appear LIVE on the Results page on our website.
Prizes are awarded to the following:
Sport Trail 5k
First Male & Female*
First U16 Boy & Girl
Trail Run 10k and Trail Race 16k
First 3 Men & Women and V40, V50, V60, V70, V80**
All prize winners receive a free entry into the following year's event and the top 3 runners will receive an inov8 voucher.
Under 16 winners of the Sport Trail 5k also receive a CASH prize.
*If an Under 16 wins the Sport Trail 5k, they will receive the Senior Prize only and a prize will not be awarded for the First Man and Woman.
**With the exception of V60 and V70, competitors need to take part in the Trail Race 15k to be eligible for a prize. V60 and V70 competitors can take place in the Challenge.
**If a Vet is placed in the overall results, they will receive the Senior Prize only and a prize will not be awarded for that Vet category.
We do not post prizes out.
Why not relax and take in the stunning scenery along the route, save on the cost of parking and reduce your carbon footprint? It's just £2 to travel by bus!
Hawkshead is on the 505 Bus Route from Ambleside and Coniston. The bus stops at the Tourist Information Centre, only a few minute's walk from the Recreation Ground. You can find the latest timetable HERE
Send us a photo of your public transport ticket for all or part of your journey and we'll award one lucky winner at each event with a FREE ENTRY to a future event. Email your photos HERE before the Monday after the event.
The environmental impact of travelling by car is much reduced if it's full so why not join up with your friends / running club members to travel together? There's always plenty to do in and around our venue and visiting local businesses helps support them too. Visit our Car Share group on Facebook HERE to start planning!
If there are 4 or more people in your car, parking is FREE!
The event requires over 50 marshals and stewards, so if you want to volunteer to help us in any way we would love to hear from you. Check out our volunteers' page for more details.
After the excitement of the race, it can be easy to forget to pick something up. If you think you've lost / forgotten something, please contact us HERE and we'll see if we can locate the item. Items can be collected at a future event free of charge or posted back to you. For the latter, please pay HERE after we've confirmed we've got your item.
It's a bit of a killer...a brutal mile-long climb through the woods following the ancient corpse road from Belle Grange to Hawkshead.
Why not check out our offical Strava segment HERE and see how you fare...if you survive!
The climb starts at Belle Grange on the shore of Windermere before winding its way through the woods. There's a bit of a respite part-way up so catch your breath before one final push / drag to the summit.
Our segment ends at the crossroads at the Guide Posts. There's still a bit more climbing before the fast, rocky descent back to Hawkshead. Good luck!
