2024 SCARPA Great Lakeland 3Day Event Director Report

By Shane Ohly

We are overdue a sunny SCARPA Great Lakeland 3Day! But, despite the drizzly weather, the GL3D delivered again in terms of quality Lakeland mountain routes for both walkers and runners, and that famously relaxed and friendly atmosphere that the event has become renowned for.

An absolute highlight for me personally was the attendance of East and Southeast Asia Outdoors UK (ESEA – pronounced EC) and Black Trail Runners (BTR) members, who we invited to this year’s SCARPA Great Lakeland 3Day. Talking with these participants revealed that they were generally experienced and active outdoor people, yet they did not feel able or willing to attend the event. We made a deliberate effort to identify and remove various barriers, but the most significant obstacle was the perception that ethnic minorities might not be welcome. Reaching out and inviting ESEA and BTR to attend, combined with tangible actions to welcome these people to the event, was a simple step with an incredibly positive outcome.

Andrew Wang, the founder of ESEA Outdoors was one of the speakers on Sunday night, and his talk was a genuine insight into the barriers and discrimination faced by ethnic minorities, in a space that we (the largely white middle-class participants) often think of as welcoming and without prejudice. One thing I have learnt from our ongoing diversity and inclusion work is that it is insufficient to be silently not racist; you need to be anti-racist in both actions and words to help move the dial to a more positive and progressive state of inclusion.

On the theme of inclusivity, the GL3D has become much more diverse in the range of courses offered over the years. As such, it attracts a wide variety of ages and abilities each year, and this helps greatly to foster the special atmosphere at the event. Back in the day, the GL3D only had one course, which was around 150km+ over three days, and consequently, only hardened fell runners came. But they do still attend, and I was very impressed that Littledave Cumins and Jan De Clerck managed to visit every checkpoint on the map to complete the Adventure Course in full. Bravo.

The cinema, Hub talks and pub quiz all add something extra to the event. It was brilliant to have such a wide range of talks, and I would like to thank all our incredible speakers. We will certainly look to continue building on the success of the Hub talks. We have also decided to make the Friday night cinema free to attend from 2025 onwards, which is more in keeping with the event's ethos. We hope more people will join us on Friday night next year.

 It is clear from the initial feedback and comments that people really enjoyed themselves, but what is important for me is to tease out constructive criticism. I am aware that this year's Overnight Camp was close to the 2022 site, and this does limit our planning options when designing the courses. On reflection, the route up Fleetwith Pike was a tough choice for the Café Course, and we’ll be more considerate with our planning in the future. I know that many participants would appreciate earlier notice of the Event Centre venue and, ideally, better public transport links. This is certainly something we will try to improve upon.

There is always more work to do and I certainly do not take anything for granted. I came away from the event with a mountain of notes and reflections, and the Ourea Events team and I will work very hard in the months ahead to ensure that the 2025 SCARPA Great Lakeland 3Day continues to evolve and improve and addresses the point above.

THANKS TO our sponsors

We were delighted to welcome back our title sponsor, SCARPA for another successful edition. It is fantastic to work with a brand who share our love of trail running.

Vast numbers of SCARPA shoes were tried on and tested from their demo tent during the three days, and it was brilliant to see this be such a popular feature of the event. We are so grateful to Dave, Jack and Laura who came along to represent SCARPA.

Likewise, it was brilliant to have Henry and Rob back from Lifesystems for the second year in a row, selling all the camping essentials needed for the Overnight Camps.

Thanks to the Event Team

This event would not have been possible without the enthusiasm, hardwork and dedication of our Event Team. So much work goes on behind the scenes to put on this event, and year on year we always receive glowing feedback from participants about how the Event Team really made the event for them.

I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to this incredible team of individuals:

CAMP TEAM

Aggie Dudlik 

Alastair Baillie  

Andrea Harwood

Andrew Hastie 

Claire Forsyth

Claudie Combelas

Danny Gomme

Debs White

Duarte Menezes

Hanne Larsson

Lynsey Willats

Madeleine Morgan  

Malcolm Cochrane

Mark Spitzer

Nickie Jones 

Nina Oehlckers 

Patricia Wong

Richard Jones

Sarah Jones

Terry Cornwell

CATERING TEAM

Catheryn Lowe

Chris Taylor

Daljit Bhogal

Eleanor Smith

Hilary Malyon

Laura Smith

Nicola McNally 

Peter Huzan  

Tim Glasby

COURSE OPERATIONS TEAM

 Colin Harding

David Forestell 

Edward de Salis Young  

Elizabeth Barr

Kevin Robinson

Louise Greenwood

 Paul Beeson

Philip Wilkinson

Steve Hurren

Tim Marsters 

INFO POINT TEAM

Angela Emms

Carol Greenhalgh

Sue Dowker

 MARQUEE TEAM

Antony Fleming-Williams

Jessica Byrne 

Morgan Stace

Seb Boulton Oliver 

Suzy Slaughter 

Tom Jobling 

Zakius Benaton

MEDIA TEAM

 Sarah Hewitt

Stephen Ashworth

MEDICAL TEAM 

Anne Fairbank

 Daniel Murray 

Morag Bowie 

Rich Griffiths 

OUREA MANAGEMENT

Charlie Williamson 

Charlotte Eccles

Darren Graham 

Eleanor Claringbold-Driscoll

Greg Mickelborough

Jen Edson

Jo Moore

Lorna McBride

Neil Davies

Shane Ohly

RACE CONTROL TEAM

Abbi Forsyth

Chris Plant 

RESPONSE TEAM

Alison Gallagher

Dan Romberg

Dave Howarth

Jamie Barclay

SPECIALIST OPERATIONS TEAM 

Alex Chesters

Huw Winter 

START/FINISH TEAM

Graeme Welsh

Karen McPoland

Laura Conroy

Lauren Mckenna

 Michael Corrales

Tim Miller 

TECHNICAL SERVICES TEAM

Ian Cowie

Philip Sturgeon

 Sean O'Keeffe 

Steven Fairbairn

Tom Rouse

TIMING & TRACKING TEAM

Daniel Carrivick

James Thurlow

Trash Free Trails

We are proud to have teamed up with Trash Free Trails who joined us at this year’s SCARPA Great Lakeland 3Day and be part of their TFT Approved scheme. Having the team on site was incredibly beneficial and helped share the message of the importance of keeping our trails Trash Free! We hope that many of you took part in their Trash Raffle or attended their Hub talk on the Saturday night. We look forward to continuing this partnership on future events.

EVENT COVERAGE

You will have noticed the photographer at the finish line snapping photos as each participant crossed the line - this was the wonderful Sarah Hewitt! Click this link to see the photos which are free for you to download as a memento of your weekend.
You can catch up with everything that was posted during the event on Facebook, Twitter  and  Instagram, including some wonderful photos from out on the course and the Overnight Camp from Steve Ashworth.

Steve Ashworth has also put together a couple of lovely reels. Watch them on our YouTube channel.

Results

Interested to see results from 2024? You can view results from each day and the overall weekend by clicking the link below!

FEEDBACK

We would love to hear about your experience at the SCARPA Great Lakeland 3Day! Please leave us a review via Racecheck. After you post your public review there is also an option to leave private feedback. If you have any specific feedback you would rather send directly to us, please e-mail us [email protected]

Your feedback is hugely important to us – we read each and every comment we receive, and this helps us refine and improve year on year!

Keen to return next year?

Want to relive the adventure? We are thrilled to share that entries for 2025 are OPEN. We are offering an early bird price if you enter before 31st May 2024! Click the link below to enter:

What’s next?

Northern, Lakes, Dales and Moors Traverses!

Looking for your next adventure in 2025? Entries for the Traverses are OPEN! There are four events to choose from ranging from 55km to 300km - choose your Traverse and enter for 2025!

Join the waiting list for The Northern Traverse and be notified when a place becomes available. Start planning for your journey across the North of England!

Cape Wrath Ultra®

Looking to challenge yourself in 2025? Entries for Cape Wrath Ultra OPEN on Friday 31st May 2024! Explore the Scottish Highlands during the 400km 8-day multi-stage race! Looking for something a bit shorter? The Cape Wrath Explorer is the perfect option for you! Choose between the first or second half of the course each day and enjoy the adventure!

Dragon’s Back Race®

Adventure through wild, trackless, and remote mountainous terrain in Wales! The Dragon’s Back Race is a 380km multi-stage race that will challenge and push you to your limits.

Ready, but not for the full course? The Hatchling is the perfect option for you! Adventure through Wales on the shorter version of the full course, choosing which section to complete each day. Enjoy the breathtakingly beautiful scenery, the camaraderie throughout the course and the grand finale at Cardiff Castle!

salomon Buttermere Skyline™

Enjoyed the breathtakingly beautiful views from the Overnight Camp at this year’s SCARPA Great Lakeland 3Day?

Then you need to be on the start line of the Salomon Buttermere Skyline on Saturday 14th September 2024! Enjoy the stunning views of the Southern Lake District fells while running along the tops in Buttermere! Entries are OPEN - click the link below to enter.