Starting and finishing at Cartmel Racecourse, the 5K Cartmel Sport Trail, 10K Cartmel Trail Run, 18K Cartmel Trail Challenge & 18K Cartmel Trail Race take you on off-road journeys through some of the most scenic and varied countryside in the Lake District, along a 'Beauty and Beast' of a course.
The trails are along waymarked and marshalled footpaths and bridleways, giving panoramic views of both Morecambe Bay and the surrounding peaks. Underfoot conditions are variable with a bit of everything - gravel tracks, muddy lanes and the odd puddle for good measure. There are some good fast sections, but it can be very sticky in places, especially if wet!
A carnival atmosphere is guaranteed for both spectators and competitors, with live music, race commentary, food and drink all available at the start and finish. So, whether you're new to trail running, an experienced athlete, or simply looking for an unforgettable day out in the Lake District, a family-friendly, festival atmosphere and some amazing trail running awaits you!
11.00am
£32 / 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. Event-specific t-shirts are available to add to your entry.
11.15am
£12.50 / u16 - £10
The perfect introduction to trail running! A shorter distance event for everyone over the age of 12, on a well marked and marshalled course, with graded runnable climbs and descents. There is a NO TIME LIMIT. Event-specific t-shirts are available to add to your entry.
13:00
£32 / 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 1/4 hours for the Challenge and to enter you must be at least 18 years old. Please note that prizes for the 18k are only available to those in the 2pm 'Race' start. Event-specific t-shirts are available to add to your entry.
14:00
£32 / 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 for the Race and to enter you must be at least 18 years old. Event-specific t-shirts are available to add to your entry.
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.
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.
Can you fill your car with someone from your local club or car share? We've set up a Facebook group to help arrange that. Join that HERE to save money and emissions.
Send us a photo / screenshot of your public transport ticket to the event, or a photo of your bike in the event ground HERE and we'll randomly choose someone for a FREE entry.
We won't be holding a Safety Briefing as all of the ESSENTIAL information is covered below.
✅ Very Important - follow our car park signs to get to the Racecourse (further details below). If you follow Sat Nav, you may face a long detour when you arrive in the village because we must use designated roads.
✅ All day parking here is £5 for cars, £6 for vans
❌Only SMALL vans (max. VW Transporter) are permitted on our event parking
✅ Race number to be collected on the day AT LEAST 45 minutes before your Start Time
✅Your race number must be attached HORIZONTALLY or the timing chip won’t be read
✅ Set off at your allocated time or you won't show on the Results
✅To swap your event yourself you can edit your entry online up to 6 days before the event or do it in person at Registration on event day.
✅You can swap your entry to the Race, Challenge 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). The deadline to defer or request a refund has passed.
✅ Carry your own water or bring your own cup for the water stations on course or by the marquee
✅ If you arrive at a closed gate, please close it behind you
✅ 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
❌No pushing past other runners
✅ Be considerate to other trail and road users - our events rely on the goodwill of others
✅ Have a wonderful day
All day Car Parking is available from 08:45 at Cartmel Racecourse for a charge of £5 for cars and £6 for vans. Alternatively, fill your car with 4 or more passengers and park for FREE. We prefer payment by card machine, although we can accept cash. Please use our Car Sharing Facebook group HERE to either offer or request a lift. Later in the day, we may change the parking location but the signage will change too!
In order to maintain good relationships with the local community and preserve the future of the event, it is essential that all runners take the prescribed route to avoid blocking the roads in the centre of the village. Please see the travel directions below, with links to Google Maps to take you to the correct junction and follow our Parking signs.
PLEASE FOLLOW OUR SIGNAGE AND STEWARDS. DON’T ATTEMPT TO FOLLOW SAT NAV TO THE RACECOURSE OR DRIVE THROUGH THE VILLAGE SQUARE – OUR STEWARDS WILL TURN YOU AROUND AND YOU RISK MISSING THE START.
We can only accommodate cars and camper vans up to the size of a VW Transporter. Please do not bring any vehicles larger than this onto the site.
Please note that the main village Pay and Display Car Park uses ANPR and if you drive through it either to access or leave our event parking, you will have to pay charges. Neither we, nor the Racecourse, are able to help if you receive a parking ticket as a result of driving through this car park so please follow our signage to avoid this.
There will be no overnight parking or camping available within the Racecourse grounds.
Where to turn off the A590 travelling from the South East (Lindale Roundabout)
Turn left at the top of the long uphill 200m after going under a bridge
Navigate to this junction in Google Maps: https://bit.ly/3moTzIQ
Map from: https://goo.gl/H2UzDC
Where to turn off the A590 travelling from the West (Newby Bridge)
Turn right 400m after the petrol station
Navigate to this junction in Google Maps: https://bit.ly/3miqiPU
Map from: https://goo.gl/WBX1NY
08.45 Car park opens at Cartmel Racecourse
09.00 Registration opens in the main registration marquee, Cartmel Racecourse
10.45 Cartmel Trail Run 10k Early Start
11.00 Cartmel Trail Run 10k START
11.15 Cartmel Sport Trail 5k START
12.30 Fun Trails with Zeraffa the Giraffe
13.00 Cartmel Trail Challenge 18k START
14.00 Cartmel Trail Race 18k START
15.30 Après Trails live music with singer / songwriter Pete Lashley
16.30 Prize giving & spot prize giving
With bus prices capped at just £2 per journey until the end of 2024, why not relax and take in the views along the route, save on the cost of parking and reduce your carbon footprint?
Cartmel is accessible from Kendal on the Stagecoach 530 and Blueworks 532 bus. 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
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? If your car has 4 or more occupants, parking is FREE! 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!
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 5 days before the event. We will also 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 to another runner. 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 Cartmel Racecourse. Please see the Event Timetable tab above for start times.
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. We have a selection of non event specific merchandise for sale in the marquee.
Results will be available in real-time via our website.
Unfortunately, the window for ordering an event specific Cartmel T-shirt has closed.
If you have already ordered one, please check your account HERE to check that it's correct.
There will be a range of other Lakeland Trails merch available on the day to purchase as a memento.
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 hard packed trails with the occasional muddy section!
Please stay alert on any road sections and keep close to the right hand side. Our marshals don’t have authority to stop traffic, so please be prepared to slow down and wait if necessary.
If you think the terrain is too tricky, it’s fine to slow down or walk and take in the views! Some gates on the course may not be staffed so if you arrive at a closed gate, please close it after you. There are sections of private land which may only be used on race day and please put any litter in your pocket until you reach a bin.
For safety, in ear headphones are not allowed - but we do allow bone conductor headphones which enable peripheral sound to be heard.
Please also be considerate to other trail and road users. We share access with them and we rely on the goodwill of others to make our events possible.
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 18k course (at approximately 9.5k and 14.6k) and one on the 10k course (at approximately 6.3k). Drinking water will also be available at the finish.
We recommend you wear suitable trail running shoes. The inov-8 Roclite or Trailfly shoe would be ideal for the course - possibly the Mudtalon if it was very wet. In adverse weather a jacket, tights, hat and gloves may be required, so do come prepared, just in case. The Lake District is a mountainous region and the weather can deteriorate at any time of the year but especially in the autumn.
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.
We use all small local businesses who sell locally sourced food. There will be some great food and drink stalls including exciting offerings from our local caterers. Our regular caterers include exotic Asian cuisine with Katvandhu or home made Italian pizza with Fierry Mammas. There will also be great coffees from The Coffee Bug and Podda & Wren. We also have hot desserts from Ellie at Oooh Crumbs!
We also have the ever popular Kev Kendal playing throughout the day and 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!
Pete Lashley will also be playing in his usual slot when the racing is done!
If it's your first event and you want to find out more about how the event works or have any questions, please introduce yourself to one of our friendly marshals and we will be happy to make sure you get the information you need!
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. Entry is only available on the day and is free for competitors’ children.
The Fun Trails give children the buzz of the race day experience so please give them your support. You never know – they might be the next world champions! All the children are rewarded with a special finishers’ medal.
As the emphasis is on FUN and participation, there are no winners’ prizes. Bring your whole family along to make a great day of it! At Cartmel the Fun Trail sets off at 12.30.
We will have a fantastic selection of NEW merchandise available, including NEW sustainable 100% organic cotton hoodies & tees as well as Lakeland Trails' technical tees and NEW mugs. Check out our SHOP page for further information.
Spectators are very welcome and really help create a fantastic atmosphere in the event village. There is plenty of entertainment at the start and finish arena; bring deck chairs, rugs, cameras and a smile!
We will have James Kirby, our professional photographer on the course. FREE photos will be available to download from www.Facebook.com/lakelandtrails on the Monday after the event.
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.
Results will appear LIVE on the Results page on our website.
Prizegiving is at 4.30pm and prizes are awarded as follows:
Trail Run 10k
Open Class: First 3 Men & First 3 Women
Veteran Classes: First Man & First Woman (V40, V50, V60, V70, V80)
Trail Race 18k (please note: runners in the 18k Challenge event are not eligible for a prize)
Open Class: First 3 Men & First 3 Women
Veteran Classes: First Man & First Woman (V40, V50, V60, V70, V80)
Please note that if a Vet finishes in the top 3, they will receive the corresponding Open Class prize. There is only one prize awarded per person.
V70 and V80 competitors in the 18k can compete in either the Race or Challenge to be eligible for a prize. In all other categories, prizes are only awarded for runners in the 'Race' start at 2pm.
Unfortunately we are unable to post prizes out.
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 £5. For the latter, please pay HERE after we've confirmed we've got your item.
