Lakeland 100 record holder Beth Pascall will be an interested observer when this year’s race gets underway on Friday.
Pascal set the women’s record in 2016 as she finished in 21:29:36 – a time which has not been threatened to date, though Emma Stuart battled through sickness to run 23:05:54 last year.
Two-time Lakeland 100 winner Sabrina Verjee will start as one of the pre-race favourites this year and has been rumoured to be targeting the record.
Capable of more
Pascall may or may not see her time eclipsed this year, but either way, she is under no illusions that she was capable of going quicker.
‘’I won the Lakeland 100 early on in my trail-running career. If I had run it when I was at my peak I know I would have been quicker,’’ she said.
There is no doubt Pascall’s career went from strength-to-strength after that Lakeland 100 victory, culminating in her win at Western States in 2021.
On the way to that win she set, and still holds, the Bob Graham Round record of 14 hours and 34 minutes, shaving 50 minutes off the previous best.
Pascall has been battling a long-term injury that has curtailed her running career for the time being and so she has focused on bike riding and some racing.
It should be no real surprise that she has excelled on the bike as well, setting the women’s record for the Lakeland 200 – a self-supported mountain bike time trial covering 124 miles with 21,000ft of ascent – in June of this year, completing the route in 21 hours and four minutes.
Weather challenge
Pascall is acutely aware that there are a number of factors that will influence any attempt on her Lakeland 100 record this year, particularly the weather, which has been notably wet this summer.
‘’The second half of the course is the most runnable so if you can get to Dalemain with a lot of running left in your legs you have a chance,” she commented.
“The main challenge is to not overcook yourself in the first half on the longer climbs.
‘’The other thing that has the potential to impact on whether records will be broken or not is the weather, given the July we have had it will be pretty wet under foot.”
Smith tipped
Although there are high expectations for Verjee, Pascal has tipped Lisa Watson, the 2022 Northern Traverse winner, as somebody else who is capable of both winning and challenging her Lakeland 100 record.
But it’s the men’s race that Pascall has predicted to be an intriguing affair, with Andy Berry having broken Kim Collison’s 24-hour Lakeland Fell record earlier this year.
“With Andy Berry, Kim Collison and Ryan Smith all running, this could be a really interesting race – my money would be on Ryan Smith,” she added.
Smith was among the top-25 at Black Canyon Ultras in February and has also achieved a third-place at the Hardrock 100 in 2021, and a top-20 finish at Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) in 2016.
