Ian's London Marathon and Lakeland 50 at 50

In 2026, I am taking on the double and very different challenges of the 26.2 mile London Marathon on roads in April and my 50 mile Lakeland 50 at 50 years old on hilly trails in July.

This is to raise money for the extremely worthy Wigan Rotary Charity Fund, which supports multiple charities especially those based in our local area. The charity states that 'Rotary Club of Wigan is part of the everyday life of Wigan and is a catalyst for a number of landmark community developments in health, education and culture. It provides support for local charities and financial assistance to charities involved in vital humanitarian work in needy parts of the world. As part of the worldwide Rotary movement, our work is mirrored by Rotary clubs across the country.'

I have had the good fortune to win a London Marathon place in the Billinge Running Club raffle and am doing this event for the first time and it is one that I thought I would never get the opportunity to do. This means adapting to running on flat roads which is something that I do not do a lot of these days.

I am also returning to the Lakeland 50 this year for the second time and at 50 years of age too after previously doing this challenging event in 2023. The route is a very tough endeavour for myself and 50 miles is the furthest distance that I have ever run, with over 10,000 ft of climb and much of the route on rocky or muddy terrain

Weather and course conditions can still be very varied at this event in July and previous years have seen both hot weather and thunderstorms. However, I have a full 24 hours to get around and will be well fuelled with the amazing feed stations en route. I will be starting early on the Saturday with around 2000 others and almost certainly completing the event overnight in the dark by headtorch.

I will be training hard for both events in 2026 by doing other events including That's Lyth LDWA, Pendle Way in a Day 30 miler, the Haworth Hobble Ultra, the Heptonstall Fell Race, Spring in Lakeland LDWA and a 28 mile recce of the Lakeland 50 route in June.