Running Races in Cumbria

Cumbria has one of the broader calendars Verus covers: 20 races spanning 5 distances, from 16 ultra marathons, 1 half marathon, 1 10K, 1 marathon and 1 5K. A county with that range is one you can train a whole year in without leaving.

The calendar is concentrated rather than continuous: 7 months of the year have something on, and April is the busiest. Worth knowing if you are planning a build — the racing here comes in clusters, so a goal race and a tune-up are not always the sensible distance apart.

Terrain varies more than a single figure for Cumbria suggests. Of the 6 races here that publish an elevation figure, NAV4 Tour de Helvellyn is the flattest at 6,562ft of climb and Northern Traverse the hilliest at 21,325ft — a difference large enough to change what a target time means.

Alongside the races, Cumbria has 17 parkruns — free, weekly, and the way a lot of people here got started.

Every race links through to its own page with entry details, the course, elevation where the organiser publishes it, and a pace calculator. Spotted a race in Cumbria that's missing? Suggest it and we'll research and add it.