SWINDON ultra distance star Nathan Montague heads into the hills this weekend for one of the most challenging events on the calendar.

At 6pm this evening, in Coniston Water, Montague will set off with several hundred others to tackle the Lakeland 100 miles event.

Equipped with a head torch and all-weather kit, the Swindon Harrier from Parks will run through the night, reaching all 14 checkpoints to cross the finish line back in Coniston Water on Saturday evening.

“I have run the second 50 miles of the race in the past so I know that part of the course but I have not had chance to recce the first 50 miles, so that is a bit of a concern,” said Montague.

“The course includes 8,000-10,000 metres of climbing, goes over all sorts of rocky and stony trails and it is vital you keep your concentration at all times.

“This is definitely one of Britain’s premier ultra events and is probably our equivalent of the UTMB (Ultra Trail du Mon-Blanc, Chamonix, one of the world’s biggest ultra races which attracts thousands of runners).

“It sells out within hours of entries going live and has attracted our best runners.”

While Montague never treats an ultra race anything less than seriously, he says the Lakeland 100 is not a priority for him in his summer/autumn schedule.

“This is not one of my ‘A’ races,” he added.

“The big goal for me this autumn is the Ultra Gobi Desert 250 miles race in China in late September. That has attracted a small but amazing field of elite runners from around the world and everything I am doing now is geared towards that event.”