The running concierge… City-based runners who want a taste of Lakeland trails and fells can now turn to the Running Concierge.
This is a new service set up by Cumbria-based UK Athletics Coach Wayne Singleton, offering busy people with demanding jobs the chance to have a running weekend in the Lakes organised entirely for them.
“We know there are runners who long to experience the trails and fells here, but don’t have the time to plan, and don’t know where to start,” says Wayne. “More and more runners want to do ultras and off-road marathons, but if their training is mostly on flat city streets, it’s a disadvantage.
“Then there are runners who just want to get away from it all for a few days. We have miles of truly open space, wild hillsides, wonderful trail routes.”
The Running Concierge arranges everything, meeting the train from London Euston or elsewhere to Oxenholme, taking guests to a hotel booked for them, and taking them on guided runs in the South Lakes area. There are also bespoke weekends which include a parkrun at Fell Foot, Keswick or Whinlatter
The running concierge concept exists elsewhere but on a smaller scale. Hotels in Chicago and Moscow, for example, offer running tours of the city for their guests.
Wayne says: “We’ve taken that idea and developed it into an entire weekend break with trail or fell-running at its heart. We can take runners of all abilities and levels of fitness, and we can tailor route choices and distances to suit our visitors.”
Hotels range from the Burn How at Bowness to b&bs in the Windermere and Ambleside areas. “Our visitors will be in the heart of the Lakes and because we are local experts, not a moment of their weekend will be wasted,” says Wayne.
Mathew and Tayler Carver spent three days on their first-ever visit to the Lakes organised by The Running Concierge. The couple, who run a chain of cheese restaurants in London, stayed in Windermere and were taken on guided trail and fell runs, fell walks, and a swim in the lake with Wayne.
“It was really relaxing to have everything taken care of,” said Mathew. “If you are time-pressured as we are, it’s difficult to make plans about where to go and where to stay.”
Tayler said: “We could have come here on our own but not known where to go and wasted time on such a short visit. It was good to have expert advice and local knowledge, so we’ve learned much more about the Lake District.”
For more details: https://www.runningconcierge.co.uk/