Stuart Mills. Photo: © Sportsunday.co.uk

One of the toughest ultrarunning races in the country was won by a 50-year-old, and the fastest woman knocked more than four hours off last year’s winning time.

The Montane Lakeland 100 follows a tough clockwise route taking in most of the Lake District in a course of about 105 miles (169km) with more than 6,000m (19,700ft) of ascent.

Race winner Stuart Mills returned to the Coniston start point in a time of 22hrs 17mins 50secs, beating second-placed Charlie Sharpe by 45 minutes, with Ed Batty third at 23hrs 7mins 40secs.

Montane-sponsored runner Mills said: “I thought I’d get in front and see how long I could stay there”.

“I ran one of my most satisfying races for quite a while, hitting the lead during leg two, and managed to hold on right to the end, going through some challenging moments along the 105-mile journey.”

Mills noted he was older than the combined ages of the second- and third-placed runners.

Terry Conway, who won the event in the previous two years but was suffering from a stomach bug, pulled out in the late stages.

The race was run in high humidity, with rain hitting the later stages on Saturday, giving the competitors a soaking on the fells.

Lizzie Wraith. Photo: © Sportsunday.co.uk

Lizzie Wraith set out off at a blistering pace and led the race from start to finish.

She crossed the finish line in a time of 24hrs 15mins 6secs, knocking more than 4½ hours off 2012’s winning women’s time.

Montane athlete Debbie Martin-Consani followed, finishing under the previous year’s time in 26hrs 2mins dead. In third was Julie Gardner in a time of 28hrs 16mins 47secs.

The race is heavily oversubscribed, with more than 1,000 athletes taking part in it and the shorter Montane Lakeland 50. This year’s places were filled within four days of entries opening.

The 50-mile event was won by Ben Abdelnoor in 7hrs 39mins 26secs after race leader pulled out at Ambleside with chest problems.

Richard Ashton came in second in a time of 8hrs 20mins 58secs and Robin Houghton was third in 8hrs 33mins 30secs.

The women’s 50-miler was won by Katherine Brougham in 9hrs 44mins 10secs, with Rachel Ball second almost an hour behind and Clare Mullenger third, crossing the line in 11hrs 25mins 31secs.