Mamores VK The Mamores VK is a
vertical kilometre race in which runners compete on an uphill course with around 1,000 metres of ascent over a distance of approximately . The route begins near sea level in Kinlochleven and ends at the top of
Na Gruagaichean. In the inaugural VK race, the runners started at thirty second intervals. The event was won by
Alexis Sévennec of France, his time of 42:17 being eight seconds quicker than that of runner-up
Stian Angermund-Vik of Norway. The first woman was Georgia Tindley of Great Britain in a time of 54:34. Angermund-Vik improved on his 2016 result the following year, winning the 2017 edition in a time of 42:04. He was followed by Sam Tosh in second place and Alexis Sévennec in third. The fastest woman was
Laura Orgué who finished in a time of 52:22. Second and third places were taken by Beth Hanson and
Emelie Forsberg respectively. The 2018 edition was held in cold and wet weather.
Rémi Bonnet set a new course record of 39:23, winning by over two minutes. The second and third positions were taken by Norwegians Thorbjørn Ludvigsen and
Stian Angermund-Vik. A new course record was also set in the women's race, with
Laura Orgué victorious in a time of 51:35, followed by Lina El Kott Helander in second and Hillary Gerardi in third. Conditions were warm and sunny for the 2019 race. The winners were both competing in a vertical kilometre for the first time. Zak Hanna was the first man in a time of 44:43, followed by Andrew Barrington and Tom Owens. The woman's race was won by
Victoria Wilkinson in 52:49, with Aoife Quigly and Claire Gordon taking second and third positions.
Results Ben Nevis Ultra The Ben Nevis Ultra is to be distinguished from the annual
Ben Nevis Race. In 2017, the Ultra ran from the southern shore of
Loch Ness, through
glens and over the summit of
Ben Nevis before finishing in
Kinlochleven. The distance was around and the route had roughly of ascent. It was won by Donald Campbell in 12:20. The ladies' race was won by
Mira Rai in 14:24. In 2018, the planned route was in length with of ascent but bad weather conditions meant that the alternative route avoiding some of the higher ground and technical sections was used instead, giving a distance of with of climbing.
Jonathan Albon and
Ragna Debats took the wins with clear margins of victory, their times being 3:48:02 and 4:36:20 respectively. Good weather in 2019 allowed the 52 km course to be used, with runners traversing the
Càrn Mòr Dearg Arête to Ben Nevis before joining the Ring of Steall route later in the race. Murray Strain was the first to finish in a time of 7:51:31. The women's winner was Katie Kaars Sijpesteijn whose time of 8:05:28 gave her third position overall in the race.
Results Ring of Steall Skyrace The Ring of Steall
Skyrace course is based on the Ring of Steall ridge-walking route in the
Mamores. The race starts and finishes in Kinlochleven and visits checkpoints including
Sgùrr a' Mhàim,
Steall Waterfall,
An Gearanach,
Stob Coire a' Chàirn and
Am Bodach. The distance is approximately and the route has around of ascent. Much of the ground is very rough. A landslide in the area a few days before the 2016 race meant that a section of the course had to be rerouted. The leading competitors in the previous day's VK race were also prominent in the 2016 Ring of Steall. The Skyrace was won by
Stian Angermund-Vik in 3:25:28, followed by Alexis Sévennec in second place around four minutes behind. The first lady to finish was Georgia Tindley in a time of 4:39:20. The 2017 race was also won Angermund-Vik, his time being 3:24. The next two places were taken by Pascal Egli and
Kris Jones. Laura Orgué won the ladies' race in 4:05, closely followed by
Sheila Avilés, with Oihana Azkorbebeitia in third. New course records for both men and women were set in 2018.
Kilian Jornet won in a time of 3:04:34 after a close race with runner-up Nadir Maguet.
Stian Angermund-Vik took third place. Among the women,
Tove Alexandersson led for the majority of the race, taking the victory in 3:46:28.
Victoria Wilkinson finished in second place, with Holly Page taking the bronze medal. Nadir Maguet moved up to the top position in 2019, his winning time being 3:14:47. He was followed by
Marc Lauenstein and
Max King in 3:19 and 3:20 respectively. In the women's race,
Judith Wyder set a new course record by nearly ten minutes with a time of 3:36:46. The next two positions were taken by Holly Page in 3:54 and Fanny Borgström in 4:02.
Results Glen Coe Skyline The Glen Coe Skyline route takes in the technical Curved Ridge on
Buachaille Etive Mòr, then heads west over
Stob Coire Sgreamhach before an out-and-back section to Stob Coire nan Lochan. It then drops down to the valley near
Loch Achtriochtan before climbing steeply up to the
Aonach Eagach, a rocky ridge which is traversed from west to east before the route joins the
West Highland Way to the finish. In 2015, the Skyline started and finished at Glencoe Mountain Resort but for the following year, the start and finish was moved to Kinlochleven and the runners reached Curved Ridge via the West Highland Way and a descent of the
Devil's Staircase. The race is around in length with of ascent. The 2015 race was won by Joe Symonds in 7:36:21, with the first woman
Emelie Forsberg finishing second overall in 7:44:19. In 2016, four runners featured prominently at the front of the race for much of the way: Tom Owens,
Jonathan Albon,
Marc Lauenstein and
Finlay Wild. Albon and Owens lost a few minutes in low cloud locating the checkpoint on
Stob Coire Sgreamhach but were still leading together with Lauenstein at the start of the long climb up to the Aonach Eagach. By the top of the climb, Albon had pulled ahead and he held the lead on the crossing of the exposed ridge and the descent to the finish, winning in a time of 6:33:52. Owens finished second around three minutes later.
Jasmin Paris won the women's race in a time of 8:15:56. The 2017 edition was won by
Kilian Jornet in a course record of 6:25:39, with Jonathan Albon second in 6:31 and Alexis Sévennec third in 6:40. The first woman was Emelie Forsberg in 7:53:30.
Megan Kimmel was second in 8:14, with
Ragna Debats third in 8:22. Windy and wet conditions for the 2018 event resulted in a bad weather course being used. This was in length with around of ascent.
Kilian Jornet was the men's winner in 3:37, after having won the Ring of Steall race the previous day. There was a close finish in the women's Glen Coe Skyline, with Hillary Gerardi winning in 4:17:48, seven seconds ahead of
Jasmin Paris. The men's race was close in the 2019 edition, with Erik Johannes Husom taking the victory in 7:55, followed by Andy Berry in 7:58 and Greg Vollet in 8:03. Georgia Tindley was a clear winner in the women's race in 8:29. Second and third places were taken by Ann Penelope Spencer in 9:10 and Megan Wilson in 9:20.
Results ==References==