For a final time, Kinlochleven hosted the two-day series of skyrunning and trail races, with distances ranging from 5km to 80km. Ideal conditions on Saturday were followed by very challenging circumstances on Sunday, resulting in the two longer races on that day being curtailed. Despite this, there were always plenty of smiles in the mountains as participants explored the spectacular Highlands scenery. The event will now take a break in 2024, before returning to a new home elsewhere in Scotland in 2025.

 Gavin Dale heads for a win in the 2023 Salomon Skyline Scotland Ring of Steall race Photo: ©  No Limits Photography

Sunny weather dominated Saturday 16 September, which began with the longest race of the weekend, the Lochaber 80 Ultra, as a field of runners faced a long day on trails through the wild landscape of the area. Scotland’s Lachie Ives won the race in eight hours, six minutes and 48 seconds, with Italy’s Alessandro Sherpa Rizzetto Chini second in 8:56:14 and first woman Mary Butler (UK) was third overall (10:19:00). Third man was Italy’s Francesco Gori (10:19:00), and the second and third women were the UK’s Lucy Stanfield (11:16:29) and Laura Braunholtz (11:57:17). The shortest run of the weekend was also held on Saturday - the challenging 5km route of the Grey Mare’s Trail Race.

In addition, Saturday saw the first skyrunning race of the weekend – the 29km Salomon Ring of Steall Skyrace™, with over 450 runners taking on a very challenging route across the Mamores, including 2,500m of climbing and plenty of ridge scrambling along the way. UK runners claimed the top three places in both men’s and women’s races. They were led home by Gavin Dale (3:46:12), followed by Matthew Elkington (3:50:03) and Harry Holmes (3:50:21). In the women’s race, Sara Willhoit finished first – and eighth overall – in 4:19:09, with Chelsea Creak in second (4:56:26) and Emma Parry-Jones third (4:59:29).

 Sara Willhoit won the womens 2023 Salomon Skyline Scotland Ring of Steall race. Photo: ©  No Limits Photography

The weather changed overnight and Sunday was stormy and wet in the mountains around Kinlochleven. Organisers took the difficult, but sensible decision to bring the last ever edition of the iconic Glen Coe Skyline® to an early stop, but not before runners had tackled the infamous Curved Ridge. After a very tough day, the race was won by UK runner Philip Rutter in 4:38:07. Canada’s Scott Maguire was second (4:51:08) and the UK’s Alastair Graves was third (5:59:04). Scotland’s Naomi Lang was fifth overall and won the women’s race in 5:16:06, with Poland’s Kasia Osipowicz second (6:38:51) and the UK’s Katia Tastagh third (6:40:28).

The final skyrunning race of the weekend was the Ben Nevis Ultra™ and conditions meant that participants were sent on the designated bad weather course. New Zealand runner David Haunschmidt won the race in 5:57:35, followed by UK runners George Fisher (6:00:43) and Jonathan Pybus (6:15:53). UK runners claimed the top three places in the women’s race, with Alicia Schwarzenbach first in 7:32:20, Myvanwy Hanna second (8:00:21) and Sophie McKeeman third (8:01:17).

 David Haunschmidt on the right won the 2023 Salomon Skyline Scotland Ben Nevis Ultra Photo: ©  No Limits Photography

There were three more trail races during the Sunday, at 10km, 18km and 27km. The rain and wind added to the challenge, but hundreds completed the events, returning to an enthusiastic welcome from the crowds around the finishing line in Kinlochleven, where there was live music, numerous exhibitor stands and a wide range of refreshments available.

Race director Shane Ohly comments: “When I started this event in 2015 with just the Glen Coe Skyline, we had only 150 runners in total, and I could never have imagined that the event would grow to the scale of recent years when we have attracted thousands of participants from over 50 countries to a weekend of trail and mountain running.

“The event has been hugely successful and has generated significant economic impact for the wider Lochaber region, measured in millions of pounds over the lifetime of the event. We are fortunate to have had some support from Event Scotland to help us realise these wider benefits, and of course from the local community who have been largely very supportive of the event. I would like to express my personal and sincere thanks to the residents, landowners, businesses, community groups and organisations that have warmly welcomed us over many years.

“To an extent, Skyline Scotland is a victim of its own success, having arguably maxed out the capacity of a small community like Kinlochleven to host the event. That said, we organise many events across the UK, liaising with different stakeholders and communities, so we have a sense of what normal consultations look like. Securing the necessary permissions for Skyline Scotland has become increasingly problematic over the years and this has played into our decision to move.

“We have a clear vision of the potential for Skyline Scotland to be a truly world-class event, and to make this happen, making the difficult decision to relocate from Kinlochleven is necessary. We have already undertaken a lot of feasibility planning, assessing several potential venues across Scotland that are vying to host the event. While these arrangements are being finalised, and to give us sufficient time to consult and re-organise the event, we have decided not to organise a 2024 edition - a fallow year if you like.”

The mystery around the new location for Skyline Scotland® was certainly the main item of discussion over the weekend. Details will be revealed in due course.

For more news from Salomon Skyline Scotland® 2023 and to find the full results from the races, visit www.skylinescotland.com and follow @skylinescotland on social media for future updates.