Records topple at 2025 Scafell Sky Race!
There was wind and there was rain but there was no shortage of drama at the first Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series event, in Great Langdale this weekend! Read on to learn more about how the racing unfolded in the classic Scafell Sky Race (this year’s Skyrunning UK National Championships race) and brand-new Scafell Sky Ultra in our in-depth race report.
2025 Skyrunning UK National Champions both set new course records at Scafell Sky Race! ©Stephen Ashworth
A Record-Breaking Scafell Sky Race
The ever-popular Scafell Sky Race boasted an impressive depth of field on Saturday, with elite runners drawn by the appeal of a World Mountain Running Championship GB team selection and the chance to become Skyrunning UK National Champion. After a wet start in the valley, runners began the stiff climb up Harrison Stickle to CP1, only to find low visibility, greasy rock and blustery winds were the order of the day across the tops. Conditions remained tough throughout the course, leading to nav errors and bloodied knees across the field, as competitors battled both the weather and the notoriously technical course. But the tricky racing conditions couldn’t dampen the fierce competition, and the top five finishers in both the men’s and women’s races went under the previous course records of Tom Evans and Georgia Tindley from 2022!
Low visibility and slippery conditions didn’t stop course records tumbling this weekend ©Tanya Raab
Glasgow-based athlete Naomi Lang led the women’s race from the off, pushing hard but racing blind, largely unaware of who was around her. At CP3, she was just 3 minutes ahead of Emily Cowper-Coles but by the finish, she had unknowingly increased her lead and had a full 25 minutes on the second lady, finishing in 4:51:56 (new CR). Lang is now expected to qualify for the World Mountain Running Championships (short distance) in September but she is also focused on racing the Marathon du Mont Blanc next month. Lang was crowned Skyrunning UK National Champion, alongside the first male finisher (see below) and will now also receive an automatic Skyrunner World Series SkyMasters qualification for Marato dels Dements in Spain, this November.
Salomon athlete Naomi Lang takes first female in the Scafell Sky Race ©Joel Jameson
The race for second female took a dramatic turn (quite literally), when Emily Cowper-Coles, who had been racing flawlessly without a GPS watch, accidentally turned onto the ultra course towards the finish and lost her lead on Sara Willhoit — who came through to take second place in 5:16:26. Remarkably, Coles was able to regain her composure and fight back for a podium finish in 5:28:01, ahead of last year’s Skyrunning UK National Champion, Victoria Thomson (4th place in 5:36:09).
Sara Willhoit gains a position in the final stage of Scafell Sky Race to finish 2nd Female ©Tanya Raab
Rab/Scarpa athlete Willhoit described the race as ‘absolutely incredible’. “The weather was quite warm, but wet and windy. But even so, it’s just an incredible route” she says. Willhoit enjoyed mixing up the technical terrain with some fast running sections, and was unsure of her position or what had happened ahead of her until crossing the line in second place.
First V40-44 was Cat Wain-Hobson in 6:47:09 and first V45-49 was Charlotte Morgan in 5:48:10 (7th F overall). Anna Szafranska took the female V50-54 title in 7:50:31.
Joseph Wright visiting from Scotland claimed 2nd Male in a dramatic finish ©Joel Jameson
The men’s race was close and also not short on drama on Saturday, being decided in the last road section before the finish. Aberdeen-based runner Jospeh Wright, aged just 24 years, had a fantastic first SkyRace, tussling with the leaders throughout. Wright even took the lead on the final descent into Langdale, passing hotly-tipped Sheffield athlete Bertie Houghton on The Band. But Houghton pulled out a strong finish on the flat, reeling Wright back in and claiming the UK National Champion’s vest with a new course record of 4:25:30.
Houghton played to his strengths over the ‘more runnable bits and the uphills’ on Saturday. “On the first downhill I was miles behind” says Houghton “but that changed later in the race, as other runners began to tire. After Scafell I managed to open up a gap but by the descent off Bowfell, I was just trying not to get caught - it was really close racing!”
Men’s podium (L to R) Grant Cunliff 3rd, Bertie Houghton 1st, Joseph Wright 2nd
Third place finisher Grant Cunliffe had led the field early on but was finding things pretty slippery at the sharp end. He pushed the pace throughout and overcame cramp towards the finish to claim the coveted third spot on the men’s podium in 4:27:05. Narrowly missing that podium was Jack Scott in 4th place, also finishing under the previous CR in 4:29:46. Scott was pleased that his body ‘held up really well’ and enjoyed racing back in the fells after a disappointing race at Cocodona 250 in Arizona recently. Scott will now be focusing on the longer 14 Peaks Ultra on June 21st.
Sam Mayglothling took first men’s V40-44 (in 5:23:39), while Andrew Lamont was first in the men’s V45-49 age cat (in 5:37:44). David Bradley-Jones was the first M50-54 finisher (in 7:44:40) and Darren Jones claimed first M55+ in a not insubstantial field of nine M55+ runners, crossing the line in 6:3337.
Full provisional results can now be found online HERE, with Series ranking charts to be added to the website imminently.
With such a deep and competitive field this weekend, and with only two international vests available (for the WMRA Short Distance), all eyes will now turn to the 14 Peaks Ultra® at SkyRun Eryri on 21st June. This year the 14 Peaks Ultra is the second SkyUltra® Series race of the Skyrunner UK & Ireland Series, as well as the Long Trials Race for the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships in Canfranc-Pirineos, Spain on 25-28 September.
An unrelenting rollercoaster run around the Lake District’s central fells ©Tanya Raab
Inaugural Scafell Sky Ultra
Drama was not confined to the Scafell Sky Race this weekend, as the men’s Scafell Sky Ultra race was won in a companionable joint finish!
The two first-place finishers were Rogan Martin and Spencer Shaw, crossing the line together and establishing a men’s course record of 8:45:27. On this finish line, an exhilarated and bloodied Martin said “I just loved it! I recced it a few weeks ago in the sunshine but enjoyed it much more on race day!”
Spencer Shaw navigates the clag at the inaugural Scafell Sky Ultra ©Joel Jameson
Martin had led for most of the race but in a dramatic finish, Shaw made a play for the win in the final descent into Langdale. The pair started to battle it out, slipping and sliding in the mud as they strenuously jostled for position. But on hitting the valley trails, the pair decided to run it in together and save themselves for their next race – which is the 14 Peaks Ultra for both athletes (the second race in the SkyUltra® sub-series). Martin was also first in the M40-44 age category.
Rogan Martin leading Shaw along one of the many technical traverses of the Sky Ultra ©Joel Jameson
“It’s a great course and a great race” says Shaw. “I’ve done a bit of it before, as I did the Scafell Sky Race a couple of years back. It took me a while to find my confidence on the descents, after tweaking my ankle in the UTS 50K a couple of weeks ago. I’m hoping to do the full SkyUltra Series and I’m looking forward to the 14 Peaks Ultra next” says Shaw.
Experienced skyrunner Richard Bannister, who loves all things steep and technical, crossed the line in third place (and first M45-49) in a very respectable 10:08:37. Bannister is targeting the Overall Series and described the course as brutal! “It was absolutely relentless, up and down, and up and down, all the way — but it was a great day out!” he says.
First M50-54 home was Stephen Winter in 12:34:34 (11th overall).
Female ultra winner and Rab athlete Steph Knapman crossed the line with a 3hr lead ©Tanya Raab
In the women’s race, Steph Knapman followed her plan meticulously in the first half of the race, building a huge lead over the rest of the female field but began to struggle more towards the end.
“It’s a brutal course in a stunning landscape!” she says. “I found that last climb really, really hard but I managed to hold onto the lead and bring it back though the valley. My legs felt really good”.
Knapman crossed the finish a remarkable 3 hours ahead of the next female competitor and has set a first female Course Record of 11:26:49 (coming in 8th overall). Looking ahead, the Rab athlete will focus on preparing for the CCC® in Courmayeur, Italy later this year.
Second place in the women’s race was Amy Robinson in 14:26:36 and third was Zane Agapova in 14:47:37. There were no age category finishers in the women’s race this year but a massive congratulations to all finishers of this tough new course, who pushed on despite challenging conditions in the Cumbrian fells!
Full provisional results can now be found online HERE, with Series ranking charts to be added to this website imminently.
The National Series visits Eryri, North Wales later this month: see you there?
All eyes now turn to the next stage of the Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series on 21st June at SkyRun Eryri® (Snowdonia/Eryri, North Wales), where three Series races will be taking place:
The 14 Peaks Ultra: 52km & 3,900m+ and the second race of the SkyUltra® Series; route info HERE.
The iconic Snowdon SkyRace®: 38km & 3,300m+ taking in Tryfan North Ridge & Crib Goch More info HERE.
The Copper SkyTrail: 27km & 2,300m+ and the first race of the U23 Series. The perfect entry-level SkyRace taking in a range of technical trails around Snowdon and Yr Aran.
The wild mountains of Eryri in North Wales await the Series later this month!
Entries to all races close at midnight on Friday 13th June, so if you want to join and be part of the next stop of the Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series: Enter HERE today!
In the meantime, be sure to follow Skyrunning UK on Facebook HERE, Instagram HERE, or why not join the Facebook Group HERE or the Strava Club HERE.
