2026 Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series heating up at SkyRun Eryri!
The 2026 Skyrunner® UK and Ireland series will return this Saturday 15th August, for another round of fast and technical racing at SkyRun Eryri in the Welsh mountains.
The Apex Running event was established in 2019 as the then Snowdon Skyline & VK, which took in Tryfan North Ridge and Crib Goch scrambles, and has gained a reputation as one of the most technically challenging mountain race in the UK. The event now features three skyrunning options to suit a range of palates:
14 Peaks Ultra: 55km with 3,900m+ (third race of the SkyUltra® Series)
Snowdon SkyRace: 38km with 3,300m+
Copper SkyTrail: 27km with 2,300m+ (second race of the U23 Series)
Not included in the Skyrunner National Series, the event also offers the less technical Fairy Trail, which might appeal to friends and family travelling with runners contesting the more arduous races.
The weather forecast for the day looks perfect for summer racing, with some cloud cover and highs of a moderate 17 degrees Celsius. With close to 500 entrants from 31 nationalities across the four races, it’s sure to be an action-packed day in the mountains! Live GPS tracking links are available HERE and regular updates throughout the day will be shared on the Skyrunning UK Facebook Page HERE and Instagram account HERE.
Routes that traverse iconic and technical Welsh terrain await this weekend! © Tanya Raab
14 Peaks Ultra®
The 14 Peaks Ultra sets off first, at 7am on Saturday 15th August, from Abergwyngregyn on the North Wales coast. Travelling North to South, it tops out on all 14 official Welsh peaks over 3,000 feet. Racers if they are lucky might be treated to an encounter with the wild Carneddau ponies as they cross the Carneddau range, before taking on the Grade 1 scrambles of Tryfan North Ridge and Crib Goch. Not one for the faint hearted, but those who are up to the task will be rewarded with a spectacular journey through some of the most rugged corners of Eryri. Discover the route in full on the event website HERE.
The route of the epic 14 Peaks Ultra, third race of the SkyUltra® Series.
In the men’s race, Canadian Jeremy Swainson looks like hot favourite. Coming off a win in the Scafell Sky Ultra, he’ll hopefully be contesting for a series win in the SkyUltra® Series. He also took second in last year’s Snowdon SkyRace and has been in the top ten at the Scafell Sky Race on two occasions.
Jeremy Swainson navigates a technical section of this year’s Scafell Sky Ultra route © Lake District Sky Trails
Jordan Eastwood is for sure one to also watch. He’s placed fourth, seventh and sixth respectively in the 2026, 2025 and 2024 UTS 50K; and was also fourth in the Scafell Pike 42K back in 2023. This season, he’s also been sharpening up with short fell races, and was fifth at the four-mile Whernside Fell Race in Yorkshire last month.
Local runner Ellis Davies finished sixth in the Snowdon SkyRace back in 2023, but he’s rarely been off the podium in any of his finishes since that. Back in May he won the Maverick Cotswolds Trail 50km, and last year he took the win at the Rasus y Bannau Marathon.
Look out also for Czech runner Pat Michalek, who took third at this year’s Manchester to Liverpool Ultra, and American Robert Perry, who was fourth in the 2025 Race to the Stones 100K.
There’s stiff competition in the women’s race, headlined by Scotland’s Myvanwy Hanna, who recently won the arduous UTS 100M, and took sixth in last year’s Nice Côte d’Azur by UTMB. She was fifth in the Ben Nevis Ultra back in 2017 and more recently has enjoyed a couple of top ten finishes at Transgrancanaria.
Myvanwy Hanna climbing out of Ogwen Valley during this year’s UTS 100M © Evan Davies
England’s Caroline Leigh has some strong results at ultras too, having won the 2024 Grand Tour of Skiddaw 75k, where she took third overall. This year, she was fifth at the Serpent Trail 100K. She also competes at fell running, which should give her the sharpness for this shorter, steeper ultra.
England’s Michelle Attridge was 10th in the 2024 Snowdon SkyRace and has showed improving form since that. Last year, she was a strong second at the Five Trails Ultra. So far this year, she’s taken third at the Sardinia Trail 100K in Italy and fourth at the Ultra Wales 50 Mile.
Local runner Anwen Darlington is maybe the top returning runner in the women’s race, having taken fourth in this race back in 2024. She also took fifth in the Skyrunner® UK and Ireland Series overall last year, where her best result was fourth in the Mourne SkyUltra. She’ll be looking to get her season back on track after a disappointing DNF at last month’s Helvellyn Sky Ultra.
Anwen Darlington running injured during the 2024 14 Peaks Ultra © Tanya Raab
Look out too for Ireland’s Ruth Candon, a top adventure racer who has dipped her toe in skyrunning also. Live GPS tracking and results for this race can be found online HERE.
Snowdon SkyRace®
The original and still the marquee race, the 38km Snowdon SkyRace sets off at 8am from race HQ. A figure-of-eight route, on the first loop it takes in a climb over Y Lliwedd ridge, descends to Llyn Llydaw, passes Pen-y-Pass, climbs up to the Glyderau, before descending via Y Gribin ridge to the Ogwen Valley. But that’s just the warm-up! The second loop requires nerves of steel, with a scramble up Tryfan North Ridge and a traverse of the iconic Crib Goch ridge, before descending via the Snowdon Ranger Path to the finish. Discover the route in full on our Strava account HERE.
You must have a head for heights to take on Crib Goch at this event! © Tanya Raab
In the women’s race, defending champion Wales’s Cat Wain-Hobson is back for another bite of the cherry. Last year she tied for third in the Skyrunner® UK and Ireland Series overall, and also broke the top 20 at the Masters Skyrunning World Championships. More recently, she finished a close second in last month’s Pinnacle Ridge Extreme.
Cat Wain-Hobson in action at last month’s Pinnacle Ridge Extreme © Evan Davies
La Sportiva runner Sanne Vinks has some fast results at home in the Netherlands, including a recent second-place finish at the Drielandenpunt Trail, and was also third in a big field at the Ohm Trail 25k in Belgium in June. She’s raced well in Wales before and was second and fourth respectively in the 2023 and 2024 XTERRA Snowdonia Trail Marathon.
England’s Steph Knapman was sixth in the Scafell Sky Race in June, up from eighth in 2024, and won last year’s Scafell Sky Ultra. She also took second in last year’s 25k Maxi Race Madeira and should be well in the mix. Look out also for England’s Chloe Lumsdon, who was third in last year’s Ben Nevis Skyline, and Alexandra Wade, who won the Skipton Skedaddle 20 Mile Trail Race back in May.
In the men’s race, returning champion and course record holder, England’s Ed Brewer, is the one to beat. The was second in the overall series last year, and is on track to better that this year, having already won the Scafell Sky Race in June. He also took second in the multi-day Dragon’s Back Race last September.
Ed Brewer negotiates Pinnacle Ridge at the Extreme race last month © Evan Davies
Youngster Sam Bentham of England has the speed to challenge Brewer, but it remains to be seen if he’ll have the endurance. He won the Eryri 25K at UTS this year and was fourth in the Arc 12 Mile at the Arc of Attrition by UTMB. As a junior fell runner, he won the Under 20 Junior Home International for England in the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland, and was on the 2025 Youth Skyrunning World Champs UK team. Definitely one to watch, both this weekend and into the future!
England’s Sam Mayglothling was second here in 2024 and will be looking to improve on that result. Also in 2024, he won the Beacons Way 100K, and he’s been just out of the top ten at both the UTS 100K and Arc 50 miler earlier this year.
Malaysia’s Chin Yong has good recent form, with a win at the Ripon Stinger 35 mile Ultramarathon in April of this year, and the UK’s George Hedley should be in the mix too.
Copper SkyTrail
Setting off at 10am, the Copper SkyTrail covers 27km with 2,300m of climbing on a fast, runnable course. A true runner’s race, it is the second race in the Under 23 series, and works well as an introduction to what skyrunning is all about. Discover the route in full on our Strava account HERE.
The sheer north face of Y Lliwedd as seen from Crib Goch © Tanya Raab
England’s Jack Oates tops the billing in the men’s race, having won the South Downs Way 25K just last month and the Springtide 50K in March. Further afield this year, he also took seventh in a big international field at the Tarawera 50K in New Zealand.
Jack Oates winning the Ben Nevis Ultra in 2023.
He’ll be challenged by Ireland’s Enda Cloake, who has bags of wins at home, including the 2025 Granite Peaks 50K in Northern Ireland, and the 2025 Maurice Mullins Ultra in Wicklow. He also took sixth at the Arc of Attrition 50K earlier this year and placed third in the 22K at Kullamannen by UTMB last year.
A strong contestant in the under 23 category is Welsh runner Thomas Black, who won the Fairy Trail race at this event last year. Look out also for Poland’s Andrzej Kowalczyk, who hasn’t raced much internationally, but has some very strong results at home; and South African James Miller, who won the 2025 Maverick X Series North Downs Marathon.
Tomas Black en route to victory at last year’s Fairy Trail race at this event © Evan Davies
In the women’s race, Tinka Vinks of the Netherlands originally, but now based locally, looks like the one to beat. She’s raced well in Eryri on numerous occasions, including second in the 2024 14 Peaks Ultra. She also took third in the 2024 XTERRA Snowdonia Trail Marathon and sixth in last year’s UTS 50K. Live GPS tracking and results for this race can be found online HERE.
Tinka Vinks climbing Tryfan during the 2024 14 Peaks Ultra © Evan Davies
Vinks’ challengers will include Spaniard Cristina Trujillo, who has plenty of fast results at home, and Welsh local Hannah Russell, who was fourth in last year’s Three Peaks Race. Russell also took fourth in the iconic Marathon du Mont Blanc VK back in 2022.
Look out also for Irish international skyrunner Niamh Fitzpatrick, and Switzerland’s Lindy Etzensperger, who makes her Welsh racing debut. Live results will be updated HERE on Saturday.
The 2026 Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series: which races are you doing this year?
Best of luck to all participants across each of these iconic races and stay tuned for our race reports arriving on Monday. If you’re racing on Saturday, we look forward to seeing you in Eryri!
