2024 Scafell Sky Race Report
Yesterday, a sun-kissed Langdale valley in the English Lake District welcomed 143 runners (116 M & 27 F) to the start line for the 7th edition of the Rab Scafell Sky Race (race preview HERE), signifying the start of this year’s radically revised Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series, at a superb new host venue in the gardens of the New Dungeon Ghyll hotel.
For the third year in a row, the event was characterised by warm temperatures, making for testing conditions for this year’s Skyrunners. Read on to find out how the races unfolded on the day.
This year’s cohort of Scafell Sky Racers eagerly await the start © Callum Robinson
A competitive day of running unfolded at the sharp end of the women’s race, with the top 3 all finishing within the top 20 overall. Eventual winner Leah Williams assumed first place early on in the race, before opening a small margin on second place Natalie Beadle that remained relatively unchanged throughout the race.
Female champion Leah Williams during the first climb. © Tanya Raab
For much of the second half of the race, only a couple of minutes separated them. Racing for first place, Leah extended her lead on the last unrelenting descent of the day off Bow Fell, securing victory in a superb 06:09:49 for 12th overall, with an eventual margin of 25:58 over Natalie.
Leah in full racing flight. Note the taped together shoes! © Tanya Raab
At the finish, Leah confessed to her strength in descending despite this being one of the most technical races she’s run to date, and executed a wise strategy:
“Going up the second main climb, I hit a pretty bad low… I soon made sure to double my intake of nutrition and water, so my legs going up Scafell felt pretty good”.
The testing underfoot terrain of the route took its toll on Leah’s shoes! © Callum Robinson
Leah will now race a couple of ultras in Canada this summer, but could well be one to look out for at future SkyUltras in the UK and further afield!
Finishing a content second place in her longest race to date, Natalie Beadle, who grew up in the Lake District said at the finish:
“It’s the longest I’ve ever run for by quite a lot actually, so I was pretty nervous at the start… I told myself to take it easy on the first few ascents and not to overdo it, but I probably did a bit and had to walk a lot in the second half. I couldn’t see first or third at any point so I’m happy to have enjoyed a beautiful day out”.
Natalie Beadle picks her way through the rocky terrain of the Scafell massif © Tanya Raab
Natalie will now go on to race the Kaiserkrone SkyRace® and Codillera Balance SkyRace® events in Austria and Peru later this year, both part of the Skyrunner® World Series. With her sights now set on becoming a SWS supported athlete for 2025, she will be a talent to look out for in future!
Not far behind in 06:42:18, Buttermere-based Karolina Woloszczyk spent most of the day in third position, before matching her result from last year to arrive at the finish in a visibly emotional state:
“I’ve had a very rocky start to the year due to covid in February. I had to pull out of Keswick Mountain Festival a couple of weeks ago due to illness, so wasn’t sure I’d be able to race. I really love Skyrunning and this series, so to be here and finish third feels like first for me today… I’m now looking forward to Snowdon SkyRace and Pinnacle Ridge after that”.
The highly experienced Karolina behind Natalie on the first climb of the day. © Tanya Raab
Finishing second overall in the Series last year, Karolina confessed she has her sights set on overall victory this year. If successful, she’ll bag a cool £1,000! More info HERE.
Female podium: Natalie Beadle (2nd), Leah Williams (1st), Karolina Woloszczyk (3rd). © Callum Robinson
Outside of the podium, Anna Zalewska from Poland finished first in the female Masters 45-49 category in a stellar time of 07:19:51, with Malgorzata Tofiluk, also from Poland, finishing first in the M50-54 category in 08:22:32.
A range of sublime singletrack traverses define this connoisseur’s skyrunning route. © Tanya Raab
In the men’s race, local Richard Keefe from Penrith commanded a dominant performance from the first climb, opening a lead on the competition in the first kilometre. This lasted much of the day until Scafell Pike, where the wheels very nearly fell off due to the heat:
“I had a funny spell going around ‘Gable, but managed to get on top of it and climbed well up Scafell Pike. Coming off the top though, I had a blackout spell and felt dizzy... I had to sit with the marshal for a minute then pulled myself together, took on some water and hobbled on back down. It’s a hell of a long final descent!”
Eyes on the prize: male champion Richard Keefe deep in the racing zone. © Tanya Raab
Richard finished in 05:15:01 with second place Chris Pocock very nearly catching him in the last kilometre, finishing a mere 01:39 back.
Second male Chris Pocock navigates the route’s rocky terrain. © Tanya Raab
Buzzing from the day’s endeavours, former triathlete Chris enthused at the finish:
“We really lucked out with the weather, the scenery is incredible, I had a smile on my face the whole day! The descents are my strength, I’d say the highlight was nearly catching first place, but I enjoyed the whole day really”.
Chris told us his next target race will be Snowdon SkyRace, but had to skip the prize giving to support a friend on leg five of their Bob Graham Round. How’s that for a productive day in the fells?!
Runners traverse Great Gable with the Corridor Route to Scafell Pike in the distance. © Tanya Raab
Finishing in 05:22:40 for third place was Kieren Dsouza from India, who was visiting the Lakes as part of a two-week vacation before spending the summer in Chamonix to prepare for CCC. He said:
“It’s been a dream to come to the Lake District for a long time, so I’ve been planning to do this race since last year. I’ve known about Scafell Sky Race for many years now, so it’s great to be here at last… It’s so pretty here, I’ve told all my friends back home and can’t wat to go for a swim in Rydal Lake this afternoon!”
Kieren negotiates one of the route’s unrelenting climbs. © Tanya Raab
Beyond his own racing, Kieren aims to promote Skyrunning back home in India, where he’s helped to grow the profile of several new SkyRaces there. You can follow him on Instagram HERE.
Male podium: Chris Pocock (2nd), Richard Keefe (1st), Kieren Dsouza (3rd). © Callum Robinson
Finishing 7th overall, Tom Stoddart was first in the Masters 45-49 age cat in 05:55:53, chased to the line by Ali Dixon, first on the M40-44 age cat in 05:56:58.
Darren Allan won the M55-59 age cat in 07:03:21, with David Parkin winning the M50-54 cat in 07:11:03. Impressively, Keith Glover and Simon Howarth finished in 09:44:27 & 09:57:04 as the sole finishers in the M60-64 & M70-74 age cats respectively.
Full provisional results can now be found online HERE, with Series ranking charts to be added to this website imminently.
The Great Slab off Bow Fell features in the final descent. © Tanya Raab
Keen to run a different SkyRace in the Lake District this summer? If so, you’re in luck! Lake District Sky Trails, organisers of the Scafell Sky Race will also be hosting not one, but THREE more races on the weekend of 20th/21st July, based from Patterdale in the northeastern Lakes:
The Rab Helvellyn Sky Ultra: 57km & 3,700m+ and the second race of the new SkyUltra® Series. Entry HERE.
The St. Sunday Mountain Race: 29km & 2,050m+ and the second race of the new U23 Series. Entry HERE.
The Rab Pinnacle Ridge Extreme: 28km & 2,700m+ and as the name suggest, the most technical race in the series by far, featuring Grade 3 scrambling! Vetted entry HERE.
Discover more about these classic Lakeland Skyrunning races on the LDST website HERE.
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 22nd June at SkyRun Eryri (Snowdonia/Eryri, North Wales), where three Series races will be taking place:
The inaugural 14 Peaks Ultra: 52km & 3,900m+ and the first race of the new SkyUltra® Series; route info HERE.
The iconic Snowdon SkyRace®: 38km & 3,300m+ taking in Tryfan North Ridge & Crib Goch and host to this year’s inaugural Skyrunning UK National Championships, with a cool £500/£250/£125 up for grabs, as well as +50% bonus series points for the top 20 M/F. More info HERE.
The Copper SkyTrail: 27km & 2,300m+ and the first race of the new U23 Series. The perfect entry-level SkyRace taking in a range of technical trails around Snowdon and Yr Aran.
Entries to all races close at midnight on Friday 14th June and are now in short supply, so if you want to join over 600 other Skyrunners and be part of the next stop of the Skyrunner® National 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.
