Inaugural U23 Series winners revealed at Seven Sisters Skychallenge
This Saturday saw the conclusion of the Skyrunner® UK & Ireland U23s series at the Seven Sisters Skychallenge 30k in County Donegal, Ireland. The race held wide appeal as a linear route and attracted a strong field and 218 registered entries. Competitors were bused to the start of the course, which takes-in the same seven summits as the 55k, but begins with the climb up Muckish and finishes with a fast and furious descent of Errigal. Overall, the route clocks up a chunky 2,100m+ of vert over some highly varied terrain.
A true Skyrunning route that showcases the best Ireland has to offer! © Ian Corless
The other SkyRaces in the U23 series were the Copper SkyTrail and St. Sunday Mountain Race, with the best two results counting towards runners’ final position in the series ranking. The Seven Sisters Skychallenge also counted towards rankings in the overall Skyrunner® UK & Ireland National Series.
Setting off at 8:15am on Saturday, runners faced warm temperatures with overcast skies, which cleared to give a hot and sunny afternoon. On the summits though, visibility was testing at times and conditions atmospheric, as the high cloud slowly burned off.
In the men’s race, it was a delight to once again see two U23s on the podium! Scottish athlete Caleb Nonhebel and Irish runner Luke Weldon have been battling it out throughout the series - which is exactly how it played out in the Derryveagh mountains this Saturday. The two U23s gave accomplished Irish skyrunner Enda Cloake a run for his money at the front of the race, pushing hard up Muckish from the start. But by the time the leading group reached the Ahla Beag checkpoint, Cloake began pulling away. Irish elite Cloake is notching-up a superb season of results, having finished 12th in the Skyrunning World Championships (SKYULTRA) in Soria, Spain earlier this month. He is also targeting the Irish Championships (INFO) this season and will be hoping for a win at the Mourne Skyline™ series finale in October.
Weldon chases Nonhebel in the closing stages of the race
After breaking away from the chasing group on Saturday, Cloake gradually extended his lead to claim 1st place in an impressive 03:31. Behind him, Nonhebel and Weldon continued to challenge each other but on the climb up Mackoght, Nonhebel was able to get into second position.
“After racing the Salomon Buttermere Skyline the weekend before, I wasn’t sure how I’d hold up in another competitive SkyRace. But in what was probably one of my smartest races, I held back until the beginning of the last and biggest climb, up Errigal, where I put in a huge effort to get a comfortable hold on 2nd place” says Nonhebel. He went on to finish in 03:37, with Weldon in third place, just 4 minutes behind him - completing the men’s podium.
“I’m really happy with how it went and it was tough! Fuelling wasn’t going well in the first half but I managed to find another kick towards the end and pick-off another couple of people on the final descent” says Weldon.
“It’s been a manic two weeks of racing but I look forward to jumping right back into training, possibly racing the Mourne Skyline™ next month. It was a pleasure to run with Luke Weldon throughout this series, as it’s always good to have solid competition to keep things really interesting” says Nonhebel.
Both leading U23s have been targeting the new U23s series this year and Nonhebel was thrilled to take the title this weekend. But that’s not all! – Nonhebel now sits in first position in the overall series, just 4 points ahead of Craig Lowe in second, with Cloake and Weldon in third and fourth respectively. In the Irish Championships, Cloake sits in the top spot at present with 500 total points and Weldon in 2nd with 400 points. It’s all to play for in the Mournes next month and anything could happen!
In the masters’ age categories, all winners were from Ireland, with Shawn Stewart taking first V40-44 (7th overall), Eugene McCafferty first V45-49, Conor McCarroll first V50-54 (14th overall) and Kieran O’Donnell first V55+.
Men’s podium in the Seven Sisters Skychallenge 30k 2024: Cloake, Nonhebel & Weldon 1st, 2nd & 3rd
In the women’s 30k race this weekend, a rapid Victoria Thompson led from the off, maintaining her lead throughout the course. Concerns over a historic knee issue were put to bed by the strategic use of running poles, and she was able to deliver yet another decisive win – finishing in 04:15, a full 28 minutes ahead of the second woman (11th position overall).
“I really liked the point-to-point format of this race,” said Thompson. “The course was so varied; bog, rock, track - it keeps you on your toes!”
Going into this race, Thompson was in second position in the overall series, but with this win she has secured enough points to close out the series early and claim the win by just 10 points and in doing so, claiming a cool £1,000! A third at Pinnacle Ridge Extreme and two wins in the series, with an extra 50% points bonus awarded at Snowdon SkyRace® due to its 2024 UK National Championships status (INFO) have made her untouchable ahead of the final race of the series next month.
Behind Thompson, the chasing women were more spaced than in the men’s race, and Kasia Osipowicz and Hilary Hughes held second and third position respectively, from start to finish. Osipowicz, who crossed the line in 04:43 and was 17th overall, also claimed first female V40-44.
Kasia in action during the 2019 55k event © Ian Corless
Experienced Osipowicz struggled with stomach issues and cramping during the race, which hampered her enjoyment of the day but she was still able to appreciate the ‘logical, natural line’ of the 30k race route, which she described as ‘really cool!’ She will certainly be hoping for an easier ride when she returns to Ireland in a few weeks’ time, to compete in the Mourne Skyline™.
Third female across the line, Hilary Hughes is definitely one to watch in future SkyRaces. An all-round athlete, she has a background in Ironman events and remarkably the Seven Sisters Skyline 30k was only her second ever trail race! When asked at the finish line why she chose to enter this race, she responded; “I live locally and this race just looked like a massive challenge. And it was - incredible, wild, crazy and emotional. Overall I’m buzzing!”
Women’s podium in the Seven Sisters Skychallenge 30k 2024: Thompson, Osipowicz & Hughes 1st, 2nd & 3rd
Hughes’ exciting third place finish has also snagged her the current top spot in the Irish Skyrunning Championships, with Grace Doohan in second and Nicola Mcintyre in third. But with the Mourne Skyline™ still to come, nothing is set in stone.
Saturday was also a gratifying result for Rebecca Line, who with two solid finishes (2nd at the 27km/2,300m+ Copper SkyTrail in June) has claimed the title of U23 Series female winner, crossing the finish line in 05:57. Other female age cat winners were all Irish athletes, including Ava Battles in first V45-49, Grace Doohan in first V50-54 and Carmel Boyle in first V55+.
Rankings for the Overall Series, SkyUltra® Series and the Irish Championships have now been updated on the Skyrunning UK website HERE, with all age group rankings to follow very soon.
Check out the updated Skyrunner® UK & Ireland series rankings following the Seven Sisters Skyline last weekend HERE.
Next up in the 2024 Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series and SkyUltra® Series are the Mourne Skyline & Mourne SkyUltra® races on 12th October, in Newcastle, Northern Ireland:
Mourne Skyline: 35km & 2,700m+
Mourne SkyUltra®: 50km & 3,500m+
Entries close at midnight on Friday 4th Oct, so it’s still not too late to be part of the last event in the 2024 Skyrunner® UK & Ireland National Series! For full details see the event website HERE.
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.
