2024 Skyrunner® National Series Returns to the Lake District.
Thrills and spills await in the Lake District this weekend! © Route North Photography
This weekend, the hills will once again be alive with the sound of Skyrunners as 498 competitors spanning 18 different nationalities descend on the Lakeland fells for the next instalment of the Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series. Three races are counters in the Overall Series this weekend:
Rab Helvellyn Sky Ultra (HSU): 57km & 3,700m+ (also second race of the inaugural SkyUltra® Series).
St. Sunday Mountain Race (SSMR): 29km & 2,050m+ (also second race of the new U23 Series).
Rab Pinnacle Ridge Extreme (PRE): 28km & 2,700m+ featuring super-technical Grade 3 scrambles!
This trio of SkyRaces is the brainchild of Charlie Sproson, owner of Lake District Sky Trails and Mountain Run, and one of the key instigators of UK Skyrunning since its inception in 2015.
The Helvellyn Sky Ultra (previously the Lakes Sky Ultra) is a demanding 57km/3,700m+ course with mountains of technical terrain over much-loved Lakeland ridgelines such as the Helvellyn Edges (Striding Edge and Swirral Edge), as well as Cofa Pike, Hart Crag, Dove Crag, Red Screes and High Street. This year 180 runners will be competing in the event on Saturday, which is also part of the new SkyUltra® Series. If your name is on the list, expect a bit of everything this weekend; rock, grass, scree and bog, as well an outrageously good journey through the best bits of the central and eastern fells! Discover the route in full on our Strava account HERE and find out more about the event on its website HERE. Why not also follow Skyrunning UK on social media via the Facebook Page HERE or Instagram HERE.
Epic scenery at the Helvellyn Sky Ultra in 2022!
This SkyRace has been hit by extremes of weather in the last few years, with a few heatwaves and then a complete washout in 2023! At present the forecast weather conditions appear to be mixed; with a dry start and a higher chance of wetter weather towards the afternoon. It’s going to be a super exciting day of spectating or dot-watching though, as we welcome a glut of BIG names to the start-line! In the women’s race, La Sportiva athlete Sally Fawcett (ITRA Performance Index 610) will bring experience and superior endurance to the competition, after a top finish in the Laverado Ultra Trail by UTMB last month. Sally is a previous Scafell Sky Race (SSR) podium finisher, as is Welsh athlete Helen Brown who was 2nd in SSR and 3rd in the HSU in 2022. Also keep a close eye on tenacious Elaine Bisson (‘Index 616), who has top finishes in some of the UK’s toughest ultra events including the Winter Spine and Northern Traverse.
In the men’s race, we can expect a quality ‘bimble’ from the likes of Green Runner Damian Hall (‘Index 784), as well as Harrier athlete Dan Summers (‘Index 654), who scored a top 10 finish in the UTS 50K earlier this season and French athlete Thibault Duval, who won 1st place at the Atjan Wild Islands Mountain Ultra in 2023. Eyes will also be on Montane athlete, James Nobles who is no stranger to grabbing the top-spot in super long, technical races, including the Dragon’s Back in 2022 and SILVA Northern Traverse last year. Live GPS tracking is available to view HERE and regular updates throughout the day will be shared on the Skyrunning UK Facebook Page HERE and Instagram HERE.
Green Runner Damian Hall is on the HSU start line again this year © Ian Corless
At 10am, the second edition of the St. Sunday Mountain Race (SSMR) will get underway. Discover the race route in full on our Strava account HERE. This 29km/2,050m+ SkyRace climbs its namesake, St. Sunday Crag, weaving through the eastern fells on a spectacular route, but without the extreme terrain or ultra distance of the weekend’s other races. Although a perfect introduction to Skyrunning, this race will also attract those with a penchant for fast and furious mountain running! In the women’s field, Polish Skyrunner Kasia Osipowicz (‘Index 534), who has numerous UK SkyRace podium finishes in previous years and was Overall Series champion in 2019, will no doubt be seeking to improve on her 5th place finish at last year’s Copper SkyTrail.
Kasia Osipowicz racing the inaugural Snowdon SkyRace® in 2019 © Ian Corless
While there are no U23 females racing this year, the SSMR will see four U23 males competing in this, the second race of the new U23 Series. Get dot-watching for the tussle between William Holyoak, Jack McKenszie, Luke Weldon and Salomon athlete Caleb Nonhebel (‘Index 676), who finished 3rd overall in the recent the Copper SkyTrail. Live GPS tracking is available to view HERE and regular updates throughout the day will be shared on the Skyrunning UK Facebook Page HERE or Instagram HERE.
Feeder races such as the SSMR have accessibility at their core, which is part of the reason there’s a respectable 60/40 gender split in race entrants this year. If you’re looking to take your first steps into Skyrunning, get signed up for SSMR 2025 when entries open on October 4th or enter on the day for the Place Fell 15k, starting at on 10am on the Sunday 21st (not part of the Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series).
Smiles all-round at last year’s inaugural St. Sunday Mountain Race.
If you haven’t had enough of dot-watching by the end of Saturday, tune in from 8am on Sunday for the start of the Rab Pinnacle Ridge Extreme. Discover the race route in full on our Strava account HERE. Despite its modest 28km & 2,700m+ statistics, this incredible route is the most technical in the Series by far — featuring Grade 3 scrambles and as such, entries are vetted to ensure all those who toe the start line possess the prerequisite experience to take this race on with confidence.
It’s going to be another exciting day of racing from Patterdale, as the start-line will be jam-packed with talent! Last year’s winner, LDST Safety Team and Mountain Run freelancer Rob Brown is back to defend his title. But he will have some stiff competition in the form of Scarpa athlete Harry Holmes and top Irish runner Oisin Brennan. Harry (‘Index 783) has been performing well across a wide spectrum of races recently, from fell running to skyrunning and ultras, while Oisin Brenan (‘Index 633) has a great deal of focused SkyRacing experience to bring to bear this weekend, and will be chomping at the bit following a DNF at the recent Snowdon SkyRace®. Also watch out for Philip Rutter, winner of the Glen Coe Skyline in 2023 and Czech athlete Vojtech Bartos, who is fresh back from racing the Laverado Ultra Trail by UTMB last month.
Hold tight for wild ride this weekend with the audacious Pinnacle Ridge Extreme!
In the women’s race, 2023 winner and course record holder Sara Willhoit of team Scarpa will be back to defend her title (‘Index 716) but surely Victoria Thompson, winner of the Snowdon SkyRace® at SkyRun Eryri® last month, will be hot on her heels (‘Index 675). Karolina Woloszcyk will also be in contention for a podium finish, having come 3rd in 2023. Karolina, who is targeting the Overall Series this year, has had a sequence of top 5 finishes and will be hoping for another good result. We’re also excited to see Tess Elias is racing this weekend (‘Index 603) following her 2nd place finish in the UTS 100K earlier this year. Live GPS tracking is available to view HERE and regular updates throughout the day will be shared on the Skyrunning UK Facebook Page HERE or Instagram HERE.
Lead runner Rob Sinclair from Scotland tearing-up the exposed pinnacles of PRE 2018 © Ian Corless
It’ll be all to play for across the three Series SkyRaces this weekend, with £125/£75/£50 up for grabs for the top 3 M/F finishers, as well as prizes for age cat winners U23 and V40 upwards - plus giveaways from presenting partners Rab!
The 2024 Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series: which races will you be doing this year?
Follow Along Online
Keen to see how the races unfold? Regular updates throughout the day will be shared on the Skyrunning UK Facebook Page HERE and Instagram HERE so be sure to give us a follow, or keep an eye on the GPS tracking links above!
Skyrunning UK Director, Mike Jones will be soaking up the good time vibes at race headquarters this weekend, so don’t forget to swing by the Skyrunning UK stand to learn more about this year’s National Series, where for the first time, there’s a huge £1,000/£500/£250 up for grabs for the M/F Overall Series champions! And don’t forget to grab some product samples from our Series partners Wassen!
The Mineral Experts: Wassen harnesses the power of nature's minerals to provide scientifically selected, sustainable and ethically sourced nutritional supplements.
Beyond the weekend, stay tuned for our in-depth race reports arriving Tuesday through Thursday, for the exclusive on how the weekend’s action played out…
