Michael Jones assumes directorship of Skyrunning UK
New year: new goals! If you’re anything like us at Skyrunning UK, you’ll no doubt have a few lined up for next year by now. Well, today we are delighted to be getting 2024 off with a bang with the news that Michael Jones will be taking over as the Managing Director of Skyrunning UK, effective immediately! Read on to learn more about what this means for the future of Skyrunning in the UK.
Best known within the UK trail running space as the founder, and until recently, Race Director of Ultra-Trail Snowdonia, he now boasts a career in trail events spanning over six years. Previous to this, he was a committed Skyrunner himself, finishing second overall in the Skyrunner UK & Ireland series in 2016 and brings a wealth of business development experience and expertise to the table. This, coupled with a huge dose of enthusiasm, guarantees a bright future for Skyrunning UK!
Jones, also the Race Director for the Rab Snowdon SkyRace explains:
“I’m absolutely delighted to be seizing the opportunity of taking a leading role in the development of Skyrunning UK; both in realising its community aims with enhanced international and personal development opportunity for youth skyrunners, as well as expanding its presence in the UK and Ireland, simultaneously strengthening our synergies with the International Skyrunning Federation and the Skyrunner World Series”.
Jones in action during the 2016 Mourne Skyline MRT © Ian Corless
“Since first discovering Skyrunning over a decade ago, I’ve been captivated by the discipline and have been fortunate enough to have competed in a range of domestic and international SkyRaces over the years. During this time, I encountered some amazing people, several of whom I’m excited to be bringing into the fold to further strengthen the vision I have for Skyrunning UK. I’m highly motivated by the prospect of exploring what further potential can be unleashed with the business in the coming years!”
Previous Skyrunning UK Managing Director Charles Sproson — Race Director for Lake District SkyTrails events and owner of MountainRun provides ample endorsement for his successor:
“I am very happy to be handing the reins of Skyrunning UK and Ireland to Michael Jones, an excellent race creator and director in his own right. Mike is best placed to push skyrunning in the UK to new heights — watch this space!”
Mike en route to 3rd place at the inaugural Ben Nevis Ultra, part of the Skyrunner World Series in 2017 © Steve Ashworth
To learn more about Mike, head over to his company website HERE and get ready for more awesome updates to follow, including the announcement of the full 2024 Skyrunner National Series race calendar.
A NATIONAL SERIES FOR ALL
While the finer details are confirmed for 2024, today we’re thrilled to announce that there will be some big changes for the 2024 Skyrunner UK & Ireland series. Think unprecedented series prize money, age category series recognition for under-23 and veteran runners, as well as a potential brand new SkyUltra sub-series.
An aspirational series, attracting some of the sport’s biggest names like Tom Evans, pictured here en route to dominating the 2022 Scafell SkyRace. Who will claim series victory in 2024?
COMMITTED TO DEVELOPING THE NEXT WAVE OF TALENT
Skyrunning UK was established as a Community Interest Company, so alongside developing the Skyrunner National Series, we possess a strong focus towards increasing skyrunning opportunities for athletes aged under 23 for the foreseeable future.
Skyrunning UK provided opportunity to participate in the 2023 Youth Skyrunning World Championships. Read more HERE.
All will be revealed on this front soon, however, in the meantime we can say that in 2024:
For any runner aged under 23 on 31/12/2024, entry fees to any Skyrunner UK & Ireland series race will be subsidised by Skyrunning UK.
Once again, we will send two youth teams (UK & Ireland) to the Youth Skyrunning World Champs, pending host confirmation.
We will be hosting the inaugural SkyRun Academy UK for a select few promising young athletes, who will be invited to join us on a fully funded, immersive and educational weekend, learning about topics ranging training and racing for the junior athlete, to developing marketability to secure brand sponsorship. Applications for consideration will open in February.
For the first time, the Skyrunner UK & Ireland series will feature its own U23 age category, providing opportunity for younger runners to gain national recognition with their own series ranking, with series prizes up for grabs at the end of the season.
A bright new year for Skyrunning UK awaits in 2024!
2024 looks set to be quite something for Skyrunning UK and the people who make this awesome sport what it is! To be first to hear about the radically overhauled 2024 Skyrunner UK & Ireland series, be sure to follow Skyrunning UK on social media, where all will be revealed early next month.
Or, if you’ll be at the rapidly approaching National Running Show, don’t forget to swing by the Skyrunning UK stand to discover the races that will comprise next year’s Series.