Skyrunning UK Rankings 2023
And the winner of the Skyrunner UK and Ireland Champions of 2023 is…!
Female Winner: Alicia Schwazenbach ©Route North Photography
Male Winner: George Fisher ©No Limits Photography
The Skyrunning UK and Ireland SNS series has been back on for 2023.
The organisation was taken over in 2023 by Charles Sproson, being backed up by Marie Cheng. Together, through a very busy year on Lake District Sky Trails races, the pair has re-invigorated the series that lay fallow for a few years since the world stopped in 2020.
RAB Scafell Sky Race
The season kicked off with the Rab Scafell Sky Race on the 3rd June 2023. The skies were blue, the temperatures were hot and the skyrunning was perfect and all skyrunners submitted the highest mountain in England.
RAB Scafell Sky Race Top 3 Male and Female skyrunners crossed the line in the finishing positions below:
Karolina Woloszczyk starting the epic descent of Great Slab - Rab Scafell Sky Race ©Route North Photography
1st M
Luke Grefell-Shaw
GBR
04:45:13
2nd M
George Fisher
GBR
04:59:14
3rd M
Kim Collison
GBR
05:09:24
1st F
Alicia Schwarzenbach
GBR
06:05:11
2nd F
Holly Clifford
GBR
06:34:07
3rd F
Karolina Woloszczyk
POL
06:42:20
RAB Snowdon SkyRace
Next in the series we moved down to North Wales to see the uber technical Snowdon Skyrace take place in North Snowdonia. The race taking in delights such as Tryfan North Ridge, the knife edge ridge know as Crib Goch and then the mountain summit of Wales, namely Yr Wyddfa or better known to English speakers as Snowdon. Weather unfortunately put a stop to the traverse of Crib Goch and Tryfan, but the racing was still awesome and the course uber technical.
Runner on the epic Rab Snowdon Sky Race ©Gulliem Casanova
RAB Snowdon Sky Race Top 3 Male and Female skyrunners crossed the line in the finishing positions below:
1st M
George Fisher
GBR
04:55:38
2nd M
Craig Lowe
GBR
05:22:18
3rd M
Ben James
GBR
05:49:08
1st F
Alicia Schwarzenbach
GBR
05:52:29
2nd F
Georgia Tindley
Scotland
3rd F
Alice Walton
GBR
06:43:52
Alicia Schwarzenbach was already showing great form and taking the win at both events had already put her in a great place for the series winner.
George Fisher taking 2nd place at the Rab Scafell Sky Race and 1st at the Rab Snowdon Sky Race also had a great start to the season and was securing his place to win the series.
RAB Helvellyn Sky Ultra
The next race in the series was back in the Lake District for the ultra distance roller coaster called the Rab Helvellyn Sky Ultra on the 15th July. Heavy weather with projected Thunder and Lightning storms caused the course to be shortened, but the team still delivered an awesome race.
Serious faces at the start of the Rab Helvellyn Sky Ultra 2023 ©Route North Photography
RAB Helvellyn Sky Ultra Top 3 Male and Female skyrunners crossed the line in the finishing positions below:
1st M
Hugh Chatfield
GBR
03:53:46
2nd M
George Fisher
GBR
03:58:50
3rd M
James Wilkins
GBR
04:15:59
1st F
Robyn Cassidy
GBR
04:48:27
2nd F
Alicia Schwarzenbach
GBR
04:50:38
3rd F
Amelia Balfour
GBR
05:08:55
Both George and Alicia took the 2nd places in very tough conditions securing their positions at the top of the Skyrunning UK rankings and really cementing their leads. However with 2 races left in the season, it was not over yet.
David Haunschmidt enjoying his win at the Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra 2023 ©No Limits Photography
Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra
The next race in the series took us to the summit of THE BEN, the highest location and mountain in the UK, famous for its mountaineering, winter climbing and of course skiing descents.
Skyline Scotland is the biggest Skyrunning weekend in the UK and has been since its conception back in 2015 with the awesomely designed Salomon Glen Coe Skyline. The Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra was not created until 2017. The route takes in the CMD arete and of course the summit of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the UK.
Having 3 races in the Skyrunning UK SNS series meant skyrunners taking part could complete the National 3 Peaks whilst racing and we felt that was pretty cool.
The usual suspects stood on the startline and bad weather was projected to change the route to the Bad Weather course once the Ben had been summited.
Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra Top 3 Male and Female skyrunners crossed the line in the finishing positions below:
1st M
David Haunschmidt
NZ
05:57:35
2nd M
George Fisher
GBR
06:00:43
3rd M
Jonathan Pybus
GBR
06:15:53
1st F
Alicia Schwarzenbach
GBR
07:32:20
2nd F
Myvanwy Hanna
GBR
08:00:21
3rd F
Sophie McKeeman
GBR
08:01:17
Top 3 male and female winners from the Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra and Glen Coe Skyline - Final editions from Kinlochleven ©No Limits Photography
Alicia comfortably crossed the finish line, looking tired but extremely happy, to take the win on the hard, but this year fast, Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra.
George fought hard against David and Jonathan to come in 2nd in the race overall and both Alicia and George put themselves in the winning positions for the Skyrunner National Series 2023 in the UK and Ireland.
Still with one race to go, the season looked complete, from George’s and Alicia’s point of view, but a jewel in the crown of a race on the West Coast of Ireland, being the ethereal Seven Sisters Skyline on the coast of Donegal, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, was about to play out over last weekend.
The line up showed that both Alicia and George’s winning titles were safe, but there was still the Seven Sisters Race trophy to win and a race to be run!
Seven Sisters Skyline Top 3 Male and Female skyrunners crossed the line in the finishing positions below:
Ladies winners on the Seven Sisters Skyline ©Seven Sisters Skyline
1st M
Aidan Mc Moreland
IRE
07:56:56
2nd M
Paul Brennan
GBR
08:03:09
3rd M
Enda Cloake
IRE
08:16:36
1st F
Kasie Enman
USA
08:28:12
2nd F
Ellen Vitting
IRE
09:19:12
3rd F
Kristen O’Sullivan
IRE
09:28:27
Skyrunners on the switchback ascent to Muckish ©Seven Sisters Skyline
And there we have it, this brings a close to the 2023 Skyrunning UK and Ireland season and leaves me only to announce the winners of the series and post the ranking positions for 2023.
Both the top 3 ranked skyrunners for both women and men will be offered a place in the SkyMasters end of season battle on the Italian Alps in Limone.
Alicia Schwarzenbach and George Fisher both ran a very consistent season, taking podium positions in all the skyraces on offer, apart from the Seven Sisters Skyline in Ireland. Both were ‘spent’ from a short and sharp season and with only one week from the Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra, this just didn’t seem feasible for either of them.
Huge Congratulations to them both and to everyone who raced with us this season. We look forward to seeing you in 2024 for the new season.
Full series rankings will be posted next week and shared on Social Media.
Notes:
The top 3 men and women from both the Skyrunning UK and Ireland National Skyrunner® Series and/or top 3 male and female in any of the nominated SNS races are eligible for a place in the SkyMasters Finale at Lake Garda, Limone, Italy.
The organisers will be in touch with those runners who they feel make the qualification grade. The Limone Extreme is a ‘invite’ only race where the best Skyrunners in the World will race head to head to find THE CHAMPION for 2023.
SKYMASTERS QUALIFICATION
The SkyMasters is the most consequential race in the Skyrunner® World Series. It is the final race of the season and is only open to runners who have gained qualification during the season*. The Skymasters awards 2.5 times the number of points compared to a SkyRace and 1.25 times a Premier SkyRace.
To qualify for the SkyMasters, athletes must compete in and complete at least three SkyRaces, finishing in the top 10 in at least one. The criteria for an invite is outlined below:
Be in the top 10 (man or woman) of a SkyRace or Premier SkyRace
Complete at least 3 Skyrunner® World Series races from the current season (i.e. 2023) OR
Be in the top-3 (man or woman) of a nominated race in a Skyrunner® National Series country
Be in the top-3 (man or woman) of the final ranking of a Skyrunner® National Series
Finish top-3 (man or woman) in a Skyrunning Continental Championship
Finish top-3 (man or woman) in a Skyrunning World Championship .
Read more here: https://www.skyrunnerworldseries.com/skymasters/