Day five: the beautiful Scottish landscape comes into its own

After a wild day yesterday, which saw even more people dropping out, participants were relieved for a dry start today on a ‘shorter’ day of 44km.

The spectacular rugged hills of Torridon and the dramatic peak of Beinn Eighe were finally visible in all their glory, having been obscured for much of yesterday by the inclement weather. However, only 163 of our participants ventured out onto the course today, many of whom were only on the reduced course, having been timed out the previous day after a tough battle against the harsh conditions. Only 123 runners are still competitive, after what has been some of the most challenging conditions in the history of the event.

Today, participants travelled through the remote area of the Fisherfield Forest known as ‘The Great Wilderness’. The participants enjoyed the breathtaking scenery of the beautiful mountain glens and rugged ridges, as the sun came out in full force for the first few hours of the day, before it took a turn for the worse later on. Many of the non-competitive runners were inserted at checkpoint 2 today to run the last few kilometres over the tops of the hills, taking one final steep descent into the camp at Inverbroom.

Participants were relieved for a dry start today

Runners on the full course today started by running through the settlement of Kinlochewe. We managed to catch some of them on their way out of town. Many of them were enjoying an easier bit of flat ground before venturing up into the rough high ground of the hills.

Alison Grubbs is now running non-competitively, having dropped out at checkpoint 1 yesterday due to the brutal weather conditions. However, she was happy to continue with her journey today, setting off with a smile on her face.

She said: “No complaints today. It’s dry, we’re starting on the road. Yesterday was good. I stopped at checkpoint 1. Part of me wishes I’d kept going, but I know my limitations, and it was bad weather and steep descents.

“I’m excited for today. We’ll see how it goes,” she said. “It would be nice if it’s not a blizzard on top.”

Danny Johnston was having an incredible time, although the long miles were catching up with him. “I’m in a bit of pain. The weather was the worst bit. It’s kind of beautifully barren – still lovely, but you don’t get weather like that anywhere else.”

Debbie McCart was also grateful to see the incredible views of Scotland. She said: “I’m actually a bit warm – I’ve got that many layers on. I’m just so happy that all our international runners actually get to see the hills today, because I live in Scotland, and it’s so beautiful. It might not last all day, but at least they get to see it now.”

Nicole Morgan was also on good form when we saw her come through this morning. Throughout the race she has been bouncing through checkpoints with a smile on her face in spite of the horrendous conditions.

“I’m actually a wee bit happier than I thought I would be this morning. My ankle’s a bit dead. I’m hoping it’s got more than one day left in it, but we’ll see how we get on. I’m starting to dry off – I’m like a walking clothes line,” she said with a laugh while indicating the clothes she had hung from her pack to dry.

Retirees are having a blast

One of the wonderful things about the Cape Wrath Ultra is that it gives runners who are timed out at checkpoints the opportunity to do a reduced course on some of the days. These participants are dropped at a checkpoint halfway where they can experience the best parts of the route.

Today, many of these non-competitive participants stopped by the Midge Bite Café for some delicious coffee, a luxury after several days out in the wilderness.

While one might have expected an air of disappointment, instead the mood was joyful, with runners still grateful for the opportunity to experience the remote, wild areas of Scotland. Everyone was still having a fantastic time on the adventure of a lifetime now the pressure of racing was off.

Maria Luisa MaduenoI from Mexico and Marilena Wilkinson from Venezuela were running together non-competitvely after timing out earlier in the race. However, their joyful attitude towards the whole event was magnetic. We caught up with them on top of the hill when the wind and rain were making the going tough, but even this couldn’t get them down.

Marilena said: “I had a great time, even though the wind wants to fly me away somewhere else. I love it – I love the whole thing. I recommend this race to anybody because of the beautiful scenery. Just be prepared for the mud, the water, the wind, the snow, the showers, the sleet…”

“…and magnificent stuff!” Maria Luisa added with a grin.

Andy Highsmith and his partner Laurie Cloud are from the United States, and were both timed out. Andy had some interesting advice to anyone wanting to participate: “My top tip, if you live in the States, is you want to get a kiddie pool, just fill it up with dirt and water and grass. Roll around in it before you go to bed at night, get used to sleeping like that. It’s the most difficult terrain I’ve ever seen but equally it is the most beautiful. It is absolutely perfect. You will suffer but you will have the best time of your entire life.”

The weather was very changeable

The forecast for today had been for more wind and torrential rain, but while there were certainly moments where yesterday’s fierce weather once more reared its ugly head, there were far more breaks in the weather, where glorious sunshine illuminated the lofty hills of Fisherfield.

The final descent into camp was a tricky, steep run through mud, bog, heather and rocky paths, and many participants were struggling to get a grip in the mud. More than one person was spotted accidentally sliding down the hill on their backside. However, spirits seemed much higher today as we caught up with participants on top of the final hill.

The two leading men, Graham Walton and Thomas Øderud, were battling it out as they came flying down. The two crossed the finish line together, though Graham still retained his lead by just six minutes. Thomas is gaining on him though, and was the fastest runner of the day.

Thomas was moving quickly downhill, but did manage to say: “It’s been a very good day. It’s been pretty fun. I’m feeling strong.”

Graham said, “It’s been good, but it’s cold at the top. It hasn’t felt as long as other days.”

Vicky Savage looked extremely strong as she came down from the hill, though she had gone slightly off track after becoming caught in a particularly painful hailstorm. She managed to steer herself back on course though as we ran down the hill with her. “The trail at the start was amazing – it’s just this boggy bit here that’s hard,” she said heading down towards the camp. Vicky’s tremendous efforts saw her as the fastest woman of the day.

The weather had lifted, revealing a gorgeous view of Loch Broom when we caught up with Scottish American runner, Lindsay Hamoudi. He said: “This is a rather lovely view isn’t it – nice place to hang out!”

Paul Colledge was running non-competitively and had been lucky with the weather: “I feel like the whole time the storm’s just been following me but hasn’t quite caught me up.”

The participants who were out later in the race were less lucky, with another downpour and strong winds making the afternoon a struggle.

Laura O Driscoll is back in the lead after Despina Berdeni pulls out

Unfortunately lead female runner, Despina Berdeni, pulled out today due to an injury with her shins, leaving Laura O Driscoll back in the lead. Having sustained an injury on Day 3, Laura’s performance has been phenomenal.

Laura O Driscoll still looked strong running through her injury as she came down the hill, but it was clear she was finding it extremely tough. She said: “I’m grand – ankles are still knackered so it’s a lot slower. It was cold on top. I’m not exactly full of positivity but I’m very happy now. Every day I say, ‘okay this is my last’, but here I am. I opened my ultra-mail this morning, and I was very much ‘will I, won’t I?’ Then after that I felt I had to keep going.”

Laura’s story has been inspirational to watch, with her resilience being a real highlight of the race so far. If she is able to keep going, she has a strong chance of winning the women’s race, though Vicky is sneaking her way up the leaderboard.

Spirits were high at the camp in Inverbroom

There was a great atmosphere at camp in Inverbroom this afternoon, with many participants taking the time to relax, enjoy some chips, wash themselves and leave stuff to dry in the gaps between showers. The catering tent was playing music which lifted the spirits of finishers as they came in. As the afternoon progressed, the tents in camp were struggling with the strong gusts, but morale was still high.

While all of the camps benefit from a scenic location, the camp at Inverbroom is particularly spectacular, nestled away amongst the higher hills and Loch Broom, where many participants went to bathe.

Eric Lawrie from Canada found Day 4 tough, but had a much better day today: “I said ‘I don’t like this. I’m never doing this again in my entire life’. Then I got back to camp and they said you gotta do it again tomorrow, but it’s gonna be a little bit worse. I was a little terrified but then it turned out to be good today. There was sunshine today – there were rainbows at the end.”

Megan James had also had a good day. She said: “It was much better than yesterday. It was nice to be able to actually see the mountains today. Actually a decent amount of it was on track. There was a few boggy sections as usual, but actually quite undulating. We prepared ourselves for the apocalypse but there was some sunshine.”

Today has seen some challenging weather conditions, but never quite reached the ferocious weather of yesterday. However, tomorrow the participants will face their longest day yet, with 72km of running over rough, high ground. With the tumultuous weather set to continue, it will be another battle of endurance, but those who have made it this far have proved that they are more than up to it.

You can follow their amazing journey here:

Day Five Results (Provisional)

Top 3 Men on Day 5:

1. Thomas Øderud (04:55:34)

2. Graham Walton (05:01:20)

3. Kurt Alderweireldt (05:07:13)

Top 3 Women on Day 5:

1. Vicky Savage (06:22:50)

2. Laura O Driscoll (06:32:47)

3. Irene Finnegan (07:01:10)

Top 3 Men overall:

1. Graham Walton (30:55:15)

2. Thomas Øderud (31:02:49)

3. David Barry (31:21:57)

Top 3 Women overall:

1. Laura O Driscol (34:46:17)

2. Vicky Savage (37:37:58)

3. Claire Gordon (39:53:36)

Join us in the Highlands next year

If you’re feeling inspired by the phenomenal performances of our awesome participants, entries are open for 2023. Don’t miss out on your own Scottish adventure: