2023 Cape Wrath Ultra Race Director's Report

By Shane Ohly

What a difference one year makes! The last edition of the Cape Wrath Ultra® in 2022 was notable for the poor weather throughout the event. This year, we had fantastic running conditions on most days… ok, except for the Day 7 wind and rain that blew through in the morning.

In previous editions, it has always been disappointing for me to watch participants leaving the event if they were timed out or suffered from injury or illness rather than choosing to stay with the event and complete the ‘reduced course’. Whilst we have always offered the reduced course, most people opted to leave. This changed in 2023, with an amazing ~80% of starters staying with the event for the duration. I am absolutely delighted that the new ‘Explorer’ option has proved so popular. The stats from the previous editions are:

·       2023 - Starters 172, Ultra Finishers 88 (51%), Explorer Finishers 48 (28%), Overall 79% Completion

·       2022 - Starters 270, Ultra Finishers 104 (38%)

·       2021 - Starters 86, Ultra Finishers 52 (60%)

·       2018 - Starters 177, Ultra Finishers 110 (62%)

·       2016 - Starters 95, Ultra Finishers 59 (62%)

The runners completing the full Ultra course have accomplished an extraordinary feat of endurance and certainly have our respect for their determination and perseverance. However, I would also like to congratulate those who completed the Explorer Course, a brilliant achievement in its own right.

It is clear from the conversations we have had with participants that the Explorer has been a resounding success, with countless tales of participants enjoying a relaxed start to the day in a local café, the continued camaraderie of the other participants and a strong sense of remaining an integral part of the event. What is slightly crazy is that someone completing the Explorer option could easily cover 250+ km, which by almost any standard in the world makes their achievement truly remarkable.

The determination of these runners continuing onto the lighthouse even if the race hasn’t quite gone to plan is truly admirable, and I was delighted to finally formally recognise this wonderful achievement with the Explorer Course and Explorer medal.

I always say that, if I am just standing around the camp chatting with the Event Team and participants, then the event must be running smoothly; all in the capable hands of the core Ourea Events employees, our expert freelance staff and the incredible volunteer Event Team. This year I was able to do this for many hours each day, and it was an absolute pleasure to have the time to speak with so many people directly and understand their journey, motivations and experience. Having this flexibility also allowed me to support the Medical Team more than usual, and the one-to-one conversations with participants whilst treating and taping blisters was a powerful way to connect with them on an individual basis. I’ll admit to adding those participants to my Open Tracking watchlist to see how they got on the following day.

This year I was really taken by the wonderful atmosphere around the overnight camps. The camaraderie and support that forms over the 8 days is absolutely integral to the Cape Wrath Ultra, and really goes to the heart of what the event is about. Strolling around the overnight camps was an incredibly uplifting experience with many participants chatting and sharing stories of their adventures.

This year, I was really struck with a sense of the Cape Wrath Ultra community. It was great to recognise many of the faces this year, with many of last year’s participants coming back to volunteer, helping others achieve the same dream that they worked so hard for. Conversely, I was also delighted to recognise many of our regular volunteer team amongst the participants this year, and tracking their progress through the event was an absolute pleasure.

This year, we also had many participants back who didn’t make it to the finish last year, whether that was due to the weather or injury. It was very special indeed to witness their journey to the lighthouse this year. The resilience and determination of these brave participants really embodies what the Cape Wrath Ultra is all about.

The Cape Wrath Ultra® is undoubtedly the UK's premiere expedition trail race, taking a remarkable journey through Scottish Highlands. Whilst I have walked and run the course, just being in Scotland, and seeing the mountains, glens and sea lochs from the event convoy always reminds me of the special nature of the route, and I sincerely hope this sense of wonder and adventure stays with all the participants and event team in the months and years ahead.

 Some Race Statistics

As mentioned above, a fantastic 79% of those who started finished either the Ultra or Explorer version of the event. Here are some more statistics that you may find interesting:

·       Out of 172 starters, 113 (65%) of these were male, 59 (35%) of these were female

·       There were 66 men who finished the Ultra, and 27 who finished the Explorer

·       There were 22 women who finished the Ultra, and 21 who finished the Explorer

·       The oldest Ultra finisher was 62 years old

·       The youngest Ultra finisher was 29 years old

RESULTS

Huge congratulations to this year’s winners, David Parrish and Jo Meek. David and Jo both had a fantastic run, with both establishing an early lead right from the start, and continuing to maintain the impressive pace. Notably, Jo set a new women’s course record, breaking Sally Fawcett’s record by over 45 minutes. David also ran the 2nd fastest time in the event’s history, with it being a fast year for the event.  

You can view the full race results here:

THANKS TO THE EVENT TEAM 

Each time I write a Race Director’s Report, I ponder how on earth I’ll find some original words to thank the Event Team. They are a truly awesome and special group of people who bring expertise and enthusiasm to the event in abundance. Every participant that I spoke with expressed their heartfelt thanks for the amazing support they experienced from the Event Team. I strongly believe that if I surround myself with great people, then great things will happen, and this year’s Cape Wrath Ultra® is a perfect example of this.

Clearly, we all owe them a huge debt of thanks. As always, it was a privilege and an honour to work with you all:

CATERING

Chris Taylor

Eleanor Smith

Fiona Massey

Graeme Braid

Hilary Malyon

Imogen Gray

Laura Smith

Michael Burke

Nicola McNally

Peter Huzan

Sasha Levrier

Tamara Wakefield

Tim Glasby

MEDIA TEAM

Christiaan Le Roux

Harriet D’Alessio

Reuben Tabner

Steve Ashworth

 MAIN CAMP TEAM

Barry Hobbs

Burton Holmes

Chris Duro

Debs White

Dixon Holmes

Heather Pritchard-Jones

Hilary Sales

James Caldwell

Jon Dodd

Karl Williams

Liam McGregor

Matthew Stanley

Marcus Taylor

Mark Leggett

Nicole Morgan

Patricia Lyon

Paul Holtom

Peter Frost

Phillipa Haworth

Pippa Broomfield

Robert Campbell

Robert Tucker

Russell White

Sam Harvey

Stephen Cousins

INFO POINT TEAM

Alexander Major

Sam Psota

Stephan Surmont

MANNED CHECKPOINT AND TRANSPORT TEAM

Andrew Hastie

Douglas Harvey

Gareth Grey

John Irvine

Simon Bromham

MARQUEE TEAM

Alastair Ballie

Alex Chesters

Anton Fleming-Williams

Callum Clark

Edward Hayhurst

Jess Byrne

Kieran O’Sullivan

Matt Wallace

Mike Schneider

Morgan Stance

Patrick O’Reilly

Seb Boulton Oliver

Zak Benaton

MEDICAL TEAM

Bess Robson

John Hayes

Lianne Stevenson

Morag Bowie

Nikki Archer

Nikki Sommers

Patricia Littlechild

Roisin McCann

RACE CONTROL TEAM

Abbi Forsyth

Chris Plant

Matthew Gemmell

Natalya Kennedy

RESPONSE TEAM

Dave Howarth

Rich Griffiths

Sarah Graham

Stuart Smith

START/FINISH TEAM

Amanda Seims

Christine Caldwell

Geoff Osbaldestin

Gordon Cameron

Iain Bethune

Ian McFarlane

Jenny Lewis

Kirstine Oliver

Louisa Rodriguez

Matthew Smith

Pam Nix

Stuart Taylor

TECHNICAL SERVICES TEAM

Alan Cormack

Ben Gibson

Ian Cowie

Phil Sturgeon

Tom Rouse

TIMING/TRACKING TEAM

Chris Mills

Daniel Carrivick

COURSE OPERATIONS

Derek Allison

Duncan Anderson

Joe Faulkner

Jonothan Wright

Tim Laney

OUREA MANAGEMENT TEAM

Charlie Williamson

Eleanor Claringbold

Graham Gristwood

Greg Mickelborough

Janie Oates

Jen Edson

Lara Coates

Lucy Scrase

Neil Davies

Shane Ohly

Sue Dowker

Tom Hecht

THANKS TO LANDOWNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS

We would also like to thank the landowners and stakeholders along the route, without whose permission and cooperation, this event would not be possible. In fact, there are literally hundreds of landowners and stakeholders whom we continue to liaise with and whose support and goodwill are essential for the smooth flow of runners along the course through the Scottish Highlands. Thank you!

ONGOING HEALTH 

REST & RECOVERY

Whether you completed the full course or not, every one of the participants’ bodies has taken a significant battering. We would highly recommend an extended period of recovery now. Anecdotally, it seems that having 4 weeks of rest, followed by around 10 weeks of light exercise works well. All too often, we have seen participants in our expedition-length races return to regular training too early and end up with chronic fatigue and/or injury problems. Take the time to let your bodies heal! 

LYME DISEASE

We would also like to reiterate the danger of Lyme’s Disease from tick bites. Whilst this is unlikely, if you develop a ‘bulls-eye’ rash around a tick bite or experience flu-like symptoms in the next 30 days, we advise a trip to the doctor. Ensure that you explain you have been bitten by a tick. There is more information on the Lyme’s Disease Action website.

Our Medical Director, Nikki Sommers, has written more detailed medical guidance. I’d recommend having a good read of this:

 ULTRA MAIL™

As expected, ‘Ultra Mail™’ proved extremely popular, with 8,659 messages of support sent to the participants (and event team) during the event. We love this component of the event, and it is an obvious boost for participants at the end of a long day. We heard from many participants that the Ultra Mail™ was a real motivator for them when the going was tough.

FEEDBACK

Feedback is very important to us. We are always really keen to hear your thoughts. Whilst we don’t promise to incorporate every piece of feedback received, we do promise to read and consider it carefully. Participant feedback has helped refine and improve the event from one edition to the next and has been instrumental in planning our events going forward. If you have absolutely anything to feedback or comment on, please do fill in the questionnaire, or if it's easier, feel free to drop us an email with your comments here: [email protected]

GPS TRACKS

All the participants' routes over the 8 days are public and available for everyone to view.

You can use your (non-mobile/tablet) laptop or desktop computer and head to the GPS tracking page, where you'll find a replay icon in the top left corner - which launches the replay scrubber. You can also choose to view just a few names (instead of the entire field) by using the favourites function.

EVENT MERCHANDISE

We are delighted that Cape Wrath Ultra Mugs and some limited edition Cape Wrath 2023 hoodies are now on sale. They make an excellent memento of your incredible achievement.  

LIVE EVENT COVERAGE

We hope your friends and family watching from home enjoyed the event's live coverage from our brilliant media team. We also watched the participants’ dots gradually head north on the GPS Tracker page.

You can catch up on all the action on the event by reading our event blogs on the news section of our website:

You can also view some of the incredible photos taken by No Limits Photography and enjoy the awesome social media coverage on the Facebook and Instagram pages. Finally, you can find the brilliant daily update films put together by Steve Ashworth on our Youtube Channel. 

WHAT’S NEXT? 

2023 MONTANE DRAGON'S BACK RACE® - LAST FEW PLACES 

4th - 9th September 2023

Enter our sister event the Montane Dragon’s Back Race®. Join us for six epic days of mountain running through stunning Wales! The 2023 Montane Dragon’s Back Race® starts from Conwy Castle and runs the length of Wales, linking many of the country’s iconic mountain summits, to finish in Cardiff Castle on the South coast of Wales.

2023 SALOMON SKYLINE SCOTLAND® - ENTRIES OPEN 

16th - 17th September 2023

Be part of the UK's biggest weekend of trail running and skyrunning, with races ranging from 5km-80km. If you're looking for a skyrunning challenge, why not try the 52km Salomon Ben Nevis Ultra? Or for something even longer, why not enter the breath-taking Lochaber 80?

2024 SILVA LAKES TRAVERSE AND NORTHERN TRAVERSE - ENTRIES OPEN 

Saturday 6th April to Wednesday 10th April 2024.

Entries are open now for the 2024 SILVA Lakes Traverse which takes place on 5th April. Enjoy 100km across the stunning Lake District landscape as you journey from St Bees to Shap. 

Alternatively, if you're ready for an even bigger adventure, join us for the SILVA Northern Traverse, a 300km non-stop race that spans the entire width of Northern England. 

 2024 SCARPA GREAT LAKELAND 3DAY™ - ENTRIES OPEN

4th - 6th May 2024 

Enjoy a relaxed and friendly 3-day mountain journey around the beautiful fells of the Lake District. There are six courses to choose from: Café, Herdwick, Wainwright, Fellrunner, Extreme and Adventure so there is something for everyone!

COME BACK NEXT YEAR FOR THE 2024 CAPE WRATH ULTRA® - ENTRIES OPEN

19th - 26th May 2024

Did you have a great time? Or maybe you have unfinished business? We would love to see you back next year for more!

FINAL WORDS…

I hope that you are all incredibly proud of your amazing achievements at the Cape Wrath Ultra® and have left the event with those life-affirming memories that have been truly earnt the hard way! Do get some well-deserved rest, and we hope to see you again in the future for another exciting adventure.