Excitement builds for the 2023 Cape Wrath Ultra

Today Fort William played host to the event centre for an epic 8-day ultra-race – the Cape Wrath Ultra. Over 170 runners gathered at the Football Club for race registration followed by a race briefing and a welcome meal ahead of the start tomorrow. 

Runners representing 21 different countries came to the Scottish town, which sits in the shadow of the highest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis. Participants have travelled from as far afield as New Zealand, the US and Canada to undertake this epic journey.

Participants arrive into the event centre ©No Limits Photography

The 8-day event will take runners from Fort William all the way to the iconic Cape Wrath lighthouse on the most northwesterly tip of Britain. On the way, participants will cross some of the wildest and most remote areas of the stunning Scottish Highlands. There will be dramatic mountain passes, beautiful glens, secluded sea lochs and ancient woodlands – it will certainly be an unforgettable journey.

New for this year, participants also have the option of the shorter Explorer course, which takes participants on the same epic journey, but participants can opt to do either the first half of the day or the second half of the day. They can still enjoy the same incredible landscapes and Highland views while completing an impressive ultra in its own right without the time pressure of the full Ultra.

Supporting the runners on their journey is a team of over 100 professional staff and volunteers. This team will move north with the event, building and breaking down each overnight camp, providing essential hill safety and medical coverage, and cooking and serving the food that will keep participants fuelled for their adventure.  

The medical team gather for a briefing ©No Limits Photography

There was Excitement and trepidation at registration

There was an excited and nervous chatter amongst the participants as they registered this afternoon. Participants had their mandatory kit checked, before collecting their wristband, race numbers, event map, and T-shirt. They also had the option to drop off their dry bag containing their overnight camp kit.

Participants have a dry bag containing the camp clothing and equipment which is transported to each overnight camp ©No Limits Photography

We caught up with some of this year’s participants as they came into the event centre.

Graham Lornie was one of the competitors we spoke to. Graham is no stranger to the Cape Wrath Ultra, having volunteered on the previous two events. This is his first time as a participant though.

He said, “I've seen it the last 2 years, and after last year I got home and thought, oh I'll just give it a go and see. You've got to try something daft every now and then. Having helped the past two years, I've seen other people doing it, and you see people and think how could they possibly do it? You realise you may as well give it a go.”

He was excited for the adventure ahead. He said, “I'm not really nervous. I've done the training, and it's now time to see how it goes.”

Agnieszka Parzniewska was also looking forward to her journey. She said, “I'm apprehensive, and excited at the same time. I think it's going to be a great week.”

Agnieszka has a fantastic reason to motivate her on this journey, as she is raising money for a good cause. “Last year I started working for ESOL Perth, which is a school that provides free English lessons and I thought what would be the best way to generate some money? I thought having a massive challenge would be the best way. We already did a great job, because I think we managed to raise over £1000 so I'm quite happy with that result.”

“Thinking about my students and thinking about the people supporting me - even this morning I received all the messages wishing me good luck - it's definitely a big motivation!”

Agie drops off her bag ahead of the adventure ©No Limits Photography

One of the potential frontrunners in the women’s field is Sarah Perry, who has recently made waves in the world of ultra-running when she set a new female record for the Lake, Meres and Waters round.

She said, “I'm really nervous. I'm more nervous than I thought I would be. I think you get into kind of a rut of doing things that are within your capabilities. This will be a challenge, so I'm nervous but excited.”

The promise of a new challenge is what has brought Sarah to the Cape Wrath. “I think it's completely different to anything I've ever done, with it being a multi-day. It's one of the most challenging ultras out there.”

Despite being a potential frontrunner, Sarah is unsure if she is looking to be competitive. She said, “Someone asked me this if I'd compete or complete, and I don't think it's possible to for me to compete, as it's so out of my comfort zone. There's a lot of strong people here with a lot of experience who can compete.”

This is Sarah’s first multi-day event. She said, “If I were setting off to do this as a non-stop, I'd feel completely different. But I don't know how I'll feel getting up the 2nd day and the 3rd day, and running ultras back to back like that over such different terrain. Looking at the entry, there's a lot of experienced runners.”

 It’s certainly true that Sarah is in good company, with Debbie Martin-Consani (2022 Spine Race winner), Jo Meek (1st at the Golden Ring Ultra Trail 100k), and Elaine Bisson (2nd at the 2021 Dragon’s Back Race and 2022 Northern Traverse) also all lining up on the start line tomorrow morning.

Sarah speaks to the media team ©Steve Ashworth

There is an international field on the start line

Anthony Fleetwood and Anthony Skinner have come all the way from Sydney, Australia to participate. They’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. Anthony Fleetwood said, “We've been planning to do a multi-day event for a while. We'd seen this one a couple of times and I'd watched videos of people walking, and many years ago I saw BMC do it and I thought that's something I'd love to do. It's Anthony’s 50th birthday so we're celebrating that!”

 Andrea Löw has done many multi-stage events before, and has come from Munich to participate. She said, “You always worry have I trained enough, but I think the first four days will be training for the next four days.”

She was already experiencing the great atmosphere and camaraderie of the event, having met up with several fellow participants the night before. “There was a group of us and we met up for a beer and we were talking about race strategies. It was great!”

Registration was a hub of activity ©No Limits Photography

The journey begins tomorrow

Tomorrow morning, participants must collect their tracker, before taking a ferry across Loch Linhe to the start line in nearby Trislaig. Runners will be set off in 2 wave – one at 11:00 and the other at 12:00.

The weather currently looks favourable for Day 1 of the journey, which will see participants make their way to the first overnight camp, nestled beneath the iconic site of Glenfinnan Viaduct, which film fanatics may recognise from being featured in the Harry Potter films.

With a strong field of participants on the start line, it is looking to be an exciting race.

You can follow their progress via the live GPS Tracking.

Our participants are looking forward to a life-changing journey ©No Limits Photography

Wish you were joining the adventure?

Has all the excitement inspired you for your own Cape Wrath Ultra journey?

Sign up for the 2024 Cape Wrath Ultra or the shorter Cape Wrath Explorer and join us for 8 unforgettable days in the Scottish Highlands. Over 50% of entries are already gone, so enter now to secure your spot!

Sign up in May to save £100 with the early bird price, and take advantage of this exciting offer:

SPECIAL OFFER  – SIGN UP IN MAY AND GET 50% OFF THE 2024 SCARPA GREAT LAKELAND 3DAY

The SCARPA Great Lakeland 3Day event is the perfect practice event for the Cape Wrath Ultra - gain experience of a multi-day running event and test your kit and nutrition strategies while exploring the beautiful Lake District.

We will send everyone who signs up for the Cape Wrath Ultra this May an exclusive invitation for 50% off the 2024 SCARPA Great Lakeland 3Day.

The adventure starts tomorrow ©No Limits Photography