News - Thu 10th Sep 2015 - Competitor write-ups, blogs, and other 2015 race coverage - Salomon Skyline Scotland

Competitor write-ups, blogs, and other 2015 race coverage

10th Sep 2015

Competitor write-ups

1) Grant Macdonald:

"My plan to go slowly early on to save the legs for Aonach Eagach had gone wrong on two counts:

(1) The ridge was now wet, 30mins earlier I would have got it dry.

(2) Going slowly hadn’t saved my legs."

 

2) Joe Symonds:

"The sense of anticipation is palpable. Looming three miles to our West is the Eastern face of Buachaille Etive Mòr, the iconic peak that guards the head of Glencoe. Most visitors to Glencoe gaze in wonder at this near perfect pyramid of rock as they comfortably drive past on the A82. Today for us, our only passport to Glencoe is to go straight up it."

 

3) Emelie Forsberg:

"I have been running many races, but this one is special. This is Skyrunning.

I recommend that if you want to do it. You need to be a mountain runner. Not only runner on nice trails in the mountains. You need to have experience on wild mountains, climbing and scrambling. And that is so cool to have something to work for ay!"

 

4) Mark Hartree

"The direct ascent from Loch Achtriochtan to Sgorr nam Fiannaidh at the West end of the Aonach Eagach is brutal? Brilliant? brutally brilliant.  No really – it is a must and every race should have one!"

 

5) Niall McAlinden:

"Overall this event was awesome but incredibly tough. It was well worth the £70, there was so much provided over and above a normal hill race, from GPS tracking, SI timing with text updates for nominated numbers, lovely custom numbers and maps, great support and safety crew and some big name international runners.  

Would I do it again.... if you had asked me when I finished, hell no... but now watch this space."

 

6) Sam Harrison:

"Wow, what a race! The inaugural Salomon Glen Coe Skyline certainly lived up to its claim to be amongst the toughest and undoubtedly the most technical race in the UK. Sure, there are ultras that are well over double the distance, but none of them pack as much technical and tough terrain into their length as this one, and I can't imagine any of them being quite so mentally as well as physically draining. This is a day I'm not going to forget for a long time!"

 

Outdoor Media

Ian Corless

"Climbing Curved Ridge was for many, the highlight of the race. Coming just 6-miles in, it was a real brutal way to kick off what would be the UK’s most extreme day in the mountains. For those who don’t know, The Curved Ridge route ascended Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mor) via the exposed Grade III scramble (a ‘Moderate’ graded rock climb)"

 

UK Hillwalking

"Joe Symonds led a strong field on the 50km course, which included over 4000m ascent, storming home in just 7 hours 36 minutes 21secs. 'The real enemy is not the competitors, but the course!' he joked on the finish line"

 

Run Ultra

"Every now and then, a race comes along that makes everyone stop, look and think, 'Is that possible?'

The Dolomites, the Alps and the Pyrenees make the perfect playground for a mountain extravaganza, as we have seen from races like the epic Trofeo Kima and Ice Trail Tarentaise. Many said, 'Skyrunning in the UK? Really?'"

 

SleepMonsters

"What followed was a master class of pure Skyrunning by Joe and Emelie. They pushed the pace, extended the gap from the chasing competition and when they started the Aonach Eagach , barring an accident, the race for the respective top slots was over. However, Joe was only 10-minutes ahead of Emelie… could she close the gap on him!?"

 

 

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