West Highland Way Preview 2023

The Iconic West Highland Way Race takes place this Saturday, 17th June 2023. 

Full details of the race are HERE

The Iconic view looking back down Loch Lomond and the West Highland Way

The 96-mile /153km race is one of the longest-established ultra races in the UK. It is run over Scotland’s most popular hiking trail, which runs from Milngavie just north of Glasgow to Fort William at the foot of Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest mountain. Runners also climb app 4,400metres  14,400 feet of ascent.

The start of the race is at 1am early on Saturday morning.

West Highland way Tracking 2023

You can track the race HERE

While most mortals are happy to walk “The Way” in a leisurely few days with overnight stops, the race allows experienced ultra runners to run the trail in one go with a 35-hour time limit.

It is traditionally held on one of the weekends closest to midsummer. The start of the race is at 1pm early on Saturday morning. Leading runners ,running under 20 hours will reach Fort William before dark. For others there is the prospect of running through the night and into the dawn of Sunday, The 35 hour cut off takes runners up to the midday Sunday.

This year will be the 37th running of the event since the first edition in 1985.

You can read a History of the event HERE

Who are this years contenders

Last year’s winners, Rowan Boswood and Lynne Allen are not returning to defend their titles, leaving the field open.

Robbie Dunlop of Dundee Road Runners took second place last year and will be one of the favourites. He recently won the 55 mile Cateran Trail Ultra in Perthshire, which incorporated the 2023 Scottish ultra trail championships, so is in good form.

Scottish 100km International Kyle Greig from Alford in Aberdeenshire is attempting his first West Highland Way and should also be in contention. 

The popular and very experienced 100mile and 24-hour runner, James Stewart from Croy, winner in 2016 and 3rd in 2019 will be there or there about too

Stuart Johnstone, winner of the Great Glen Way in 2022, and Matthew Bird, another former Great Glen Way winner(2021), and 6th in last year’s WHWay, will also be ones to watch.

Pavel Cymbalista, the Polish athlete now living in Lochaber, has a string of competent FKTs to his name over the last 3 years . It will be interesting to see how he fares in head-to-head competition.

Stuart Ross from Banchory, a previous winner of the Dee99 and the 2022 Cairngorm Ultra champion, will also be a contender. 

In the women’s field, although 2022 winner Lynne Allen is not defending her title, the three runners who finished immediately behind her are all returning.

Last year’s 2nd place finisher Saki Nakamura, a Japanese national currently living in Glasgow will be hoping to go one better, as will  last years 3rd place finisher Jacqui Wilson and Scottish 100km international Alison McGill, 4th last year. 

Lorna McMillan, had  three previous podium finishes in the race between 2013 and 2016. After a few years with injury issues, she has returned to good form with a recent 2nd place finish in the Cateran Trail race. 

Fabiola Arevalo Garcia from Spain could also be a podium contender. She has several podium finishes in trail races from 100km to 100 miles in her native country plus a top 30 placing at UTMB

Although we have highlighted a few runners who should be contending for men’s and women’s podiums, every runner in the race has their own story to tell. Whether they are aiming for their 10th finish or attempting their first West Highland Way and their longest ultra to date, all the entrants will have been on their special journeys to get themselves on the start line. Their main aim just enjoying the weekend, getting to Fort William, and collecting one of the  cherished West Highland Way race Goblets.

The oldest entrant in the field and currently the oldest recorded finisher is Rob Reid from Tarbert, in Argyll. Rob completed the race aged 73 in 2019 and is returning for another run now aged 77. Two other septuagenarians, Stuart MacFarlane 70 and Andy Cole74, both multiple finishers, are also in the field.

The oldest female entrant is Sally Nichol, an ex-pat now living in New Zealand who is 64 and has completed the event four times previously. The oldest female finisher to date is Norma Bone who ran the race in 2019 aged 67.

The youngest entrants are Owen Young from Glasgow and Clementine Mitchell from Boulder Colorado both aged 27. 

Two runners of note amongst the field are worth highlighting. While several runners have multiple finishes in the race, Neil MacRitchie and Fiona Rennie, have both completed a record 16 Races. Here is hoping they are both successful in claiming their 17th goblets.

Current course records for the West Highland Way are Rob Sinclair’s 13 hours 41 minutes and 8 seconds set in 2017 and Lucy Colquhoun’s 17:16:20 from 2007. Sinclair was aiming to run the race again this year, but an injury picked up in April has led to his withdrawal.

Both are phenomenal times that will take a well-prepared and well-motivated athlete to come close to challenging.

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