Devil o’the Highlands preview.
This weekend sees the 18th running of the Devil o the Highlands Race. In this post, we offer a”Devil o the Highlands” preview of some leading contenders, together with an overview of the event,
The Devil of the Highlands, or the Devil as it is often known, is a 42-mile race held on the top half of the West Highland Way from Tyndrum to Fort William. It includes 6,500 feet, almost 2,000 metres, of climb, and has a 12-hour cut-off time.
Race start is 6am on Saturday August 12th. Live race checkpoint updates will be able to view on the Sport Ident site
A lone runner at the high point of the Devil route, just over the summit of the Devil’s Staircase, looking towards The Mamore’s. Pic Alan Young
The first race took place in 2003 under the stewardship of Gary Milne, supported by his wife Gemma and his Dad Stan. Gary and Stan had run and also been involved, helping with the full 95-mile West Highland Way race. Gary had long had the idea for “The Devil”. In 2003, the idea became a reality. The event soon became a popular fixture in the Scottish trail and Mountain calendar, attracting some of Scotland’s and Britain’s top ultra runners, together with mere mortals, happy to take on the challenge or enjoy a great day in the hills.
In 2015, John Duncan, Highland Fling Race Director, took over the organisation of the race. It seemed to coincide with the general fast-growing interest in trail running. Participation gradually increased
and the number of finishers doubled in the five years to 2019.
Covid years put a halt to progress in 2020 and 2021, but when the race returned in 2022, there was a healthy entry.
2023 has seen a record entry on the latest start lists with 286 men and 156 women entering, giving a total of 442 runners.
Participant Numbers over the years.
The table below shows the increase in participation at the Devil,0 the Highlands race since 2010. Figures before 2010 were unavailable .
Devil o the Highlands Preview. This Year’s Contenders.
Who are the ones to watch at the sharp end? I have picked out a few. No doubt I have missed someone. There is also often someone who will make a breakthrough on the day.
Women
Meryl Cooper from Banchory will certainly be one to watch. The Deeside Runner placed 5th at Transgrancanaria in February and has represented Great Britain 3 times at the world trail championships. The most recent was in Innsbruck in early June. She has had a little downtime since then, and is just looking to enjoy the course on her first run at the Devil.
Rachel Normand from Carnethy is also running the Devil for the first time. Victories at the Highland Fling in 2018, and the Ochill Ultra in 2021, are among her achievements. This will be her first “long race” since becoming a Mum last summer.
Morgan Windram-Geddes is a Scottish 100k road international. She also has a good track record in trail ultras, with previous podium finishes in both the Highland Fling and the full West Highland Way race. Although she has had no major races for a year or two, she is looking forward to her first run at The Devil.
Dee Watters from Stonehaven Running Club is also tackling her first Devil. She placed 3rd at Glen Lyon Ultra in 2022 and took the win at the Cairngorm Ultra in 2021
Others to watch include Sam Rendall from Deeside Runners, who placed 2nd at the Dee 33 in 2022 and is a former Cateran trail winner from 2019, and Annie Walters from Glasgow, who was 1st at the 2023 Ultra Scotland 50 mile and 2nd at Glen ogle 33 in 2022
Men
The men’s race looks fairly open.
Kyle Wilson from Greenock Glenpark Harriers looks to be in good form this year. After winning the Glen Ogle 33 last Autumn, he has followed that up with victory at the Dee 33 in March and a 2nd place at the Moray Coastal Trail 50 in May.
Michael Deason, the Glasgow-based American from Shettleston Harriers placed 2nd at the Devil in 2022, just missing the 6-hour mark with 6:03. Michael also ran a well-judged road 100k when running 7:18:10 in the open race at the Anglo Celtic Plate in April this year, held at Craigavon in Northern Ireland.
Others to watch will be Grant MacDonald of Garscube Harriers. The former GB 24-hour International has had a break from racing the last couple of years and will be running his first Devil and Scott Craighead of Carnethy, who has previously placed 4th in both this race and the Highland Fling, and 2nd in the Great Glen Ultra.
Outwith the runners aiming for the podium. Everyone of the runners will have their own story to tell, of their own journey to the start line and all being well, their journey to the finish line.
There are several runners in their sixties in the field, but the oldest runners on the start list appear to be Stuart MacFarlane from Bearsden, who is 70 years young and Jane Macleod form Edinburgh who is 71.
Top Times Since 2010
The table below lists the fastest times recorded on the Devil o the highlands course 2010-2022
Race Records
The current race records have stood for several years.
Former Great Britain ultra international Lucy Colquhoun holds the womens’ course record with 5:47:28. It was set in 2011 when Lucy was one of the leading ultra runners in Great Britain. To put it in perspective, the second fastest women’s time is 40 minutes slower at 6:23:18 and was set in 2018 by Nicola Duncan, who is an Irish International trail and mountain runner.
Rob Sinclair from Aberdeen holds the men’s course record. His time of 5:12:21 was set in 2017. Rob was having a “Stellar Summer “ that year. The GB international not only completed the mythical “Scottish Trail Triple Crown” of Highland Fling, Full West Highland Way and the Devil of the Highlands in the same summer, but set course records in all three races, all of which still stand!
Rob Sinclair at the foot of the Devil’s Staircase, with Buchaille Etive Mor in the background, during his record run at the west Highland Way in June 2017.Pic. Adrian Tarit Stott
Full event details can be seen at the Devil o the Highlands website
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