The 2025 Series is hotting up for SkyRun Eryri®
This weekend is the turn of mighty SkyRun Eryri®; Wales' premier skyrunning weekend and the second event of the 2025 Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series. Over 500 runners from 30 different countries will test their mettle across 3 thrilling SkyRaces — and with so much kudos up for grabs, we can’t move for big names on the start line!
Laura O Driscoll navigates Crib Goch en route to victory last year. ©Tanya Raab
This weekend is the 6th edition of SkyRun Eryri®, the ever-evolving creation of Skyrunning UK Director, Michael Jones. Jones is owner of APEX Running and former RD of Ultra Trail Snowdonia (UTS), which was acquired by UTMB Group in 2021. As a Race Director, he is notorious for his audacious and technical courses, which are full of jaw-dropping scenery, tough terrain and supportive atmosphere. First established in 2019, the Snowdon SkyRace® & Copper SkyTrail have grown in popularity, and in 2024 two new races joined the family — the 14 Peaks Ultra® and Fairy Trail.
The incredibly rugged terrain of Eryri awaits Skyrunners this Saturday ©Tanya Raab
This year, the SkyRun Eryri® weekend includes counters for the Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series, including the SkyUltra® Series, U23 Series and Masters Series rankings. But that’s not all – there are also some national accolades up for grabs! The 55km 14 Peaks Ultra® has been selected as the Middle Distance race in the British Trail Running Championships, as well as the Long Distance qualifier for the World Mountain & Trail Running Championships in Canfranc-Pirineos in Spain, which will take place on 25-28 September.
The weather is shaping up for a warm and sunny weekend in North Wales, with the possibility of some cloud cover to keep temperatures in check. This comes on the back of a hot, sunny period, so runners can expect it to be dry underfoot, giving rise to some potentially fast conditions out there on the course! But it could be a hot one for competitors this weekend, so runners should be prepared, with extra fluid capacity onboard!
Follow LIVE
With four exciting races unfolding over the weekend, there’s going to be so much action available at your fingertips! Live GPS tracking links are available HERE and regular updates throughout the day will be shared on the Skyrunning UK Facebook Page HERE and Instagram account HERE.
Racing will be a hands-on Skyrunning affair at this event! ©Tanya Raab
14 PEAKS ULTRA®
A modern ‘Ultra-Trail’ take on a classic endurance traverse, competitors will start on the North Wales coast and summit 14 of the Welsh 3000ft peaks in an epic traverse of 55km and 3,900m+ over the Carneddau, Glyderau and Yr Wyddfa massifs.
The route is testing throughout, with technical trails and sections of exposed, graded scrambling, including the North ridge of Tryfan and Crib Goch. Discover the route in full the event website HERE.
Ones to Watch
To say the field is stacked for the 14 Peaks Ultra this year is an understatement! With so much to play for, we’re expecting competition to be fierce at the front end. Here are the ones to watch…
In the women’s race, we have returning skyrunner and Yorkshire 3 Peaks Course Record holder Holly Wootten (UTMB Index 718). After finishing 5th in the Skyrunning UK National Championships race at Scafell Sky Race last month, she will be gunning for a podium spot, if not the win. Last year she won the Helvellyn Sky Ultra — but can she do it again? Hot on her heels you can expect to see Polish athlete Claudia Chmielowska (UTMB Index 680).
Holly Wootten in action at last year’s Helvellyn Sky Ultra ©Tanya Raab
Chmielowska certainly has the mileage in her legs, having smashed the UTMB Mozart 100 last month, finishing in 6th place. She is also no stranger to Eryri, as she raced the UTS 50K in 2024, where she finished in 4th place, narrowly missed out on the podium. We’re also excited to welcome back experienced mountain athlete Lauren Woodwiss (UTMB Index 651), who is returning to competition postpartum. Another one to watch is Vet 50-54 frontrunner Rachel Fawcett, who took the win at UTS 100K last year. Fawcett is clearly on good form this season, recently finishing 1st female and 12th overall in the Chiltern Ridge Classic 50K.
Lauren Woodwiss at UTS 50 in 2022 ©Ian Corless
In the men’s 14 Peaks Ultra there’s an impressive depth of field, with more than 40 male athletes with UTMB Indexes of over 600! Top of the ranking is Altra athlete Keith Wigley, who finished 3rd at the UTS 100K this season (UTMB Index 848). Close behind him is George Foster (UTMB Index 847) and Hugh Chatfield (UTMB Index 839), both accomplished athletes with a wide range of international races under their belts. After a DNF in his last SkyRace (Hochkönig SkyRace 2024), Foster will be keen to set the record straight. And the same may be true for Altra athlete Chatfield, who started the season well, with a 2nd place finish at the Arc50, but DNF’d his last big race, the MIUT (Madeira Island Ultra-Trail® this April).
Previous Dragon’s Back Race winner Hugh Chatfield is no stranger to Eryri’s technical trails ©No Limits Photography
We’re excited to see INOV8 athlete Jack Scott back on the start list this weekend, after his 4th place finish at the Scafell Sky Race last month (UTMB Index 836). We’ll also be keeping a close eye on Scott athlete Andy Symonds (UTMB Index 836), who is based in France and recently finished 4th in the UTMB Grand Raid Ventoux (100M). If you’re dot-watching, then also keep your eyes peeled for elites Harry Bolton, Robin Downie and last year’s Snowdon SkyRace® winner Alex Hill. The winner of the 2024 14 Peaks Ultra, Josh Bakker-Dyos, is also back for another bite at the Yr Wyddfa cherry.
But as always, a UTMB index isn’t everything and anything can happen out there in the mountains — it’s hotting up out there and it’s all to play for! Live GPS tracking is available HERE.
Josh Bakker-Dyos en route to victory at lest year’s 14 Peaks Ultra ©Tanya Raab
SNOWDON SKYRACE®
A skyrunning classic, the sub-ultra distance Snowdon SkyRace is the ultimate way to summit Wales’ highest mountain! Boasting 38km and 3,300m+ the race route takes in both ridges of the Snowdon Horseshoe (inc. Crib Goch), as well as the Y Gribin ridge and iconic Tryfan North Ridge – plus a ton of technical trails and singletrack in between. Discover the route in full on our Strava account HERE. Live GPS tracking is available to view HERE.
Ones to Watch
In the men’s race, Alexander Hirsbrunner from Switzerland is the highest ranked entry this year (UTMB Index 759). It may be his first time on this classic skyline but Hirsbrunner is having a good year so far, scoring a podium finish in both the High Atlas Ultra Trail and the El Cainejo Ultra already this month! And he is no stranger to technical ground, having finished in the top half of the field at the infamous Trofeo KIMA last year.
Rob Corney at last month’s Scafell Sky Race ©Tanya Raab
We’ll also be closely watching Rob Corney, who won the Rab Helvellyn Sky Ultra and represented the UK in the Skyrunning World Champs 2024. Corney managed a top 10 finish in a tough men’s field at the National Championship race last month, the Rab Scafell Skyrace. Craig Lowe is also back on the start line for 2025 (UTMB Index 726). Having finished 3rd in the overall series last year and completed this race every year for the last 4 years, Lowe will have a comprehensive grasp of what to expect and will no doubt have his set his sights on the overall ranking.
Craig Lowe navigates Crib Goch at last year’s Snowdon SkyRace ©Tanya Raab
We’re also expecting great things from Jeremy Swainson (UTMB Index 709) and Ed Brewer (UTMB Index 709), who both pulled out top finishes against a national-level field at the Scafell Sky Race last month.
Stunning backdrop below the soaring ridges of Yr Wyddfa ©Tanya Raab
The women’s race also has a solid line up, including experienced ultrarunner and coach Mary Marshall, who represented GB in the World Masters Mountain Running Championships in 2024 and most recently finished 3rd in the Trail Menorca Cami de Cavalls CdC (PTCN 58k) in Spain last month (UTMB Index 585). There is also Sorcha Kearney from Ireland (UTMB Index 575), winner of the Endurancelife Sheep's Head Ultra last month and Spanish skyrunner Uxia Aneiros Fernandez (UTMB Index 414), who raced this course in 2014 and will be looking to improve on her result.
COPPER SKYTRAIL
The Copper SkyTrail is a fast mountain course, ideal for those looking to build-up to bigger SkyRun Eryri races. Starting as per the SkyRace, the route climbs Yr Wyddfa, then diverges to the summit of Yr Aran before climbing back to the Snowdon skyline to tag Y Lliwedd. To finish in Rhyd-Ddu, runners must first ascend the Miners’ Track before punishing their quads in a descent of the Snowdon Ranger Path. Discover the route in full on our Strava account HERE.
This race is the first in the 2025 U23 Series, which is aimed at developing younger runners within skyrunning. Live GPS tracking is available to view HERE.
Ones to Watch
In the men’s race, all eyes will be on Sam Atkinson, winner of the 2025 UTS Eryri 25K. Clearly a strong hill climber, Atkinson finished 1st in the Swiss Alps Vertical last year but can he take the win this weekend too? He’ll have some stiff competition in the form of U23 Salomon athlete Caleb Nonhebel from Scotland (UTMB Index 736). Nonhebel gave some impressive performances in the National Series last year and finished overall series joint winner, as well as winner of the U23 Series. Other names to watch out for include James Wilson (UTMB Index 645) and Chris Smith (UTMB Index 644), who are both in the Vet 40-44 age category but will have their eyes on the finisher’s podium.
Caleb Nonhebel in action at last year’s Copper SkyTrail ©Tanya Raab
In the female field, Bethan Logan and Anna Buckingham are closely matched on paper, with UTMB indexes of 584 and 581 respectively. But Buckingham has the local advantage and is familiar with SkyRun Eryri® — finishing 4th female in the Copper SkyTrail in 2023 and 1st female in the Fairy Trail last year. Claire Shelley (UTMB Index 519) is also a top contender, not only for the Vet 45-49 age cat win but also the overall podium. Hannah Burnett (UTMB Index 494) is another higher-ranking runner making the step up from the Fairy Trail in 2024 to the Copper SkyTrail this weekend.
Across the board, the dry conditions will make for fast times but will we see some scorchin’ new course records this weekend? The countdown has begun…
Anna Buckingham claims victory at last year’s inaugural Fairy Trail ©Hollie Harmsworth
Let’s GO!
We can’t wait to watch the action unfold, as hundreds of skyrunners experience the superior skylines and very best backdrop that Eryri has to offer this weekend! Stay tuned for the race report arriving on Monday, to hear how the events played out and for full results. Series ranking will be updated on the Skyrunning UK website after the event.
If you’re heading to SkyRun Eryri® this weekend, don’t forget to swing by Race HQ to learn more about the races in this year’s National Series and grab product samples from our series partners Wassen.
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The Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series
The 2025 Skyrunner® UK & Ireland Series is made up of 13 SkyRaces across which points will be awarded to the top 300 finishers in every race. For the runners with the most points, the best three race results will count to a final series standing. To learn more about the Overall Series structure, prize pool and how the points ranking operates, please see HERE. To learn more about each of this year’s races, see HERE.
Which SkyRace will you be doing this year? Your best three results from any race count to your Overall Series standing!