Planning Skyline Scotland by UTMB 2027

Introduction

A UTMB World Series event in Scotland? Yes please. Creating a world class event to rival Eryri by UTMB (aka Ultra-Trail Snowdonia, aka UTS) is any trail Event Director’s dream. You have The Ben, The Mamores, The Grey Corries and Munro’s in every direction, with no end of technical mountains, extreme ridges, and elevation that even the thought of makes your knees ache.

You can sit, and I have, sketching spectacular routes of well-trodden trails, visualising the photos, the achievements, and the inevitable blood, sweat and tears, giddy at the prospect of having one of the world’s greatest events coming together.

We are proud and excited about the plans for 2027, however, we know that fulfilling the maximum ambition we have for this race is a process that takes numerous years to build and learn from. When UTMB finalised the rescue of the event from the Administrators, we understood that the real assignment to turn the vision into reality meant that it first needed a hard reset. The Ourea team did fantastic work, but the event had only gone ahead in two of the last four years. The planned 2026 routes were an ongoing negotiation, with the long-term vision between event organisers and some stakeholders, let’s say, not totally aligned. Organising an event that does justice to the epic landscape in these mountains is a complicated beast, and while the land is raw and rugged, there are huge swathes that are delicate and protected.

The 2027 Event

The biggest factor in organising the 2027 event was honouring the roughly 900 entries from the 2026 event. We wouldn’t have rescued an event if we couldn’t provide an offering for the runners who had lost out due to the administration. Ourea and UTMB were very set on offering this, and it’s been a key part of assembling the roster of 6 races available.

In a world where event margins are getting smaller, and many event companies are struggling with the spiralling costs of land access, food produce, volunteer expenses and logistics overheads, incorporating that volume of ‘free’ entries was going to be a complicated part of the puzzle. The offer to all 2026 cancelled entries is the choice of an equivalent distance or shorter for the 2027 event, or a transfer with the same choices at the other UMTB UK events in 2027.

Incorporating these runners for 2027 came at the expense of the 100M race. It simply wasn’t possible to deliver a 100M race to the UTMB standards. As luck would have it, the UTMB UK stable has a couple of other 100M bucket list races, and transferring to the same category race or shorter, was a way we could provide seriously good options. Going from a cancelled race in one year to the choice of UTMB races in Scotland, Cornwall and Wales the next, we feel, is pretty good.

The Vision for Skyline Scotland by UTMB 2027 and Beyond

Planning for 2027 has been a lot of work, and all done with consideration for the next 5-10 years. Getting the foundation of this event right for 2027 enables us to evolve this event to the pinnacle of the UTMB World Series. The right team, amazing volunteers, supportive stakeholders, a proud local community and a robust plan are the foundation that we need to unlock the potential of this incredible environment.

By getting those elements right, we can understand the difference between putting 100 or 1,000 on the start line for specific routes or where we can balance remote racing and not seeing an aid station for 30km. Incredible, challenging trail racing, in a jaw-dropping landscape, will still be delivered in 2027. It may not be as extreme as some hoped, but for all the right reasons, and there is still a choice of 6 fantastic races. And as always, routes are provisional, and we never stop working, so who knows, there might be some surprises over the coming months that make some of the routes a little spicier.

With the ever-increasing participation in outdoor sports, the number of people using the trails across Scotland has never been higher. Protecting the land and encouraging recreational use will continue to be a topic for debate, but we are really happy to be working with the stakeholders, and we believe that there is a shared vision for what that means in years to come. It will take work from everyone, including the recreational users of this spectacular landscape, but this is a long-term project for us all, and echoes the work we are doing at all the UK events to sustainably deliver the best trail running events.

The 2027 Routes

Key things we wanted to deliver in 2027 focused on integrating the event to the town of Fort William. Having The Grand Tour of The Ben 100K and Ben Nevis Skyline 30K starting on the high street was a major new addition that we are really excited about. It’s an ideal location and will be amazing to bring the athletes and spectators into the town for an epic beginning to the races.

The Ben Nevis Skyline 30k race really gets to the heart of what makes this area special. With the addition of starting from the Fort William high street, that race is the soul of Skyline Scotland, summitting The Ben and traversing Carn Mor Dearg Arête are unforgettable experiences, and finishing down the Blue Doon is a punishing cherry on the top. It’s comfortably in the UTMB 50K category, and I can confirm that the numbers on paper make it sound easier than it is!

While not (currently) the elevation of previous years, the Grand Tour of The Ben 100K and Tour of The Ben 50K are some of the most beautiful running routes in the UK. While the climbs and descents may lack some of the most extreme mountain technicality, the increased runnable kilometres make for a real runner's race. A lot less hiking and a lot more running, we are looking forward to seeing some incredible times.

Aonach Mòr Anarchy 20K is quite simply fantastic running. Around 14km of beautiful trails, finishing with a climb to prepare you for the big finale: 6km down the Blue Doon. The Nevis Range MTB track that twists, turns and descends you back to the Ultra-Trail Village. The epitome of a fun day out.

Finally, we have the quick ones. An ascent race and a descent race. The Nevis Avalanche takes place on the Friday afternoon. A time-trial style event to fly down the Blue Doon. Far tougher on the legs than you can imagine, but I have already heard that some may be using it as a warm-up for one of the longer distances later in the weekend... And finally, the Nevis Ascent is a straight race to the top. Out of the blocks from the Nevis Range, 6km with 600m of climbing up the trails to the Snowgoose Café - what better way to start a Sunday morning?

Conclusion

We are incredibly excited to welcome new runners, UTMB veterans and inherited athletes to Skyline Scotland by UTMB 2027. As we continue to spend the coming months designing an event that goes beyond a selection of races, we look forward to providing updates when the time is right.

2027 is set to be an epic start! See you in Scotland.

Sam Calvert, UK Event Director