Skyrunning World Series Success & At-Home Racing: This Week's Trail Tally

Runners during 5 Trails Ultra © No Limits Photography

Chasing Trails: Week 46

The Skyrunner World Series concluded with a brilliantly technical race this last weekend and we couldn’t be prouder of Natalie Beadle’s top 10 finish and 7th place in the world series rankings. Well done also to all the runners who laced up and took on the Brecon Beacons and the 5 Trails Ultra!

Natalie Beadle - 7th In The World 🙌

Natalie has been racing in the iconic Skyrunner World Series circuit this year, with some amazing performances including three podiums (2nd at Grigne SkyMarathon, 3rd at the Mourne Skyline, and 2nd at the 2 Peaks Skyrace). Accumulating points in the series ranking, she headed into this past weekend’s series final with a brilliant CV thus far.

The end of the series was held in Spain at the Marató dels Dements (literal translation, the marathon of the demented!), where runners faced a 39km course with 3808m of ascent. A highly competitive race, it brought together some of the best performing athletes from the season and was a battle until the finish line. Natalie put in a strong performance to finish in 10th place in 5:31:32. A brilliant achievement considering that, as she wrote on her Instagram account, she was “mainly aboard the struggle bus” this past weekend, but had the perspective of struggling to jog 5km this time last year. 

And, after the total points tally for the season, she was confirmed in seventh place in the women’s rankings. Neutral athlete Anastasiya Rubtsova won the women’s series overall, having dominated the races this year with a string of victories. She also won the Marató dels Dements in a time of 4:55:25.

Congratulations, Natalie!

Natalie during the race © Natalie’s Instagram

Sophie Biggs and Neil Kirby Triumph at the 5 Trails Ultra

Combining some of the best trails in the south of England, Freedom Racing put on the 5 Trails Ultra 50k which sets off on the Serpent Trail at the foot of the South Downs. Runners enjoyed the West Sussex Literary Trail, New Lipchis Way, South Downs Way, and Monarchs Way, too. With only 1167 m of elevation, this was a more runnable course than some of the ultras we normally cover, but highly entertaining and offering stunning views in a beautifully autumnal setting. After just over four hours of running, it was Neil Kirby who claimed the victory (4:03:21), followed by Ryan Brown (4:08:17) and Jacob Plummer (4:31:18). In the women’s race, Sophie Biggs was the winner and also placed fifth overall in a speedy 4:54:01. Michelle Attridge was second in 5:02:56 (seventh overall), followed quickly by Helen Newman in third place and eighth overall (5:03:00).

There was also a 3 Trails Half Distance race which crowned Patrick Atkinson as the winner in 1:33:42, followed by Tom Hansen (1:35:55) and Joshua Boniface (1:39:13). The women’s race was won by experienced skyrunner Abigail Woolaston (who claimed second in the 50k Serpent Trail in 2023, so was familiar with the surroundings!) in 1:39:42 (fifth overall). Lucy Rochford was second (1:43:38, eighth overall) and Lucy Williams was third (1:53:51).

On Course at 5 Trails Ultra © No Limits Photography

Beacons Ultra Victories for Katy Cherry and Tom Sheffle

There’s just something about the Brecon Beacons in autumn, with challenging weather conditions on tough terrain, taking in iconic summits like the Pen Y Fan. This is why runners gathered in Talybont-on-Usk to take on 50 miles with 2258m of elevation last Saturday, ready to take on the elements (Pen Y Fan is notorious for being difficult to run and train on because of strong wind and quickly changing weather). 

Tom Sheffle was the winner in the 50 miles in 8:16:43, edging out experienced Spine Race runner James Leavesley in second (8:19:41) and Carl Everall in third (8:26:02). In the women’s race, it was Katy Cherry’s victory in 9:07:16. The female podium was completed by Beth Gossling (10:22:12) and Kimberley Hill (12:23:23). 

Pen-y-Fan, Corn Du & Cwm Llwch lake © Richard Whitcombe/Shutterstock

I’ve truly enjoyed following the Skyrunner World Series this year, particularly cheering for my fellow Romanian Denisa Dragomir who returned to racing after having a baby and finished fourth overall (she is a previous Skyrunner World Series champion and was the world champion over the 38km “short trail” distance at the 2021 World Mountain and Trail Running Championships. An inspiring comeback, along with the stellar performances by Natalie Beadle! Congratulations, ladies!

Alecsa Stewart