From the south, we welcome back last year's 5th place Toby Chapman. With a marathon best of 2:31 and some course knowledge, Toby will be gunning for a Fling PB and a top three position. Neil Kirby, with multiple wins at Centurion Running events but some unfinished business with two DNFs here, has the potential to mix it up at the sharp end.
As always, if we have missed you off the list of contenders we're just allowing you the opportunity to fly under the radar and prove us wrong. You're welcome. Sometimes Johnny tells us someone has pulled out and then they rock up and break the course record, as happened with Beth in 2016. But we don't talk about that.
Kirby has won both the SDW and NDW 50 and 100 mile races and shows current fitness with a win at the recent the Coast Trail Series in Sussex
Good luck to everyone running. Whether you're in it to compete or complete, we look forward to cheering you down the red carpet on Saturday afternoon. Just remember, it's 53 miles. The race to Drymen is not real.
Highland Fling Race preview 2018
As host to the 2018 Scottish Ultra Trail Championships, this year's starting list of over 800 will once again include some of the UK's finest ultrarunners. The 53-mile race along the West Highland Way is arguably the UK's biggest and most competitive ultra-distance event. The women's race is going to be one of the hottest contested we've ever seen. Last year's women's podium finishers will all return to battle along the Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond to the finish in Tyndrum.
Last year's winner, Nicola Adams-Hendry will return to defend her title. The Garscube Harriers' athlete has been a force to be reckoned in the Scottish Ultra-distance scene over the past few years, winning the Scottish Championships twice. This will be her fifth Highland Fling. She has also won our sister race, the Devil o' the Highlands, three times.
We're excited to see what Nicola Duncan can bring to the race. The Irish athlete who resides in Edinburgh and runs for Carnethy has a marathon PB of 2:33. Winning every ultra she competed in last year, she may have a crack at Beth Pascall's 7:52 course record. Morgan Windram-Geddes and Rachel Normand (nee Newstead) who finished 2nd and 3rd last year will be looking for podium places and championship medals again. We also expect 100km internationalists Charlotte Black, Sophie Mullins (both Scotland) and Gemma Carter (England) to mix it up at the front end. Carter is fresh from a win at Country to Capital and a sub three marathon in Manchester. Local runner and resident Californian, Jamie Aarons has a wealth of ultra-experience and wins to her name and is sure to make her presence known.
Other ones to look out for Sara Al-Khadhimi, Aisling Allum, Gemma Bragg, Rosie Doull, Charlotte Finch, Georgina Hinton-Lewis, Claire McArthur, Carla Molinaro, Jo Newens, Louise Smart and Christine Waller.
In the men's race, there will be an equal depth of talent. We welcome GB trail team's Kyle Greig to the Highland Fling for his debut race on the West Highland Way chat avenue. The Metro Aberdeen athlete has shown his current form by finishing 5th in top international field at the Tarawera 100km in New Zealand. He was also the first GB athlete at the World Trail Championships in 2017. No slouch in shorter distances, his 10K personal best is 30 minutes. An incredible rise for an athlete who only ran his first , clocking 2:25 in his debut at the distance.
Two athletes, Neil Kirby and Jon Ellis, both multiple winners at Centurion Running events will be making the journey north with their eyes on the podium. Ellis can almost be viewed as a 50 mile specialist, with wins at SDW50, NDW50, Chiltern Wonderland 50, Wendover Woods 50 with his most impressive performance being 4th at the Swiss Alpine Marathon last year. The Highland Fling course will certainly play to his strengths.
