West Highland Way Ultra

West Highland Way Ultra – Sunday 21st June 2026

The West Highland Way ultramarathon is a 96 mile (154 km) continuous footrace along Scotland’s most famous long‑distance trail, running from Milngavie to Fort William. It is one of the world’s longest‑established and most respected ultra‑marathons, first held in 1985 and is definitely not for the faint of heart, featuring a 1am start over a 35 hour time limit, with a frankly terrifying elevation gain of around 14,000ft – nearly five munros. It cuts across some of Scotland’s most iconic landscapes, including Loch Lomond, Rannoch Moor, Glencoe and Ben Nevis. Entry is limited to 300 places, by ballot, and all runners must have a full motorised support crew. Greenock Glenpark Harriers had four runners taking on the challenge this year – Kev Craig, Alan O’Rourke, David Duncan and Dave Graham.

We’re relying on the runners for their reports of this race as there’s no way anyone else can describe the effort involved – these are summaries of the runners experience posted from their own stories. David and Dave’s accounts will be added as soon as possible. Full Results are HERE.

Kev’s Story

Finished 30th, 21h 40m 06s (pb) – Kev returned to the West Highland Way Race for the first time since 2019, having spent the intervening years crewing for other runners and even helping run the Bridge of Orchy checkpoint. He had planned to race in 2023, but a sudden hospital stay three weeks before the event left him sidelined for months. Securing another chance this year felt like a gift — and he arrived at Milngavie in good shape after a strong, consistent block of training.

In the days before the race, nerves hit hard. Even though he had completed the Devil o’ the Highlands earlier in the year, this was the real test of how far he’d come. It was also the first time he’d been awake past 10pm in over a year, and the race didn’t even start until 1am. The start line atmosphere — always electric — settled him. After words from race director Adrian Stott, a presentation to Ian and Sandra Beattie, and the usual health warnings from Sean Stone, the runners disappeared into the darkness.

Kev ran the first 19 miles with Runrhaw, reaching Balmaha ahead of schedule. After a quick refuel, he pushed on, hitting the next checkpoints exactly on plan. He shared the long stretch to Beinglas with John O’Donnell, arriving right on time and delighted to see the Greenock Glenpark Harriers marshalling team — Yvonne, Kirsty, Jill and Elaine — who gave him a huge lift.

At Tyndrum, Karen, Brendan and Greig sorted him out with food, water and fresh socks before sending him back onto the course. But approaching Bridge of Orchy, things changed. He realised he wasn’t sweating despite the heat, hadn’t peed in a long time, and fluids were sitting in his stomach. He needed salt — badly. The march over Jelly Baby Hill and across Rannoch Moor became a grind. Greig met him coming down from the ski centre with salt tablets, and by Glencoe Kev was moving again, though now hours behind his original plan. Instead of chasing sub‑20, he reset his goal: get a PB.

He and Greig managed to run most of the descent from the Devil’s Staircase into Kinlochleven. After another feed, Kev headed onto the Lairig Mòr for the final 14 miles, managing some decent running patches to Lundavra. But by the top of the fire road, he was shattered. Everything hurt — but he knew he could still march his way to a personal best. He’d spent much of the afternoon talking about getting a pint at the finish while the pub was still open. With 200 metres to go, he found one last burst of effort and crossed the line to a warm welcome from John and Helen Munro.

Kev finished in 21 hours 40 minutes, a new PB — an achievement that meant even more given that a year earlier he doubted he’d ever be able to do “mad stuff like this” again. It was his third WHW goblet. He described WHW weekend as the best of the year, full of brilliant runners, crews and volunteers. He gave special shout‑outs to Alan and Stuart for earning their first goblets, and to Cameron for the Mountain Dew and shared training miles.

As for that celebratory pint? It never happened. After a shower, Kev climbed into the van, into his sleeping bag, and was unconscious within seconds.

Alan’s Story

Finished 139th, 28hrs 29m 28s – Alan described his West Highland Way Race as an epic, emotional adventure from start to finish. His Friday began with a physio session, last‑minute supplies, and an attempt to rest before his support crew — Andy, Viki and Chris — drove him to the Milngavie start line. There he met fellow Glenpark Harriers Kev, Dave and David before the 1am start. The course had been turned into a bog by days of torrential rain, and Alan’s feet suffered early. Dave Graham kept him company to Beechtree, settling his nerves, and dawn broke as Alan climbed Conic Hill into Balmaha for his first checkpoint and the first of many rice puddings.

He ran strongly from Balmaha to Rowardennan, feeling confident over hills that had beaten him earlier in the year. After a bacon roll from Andy, he tackled the brutal technical lochside section to Beinglass, where he arrived exhausted but welcomed by Yvonne and a group of Glenparkers. Swollen hands became a concern, but he pushed on. Music lifted his spirits on the way to Tyndrum, where he gained 11 places and met Chris for a much‑needed lemon Fanta. A big Glenpark turnout greeted him at the checkpoint, and after chips, a slush puppy and blister treatment, Viki joined him as support runner for the next 20 miles. They passed the time with nonsense chat — including a 30‑minute debate on Aulds cakes — and Viki casually informed him he’d just completed his first 100km!

At Glencoe, after soup and more foot repairs, Chris took over for the final marathon to Fort William. Although Alan’s head was strong, his legs were gone, and he didn’t run another step after the Devil’s Staircase. The mood shifted to long silences, dark humour and escalating swearing. At Kinlochleven, Sam greeted them with trademark abuse, and after more noodles, rice pudding and foot repairs, Alan briefly considered quitting — until Suzy quietly told him, “You’ve got this.”

The final 15 miles were the hardest. Running was impossible, and even purposeful walking deteriorated into staggering. Sleep deprivation caused hallucinations — including Michael Myers and a black Alsatian — and he wrestled with fear, fatigue and the question of why he does this. He concluded that pushing himself to the edge is what makes him feel truly alive.

Reaching Lundavra and the top of the fire road brought huge relief. He attempted to run the descent, only for Chris to stroll past him laughing. Sam joined for the final stretch into Fort William, where Alan finished at 5:30am in 28 hours 29 minutes, greeted by his entire support team.

After a shower, a beer and a short sleep, he attended the prize‑giving with Kev and David. Emotion overwhelmed him as he collected his finisher’s goblet. He shared a hug with fellow runner Kirsty, who finished one place behind him, both declaring “never again.”

The adventure ended with the whole crew at the Tyndrum chippie, where Alan ate his fish supper, lay down on the grass, and promptly fell asleep — still unable to believe what he had achieved.

Alan wants to offer sincere thanks to “incredible support crew of Chris, Viki, Andy, Sam and Pam. They made you feel like a king for the day with every check-point treated like a formula one pit-stop getting me comfortable, shoving food and drink into me and dealing with my mangled right foot and all with humour and tough love. Thank-you from the bottom of my heart 🥰
Most importantly to my beautiful wife Suzy. Not just for the support on the day but for being so supportive from day one through all the tough training days.”

David’s Story

Finished 166th, 30h 44m 46s –

To get a second chance at running this race was something I wasn’t going to take for granted. In 2025 I was sidelined with agonising blisters brought on by a last minute cure for achilles issues. Rookie error on my part. Thankfully I had had a good training period from getting my entry through to race day. Club sessions made a big difference and a lot of uphill speed work too. Injury chances reduced too, with regular strength work.

I assembled the same crew for the Race this year as I owed it to them to have another crack. This time I was determined to finish and issued instructions to push me on no matter what. The start is a hum of anticipation. The 1 o’clock start affects people in different ways. But we have all signed up for this so have to embrace it no matter what. So, with all the briefings, hugs and “bye-then’s” said we were off!

Stage one to Balmaha is a steady trundle from the town through the woods and lowlands to the bottom of the Lochside and the trail start in earnest. The head torch was turned off in Garadhban and we were in the light of a new, (to be very long) day. I loved the new path up Conic Hill. Gone are the loose rocks that slowed momentum and potentially rolled ankles. Ran in to the checkpoint and my crew after 3hours and 45mins…slightly ahead of schedule. Good!

Slickly fed and watered with what I desired. Head torch dropped off, hat on, pack replenished I was out again and onwards to Rowardennan. I was moving well but seeing relatively few other runners. A couple of unsuccessful visits to the loos in Milarrochy and Sallochy was of slight concern. On arrival at the CP I told my crew and they said I had to drink more. I was dehydrated. even though I wasn’t thirsty. More tea and and porridge taken. This next stage was going to be long. No drop bags for some reason at Inversnaid so we had to carry what we needed until Beinglas on what is a brutal section of the course.

Dibbed in at Inversnaid and now drinking better, I didn’t stop for long here as the midges were awful. We were cheered on by the Team and legend Keith Hughes’ Aussie banter.

The next section to Benglas Farm is more of an obstacle course than a trail. For me it is anyway. How the front runners keep up a 5:30/km pace along this bit staggers me. Anyway, on I plodded breaking into jogs when there was about 20 feet or more of runnable trail. Getting to this CP is a psychological boost as it has the tightest cut off time of the whole race. The great team of GGH ladies Elaine, Jill and Yvonne treated me royally. Comfortably inside the cut off and pampered I could put the Lochside behind me and get in a run/ walk rhythm and push on.

Auchtertyre Farm had been replaced by Tyndrum this year as the next checkpoint. It was also where I was going to meet up not only my wonderful crew but my sister, her husband and daughter. They had travelled all the way from the Alps and it was a huge morale boost to see everybody there for me. Tessa, my niece, was going to run with me from Tyndrum to B-o-O. A bit of mid route bonding time before she heads off on a year of travelling!

Unfortunately, it was probably my worst section. All the excitement and attention had not aided digestion! Caught short with a km to go before B-o-O eased things ALOT! I was smiling again! This CP was a much happier one than last year. No blisters, shoes great, feet wrinkling with having been in and out of muddy puddles but otherwise good to go.

Farewell hugs with family done, Lesley was to be my support runner from here to Glencoe. Marching up to Mike at the 100km point and a jelly baby it was stunning evening to be out there. The Highlands rise up and you can see for miles ahead. We adopted a run to there/walk for so long pattern. It would be a bridge or a tuft of grass we aimed for. But it worked and I was amazed at how much I enjoyed being pushed on. I wasn’t sure at this stage were I was against my target time. Slightly ahead as it turned out.

Glencoe CP was a reset one. Food taken on, sock change and more layers. Head torch too. Callum was going to support me to the finish from here. Lorna would head on to the accommodation in FW and Lesley to KLL to have a few hours rest. We ran a bit to the gate after Kingshouse and then on to Altnafeadh and the base of the Devils Staircase when darkness fell. The climb up was at a good steady pace and we had our photo taken walking past a makeshift studio! A bright light at the summit was beckoning us in a strangely hallucinating way. Nice to be offered drinks and gummy bears at midnight on the top of a hill! Well done guys what a shift that must have been.

The descent into KLL was very dark. No moonlight, only headtorch beam to guide the way so foot placement was key. We overtook a few runners here who were taking it gently. One looked in trouble. We offered help but were assured he was ok. Meeting his support crew heading up to meet him as we came in to KLL it was clear he would be going no further. Shame.

The community hall CP in Kinlochleven was a busy but hushed quiet. Dibbed in on the pool table. Julie in control! Runners sitting grabbing a nap or crews waiting on the arrival of theirs. It had a ‘waiting for dawn’ feel to it. I ate, drank, replenished in silence and then we both headed out to the darkness after about twenty minutes and the push to the finish. The climb out of KLL under headtorch somehow took on a whole new look to the point I feared we were going the wrong way! Dusk came as we hit the fire road and I knew were ok. Looking back, we could see headtorches descending into the village.

The Lairig Mhor pass in the misty morning light went on forever. Nothing we set our sights on to get to seemed to get any closer no matter what! Caught a couple of runners and their support on this section but wanted to keep a good pace on now to get to the finish. I was familiar with this section having run the Devil in April. It never gets any shorter though! Lundavra was lively and welcoming. The team there are heroes, as they have the longest shift of all the CP’s. Nice spot though and near the finish too. We passed through quickly not wanting to give up the places we had made up. We were taken aback however, by a runner going at some pace, passing us. And I mean at a pace you’d expect a sub 20 hour runner to be going at. For the next few minutes we could only surmise this was someone that had realised a sub 30 time was possible and was kicking on. Odd for sure.

The final crest on reaching the fire road was celebrated with high fives as it was downhill from now to the finish! No more climbs!! Ben Nevis was in cloud but hey…we were nearly there. The relief was great. It didn’t help to fire the legs up to run though! We hit the road to town and the sun came out. Lesley had walked out to meet us and it was very emotional. I broke in to a jog entering the hall, got dibbed for the final time but Keith (again) and I was done!! 30h 44m 26s. I had done it!

I cannot thank my crew of Lesley and Calum McKerral and Lorna Moore (my partner) enough. They were brilliant as a team and inspired, motivated and pushed me to the finish. The goblet will always remind me of your time, effort and belief in me.

Dave’s Story

DNF at 12h 54m 12s – Dave started the race feeling slightly nervous, but calmer than he usually is before a big event. He ran with Alan to Beach Tree, keeping the effort easy and chatting along the way, everything feeling smooth and under control. He reached Balmaha right on schedule and was able to eat and drink well. From there he took it steady to Rowardennan for a quick stop, more food, more fluids, and continued with a comfortable run to Inversnaid, feeling better than he had expected.

He took ten minutes at Inversnaid to rest his legs and fuel up before the technical section. Dave made it through to Beinglas unscathed, feeling generally good aside from the expected fatigue. The volunteers at Beinglas were outstanding — he described it as the best stop ever, complete with excellent coffee.

After that strong reset, he set off toward Tyndrum where he would meet his crew for the first time. Roughly 3 km after Beinglas, he rolled his right ankle badly and immediately heard and felt a pop. He tried to walk it off, but the pain was severe. After taking painkillers he continued walking, but every step became more painful. A short attempt at jogging made things worse. He managed to hobble another 6 km to the halfway gate, but the pain was escalating and the painkillers weren’t helping. At that point he made the difficult decision to stop and hobble down to Crianlarich to be collected by his crew. “Gutted” doesn’t begin to cover how he felt.

Dave continued on to Fort William since the hotel was already booked, and visited A&E there. The doctor diagnosed strained or torn ligaments and tendon damage in the flexors at the front of his ankle, advising a week off his feet followed by light rehab, and no running for at least six weeks — though Dave isn’t entirely convinced about that timeline.

It took him a few days to process everything mentally, and he has had to stay off work due to the injury. Despite the DNF, he expressed huge gratitude to all the volunteers and staff for an amazing experience, and especially to his fellow GGH runners who supported him along the way and at the checkpoints.