The weather closed in at the end of Stage One. The wind threatened the integrity of our marquee at Kinloch Hourn camp and rain lashed against the runner’s tents as they slept. No doubt they passed the night worrying about what lay ahead of them on Stage Two.

They needn’t have. Conditions were calm as the sun rose and only improved as the day went on, in the end, what we experienced was a day far better than what even the most optimistic forecasts we’d seen had predicted. The runners had views that went on for miles across the snow-dusted hilltops and glassy, still lochs.

Stage Two began with a long steep climb up an extremely technical trail over the course of a couple of kilometers, a serious challenge for legs already battered by Stage One. A couple of runners who’d had particularly difficult days on Stage One turned back when faced with this and passed the day at Kinloch Hourn camp alongside the others who weren’t able to take on Stage Two.

For the rest, it was the ideal day for running. The course remained difficult beyond the initial hard climb but significant sections were very run-able and the calm and mild conditions made for a dream day for trail runners.

At the front of the race, Jon Shield continued to dominate taking another stage win, but once again there was little distance between himself and the 2nd and 3rd runners Sam Collins and Alex Green who took the remaining podium places for a 2nd day in a row. It’ll take a huge performance from another runner on the final stage to pry these three from the top spots.

The first woman over the line today was Flora Beverly who crossed a matter of seconds ahead of Amy Sutherland. That pair were a little over 20 minutes ahead of the previous day’s winner Sheila Sanei who took 3rd today. Flora Beverly is now the first woman in the field overall ahead of Sheila Sanei. Amy Sutherland did enough on Stage Two to grab 3rd place in the overall standings pushing Charlotte Logie off the podium.

The good weather stayed all night and spirits were high at Camp Two as the speakers held court. The first to talk was Steve Bate MBE, a bonafide paralympic gold medalist and world record holder with an inspirational story to tell about his journey to elite cycling glory. Exceptional ultra-runner and coach Gary House then talked the crowd through his journey into ultra-running before Sonny Peart introduced his charitable organisation Black Trail Runners and the amazing advocacy work they do.

The weather stayed calm overnight affording the runners a strong chance of a good night’s sleep ahead of the final stage.

Stage Two Results

Overall Times After Stage Two