UTS 2019: Race Preview

With the 2019 Ultra-Trail Snowdonia fast approaching this weekend, let’s take a look at who will be up front at the sharp end of each race vying for victory and a custom 3D printed trophy, plus a cool £175/£125/£75 Joe Brown Shops voucher and more!

The UTS 100 course has undertaken several minor revisions to make it flow better, whilst still retaining a staggering 10,000m+ of evelation gain. With just one finisher in last years inaugural event, the woman’s UTS 100 race will have dot watchers at home rooting for more finishers this year! Glasgow-based American Jamie Aarons make a return, no doubt vying for her second finish and golden goat! Also back for redemption following a DNF ¾ through the race last year will be Cheshire based Becky Wightman, representing Delamere Spartans. Finishing this will mean the world to her so please give her all the support you can!

Jamie Aarons en route to a solo finish last year. © No Limits Photography

Joining Jamie and Becky will also be the charismatic Stella Petric from the Netherlands. Sporting her trademark XL bangs, she’s a highly experienced ultrarunner and one of several Dutch runners toeing the start line this year hoping to earn a golden UTS badge! Will we see UTS’ first top 3 female podium? We certainly hope so!

Marcis Gubats early on in UTS 100 last year. © No Limits Photography

In the men’s race, Latvian Inov8 athlete Marcis Gubats, based in the Lake District will be back to defend his title. He will be challenged by Compressport International athlete and Frenchman Gregoire Curmer, fresh from a second-place finish at the Ultra-Trail World Tour ranked 100 Miles of Istria last month. Will only four weeks rest between both races be enough for him to challenge Marcis for the win though? Will he be as well prepared for the terrain as Marcis? And will the 30 hour barrier be broken this year? It’ll be an exciting race to follow! On a course like this, anything can happen…

Moving to UTS 50 event, which has changed since last year to include a cheeky runnable section in the last third, but still offering a whopping 5000m+ elevation gain over its 53 miles, no doubt returning fellrunning legend Nicky Spinks will be the hot favourite to defend her title from last year! Will anyone else come close? We can’t wait to see!

Nicky Spinks running a dominant race at UTS 50 last year. © No Limits Photography

The men’s race is wide open, but having spoken to many who are entered, it’s sure to be a competitive race with many passionate runners vying for a victory that will mean a lot to them. Our money is on Liam Mills, from Scotland but who has lived near to the course until recently, has trained on it extensively and knows it very well. Can his local knowledge trump the strength of any challengers? It’ll be another great race to follow this Saturday!

With just a few days to go, the excitement is high for the 250 race entrants and we look forward to welcoming you all to Llanberis on Friday! If you’ll be following along at home, keep your eyes on the event webpage for the GPS tracking link and Facebook page for all the live event updates!

Thank you to event suppliers: Joe Brown Shops, Salomon, Leki, Bragdy Lleu, Poblado Coffi, Conker Living & Wild Trail.

This is UTS: Beautiful Beyond Belief. Savage Beyond Reason.

Race Director Mike