What is Skyrunning?

“From sea to sky, skyrunning spans the great outdoors, across the world’s mountain ranges ... and the imagination of thousands of participants and fans. It’s a sport born in the wild, where the logic was to reach the highest peak in the shortest time from a town or village. Today it represents the peak of outdoor running defined by altitude and technicality and counts some 200 races worldwide with around 50,000 participants from 65 countries.”

This is Skyrunning, as defined by the International Skyrunning Federation.

Sometimes described as a fusion of mountain running and alpinism, the sport of skyrunning was officially founded in 1992 by Marino Giacometti, President of the International Skyrunning Federation. Giacometti laid down this official definition for the new sport: “running in the mountains above 2,000m altitude where the climbing difficulty does not exceed II° grade and the incline is over 30%”.

In Lakes Sky Ultra and Scafell Sky Race, we have created two races that will challenge the most competent of mountain runners whilst also providing an achievable pathway into skyrunning for those new to the sport. Both are part of the UK Skyrunner National Series, alongside Glencoe Skyline, Ring of Steall Skyrace and Mourne Skyline MTR.

What is Skyrunning?

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