The Biggest Ultra Trail Event in the UK
Ultra Trail Snowdonia race took place on the weekend of the 12th May 2023 with over 2,900 runners making their way to Snowdonia from more than 60 different countries. The athletes had the daunting prospect of taking on either the 25K, 50K, 100K or the UTS 100M racing against some of the best ultra trail runners in the world.
What were the routes and conditions like?
It was hot.. very HOT! For a May weekend in wales, the weather was incredible. Driving to the event village you could be anywhere in mainland Europe, the epic ridge-lines were lit up with the morning sun and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. As a spectator it couldn't be better weather, however for the runners taking on the races, this posed a significant challenge.
The UTS 100M is recognised as 'Beautiful beyond belief. Savage beyond reason' and this can be seen in the figures with 9500m of elevation, to put this into perspective that's the height of Everest with Snowdon added on top for good measure!
The UTS 100K takes on some of the best mountainous areas of northern Eryri/Snowdonia, with countless stunning trails, technical ridges and epic views throughout its 100kms and 6400m of elevation. The trails are natural and more rugged than their European counterparts, with the ascents steeper and descents more demanding!
The UTS 50K is the ideal stepping stone for those looking to take on more Alpine-scale mountain ultrarunning, with several technical mountain trails around the Snowdon massif and 3,300m of elevation.
New for 2023, the ERYRI 25K is inspired by Eryri (pronounced Eh-ruh-ree) and Snowdonia itself: the 'land of the eagles', that once soared freely, high above the snow-capped peaks of this mythical land.
Team VOOM Runners at UTS?
Both on and off the course, Team VOOM had a very successful weekend. On the course 100% of our ambassador team made it across the finish line in a weekend that saw 60% of runners unfortunately DNF. This is testament to both their hard work in preparation, their grit and determination during the event, and we like to think their hydration and energy armoury that VOOM support with.
In the 100K event it was extremely tight at the top with our very own Keith Wigley finishing in with a fantastic time of 13 hours, 33 minutes and 18 seconds, just 5 minutes off top spot.
In the 100m race Martin Rutherford finished the gruelling course, after almost 2 days on the go, in a time of just over 43hrs - brilliant over this terrain! Equally as brutal we had Lewis Ferguson and Zukie Tandathu taking on the 100K. In the 50K we had Lauren Gregory, Lauren Wilson, Jessica Mather and Howard Dracup all completing it powered by VOOM and completing it all in style!
We've had some fantastic reactions from both our team and community about how VOOM helped them out on the course:
"What an amazing weekend. I relied a lot on the Electro Energy bars, Hydrate Smart and Fusion to get me through, so thank you for that!" - Martin Rutherford
"VOOM bars were my life saver on Saturday!" - Girls Runwild
"Awesome team and thanks for the last minute Electro Energy bars, pretty certain I would have shrivelled without them" - Lauren Gregory
"Honestly don't know what I'd have done without the Electro Energy bars this weekend, literally a lifesaver in that heat!" - Jessica Mather
"What a wild one! Couldn't have done it without the VOOM Hydrate!" - Lauren Wilson
Off the course, we had a fantastic reception. A vast majority of the athletes called by our stand on their way to and from registration to find out more about our product range or to stock up ahead of the race. With Sparta fuel making it's debut alongside our new 90g carb drink Fusion Fuel, there was a lot of interest in how they can be tailored into their nutritional strategies especially with Sparta Fuel as it was designed for multi-day events, perfect for UTS!
Along with our ever popular gel-beating Pocket Rockets and POWR energy bars, it was also a return for our RecoverFudge and it's new VEGAN profile. This went down an absolute treat, selling out on the first day!
The 2023 Ultra Trail Snowdonia Results
There was a lakeland theme on the podium this year with Josh Wade and Emma Stuart producing impressive performances to take the victory in the men's and women's UTS 100M race.
In the 100K there were wins for Swiss runner Jean-Philippe Tschumi and Great Britains Lizzie Atkins. In the 50K, Great Britains Tom Evans and Johanna Gelfgren from Sweden took the wins.
In the debut year for the ERYRI 25K, Great Britains, Kristian Jones and Holly Wootten took the wins.
You can view the race highlights via the video below:
