The Kintyre Way Ultra
The Kintyre Way Ultra is a set of trail races run on sections of the Kintyre Way in Scotland. The route features varied terrain including hill paths, forestry tracks, beaches, seaside rocks, bluebell woods and gorse fields. Runners may see views across the sea to Arran, Islay, Jura and Gigha at times, and to Ailsa Craig and Northern Ireland from the southern section.In 2027, on Saturday 8th May, we will be running from Tayinloan to Tarbert.
As one of the shorter Ultras available, and offering a variety of terrains, the Kintyre Way Ultra offers an ideal introduction to trail running, or the perfect step-up from a marathon, while providing challenging preparation for longer Ultras. There are no easy options, however, so you will need to have an understanding of how to prepare for this type of event.
The Kintyre Way Ultra was first run in 2007, from Tarbert to Campbeltown. Both solo and relay runners took on this 67 mile challenge until the introduction of a shorter 35 mile option from Tayinloan. The shorter option proved so popular that the long option was dropped and, with the Kintyre Way now 100 miles long, we decided to offer a different ‘third’ each year i.e. Tayinloan to Tarbert, Tayinloan to Campbeltown or Machrihanish to Campbeltown. However, in 2025, Howard Worton took the opportunity of the race starting at Machrihanish and continued overnight to arrive in Tarbert in a time of 25 hours 17 minutes for the full100 miles.
There is an option to run in a relay team of three over the two northern sections or two over the southern section.
Race features:
- Fully waymarked, with pale blue posts and distance markers at 1 mile intervals. Additional signs or marshals where needed.
- Refreshments, massage and showers at the finish.
- Drop-bags conveyed to checkpoints and rucksacks conveyed to the finish. Additional water stations between checkpoints
- Timing by KitST with GPS Tracking (signal permitting) – Let your friends see your progress real-time from the comfort of their homes.