John Muir Way Nocturnal Ultra
Race Date: 08 November 2025
Many thanks to Tony McClelland for the following race report: It sounded like a simple, if slightly daft idea. Run as many laps of a 5.5km trail as you fancy in 6 hours. There was the promise of free pizza and snacks every time you crossed the line. So we signed up, didn’t bother training and gave it a shot. It turns out repeatedly running through the finish line and not stopping is a lot harder than I thought. Clare McClelland and I managed 6 laps before the legs went on strike, both pretty happy with that.
Lots of clubs had entered relay teams, which seemed a much more sociable experience. Marshals were particularly lovely, the organisation was spot on and the route was so varied I was happy to repeat it. Oh and it turns out my brain doesn’t want pizza when I run - Weird!!
The men's race was won by Richard Kitto of North Berwick Runners, completing 14 laps in a time of 6.15.21, covering a distance of 74.2 miles, and the women's race was won by Marie Kirton, who completed 10 laps in a time of 5.50.40, covering 53 miles. There were 124 entrants, of whom 31 managed to keep going for the whole 6 hours.