The Kintyre Way is one of Scotland’s most scenic long-distance paths offering serious trail running in idyllic surroundings. With varied terrain from hill paths and forestry tracks to beaches and seaside rocks, through bluebell woods and scented gorse fields, you’ll have stunning scenery with views across the sea to Arran, Islay, Jura and Gigha at various times as well as Ailsa Craig and Northern Ireland from the southern section.
When the Kintyre Way was extended from Campbeltown via Southend to Machrihanish it became exactly 100 miles long. Each year our plan is to alternate the Ultra over one of the three sections, Tayinloan to Tarbert, Tayinloan to Campbeltown or Machrihanish to Campbeltown, each between 33 and 35 miles long. There is an option to run in a relay team of three over the two northern sections or two over the southern section.
In 2026, on Saturday 9th May, we will be running from Tayinloan to Campbeltown
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 massive 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.
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.
Each year, we survey the section we will be running over and profits from the race are used to support maintenance of the route.