Scotland to host 'luxury' marathon costing £15,499 to enter

An ultra-marathon billed as the “most exclusive” running experience in the world is set to take place in Scotland next year.

The Highland Kings Ultra event, which will cover 120 miles of trail running over four days, costs participants £15,499 to enter.

Each athlete competing will have access to butlers, hydrotherapy pools, speed boats and Michelin-star chefs on the route from Glencoe to the Isle of Arran in April 2022.

A spokesperson for Highland Kings said the event “is set to be the most exclusive, luxury, ultra-run experience on the planet”.

The course takes in mountainous terrain, forests and lochs, with all runners receiving a specialised training programme.

It culminates in an exclusive gala dinner with explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who said: “Highland Kings brings together the best of Scotland across a breathtaking landscape for the trip of a lifetime.”

Ian Beattie, the chairman of Scottish Athletics and the organiser of the West Highland Way ultramarathon race, told STV News he had never seen a running event in Scotland at this level before.

He said: “I don’t think this race is aimed at the normal running crowd, it is a different audience at the luxury end. It doesn’t really into the type of things that we do (at the West Highland Way ultramarathon), where people pay £120 for a weekend experience that is very much volunteer-led.

“There’s a range of events but this is just stretching it to another level, I have never seen anything at this level before. It’s very much at the luxury end.

“We have a really good running scene in Scotland and more and more people are coming back; the more coming in the better.”