The UK Ultrarunning Hall of Fame has been established by ULTRA magazine to recognise the incredible people we have enjoyed following and supporting in UK ultrarunning, athletes at the highest level of performance and those who have dedicated the time and effort required to maintain and grow the sport.
The UK’s tradition in ultrarunning goes back far longer than it initially appears. It felt wrong that American ultrarunners were celebrated and recorded in this way, their Hall of Fame having been established in 2004 by the American Ultrarunning Association, but we don’t have an equivalent to honour our rich local history.
So here they are, the first seven inductees to the inaugural UK Ultrarunning Hall of Fame.
Cavin Woodward
Mike Hartley
Andy Milroy
Don Ritchie
Hilary Walker
Eleanor Robinson
Carolyn Hunter-Rowe
Why only seven inductees? And why isn’t my favourite ultrarunner in there?
This is just the beginning.
To decide on the first inductees ULTRA reached out to Andy Milroy and Robbie Britton, two of the most knowledgeable people on the history of ultrarunners in the UK, and to Joe Faulkner, with his great knowledge of long-distance fellrunning, to help create the initial long list of individuals and focus it down to the first seven inductees. We also consulted with Davy Crockett of the American Ultrarunning Hall of Fame.
There are hundreds of potential candidates for inductees, so we matched the American version’s simple policy: to be considered for the UK Ultrarunning Hall of Fame, candidates must either have been retired from competition for 10 years, or have reached the age of 60. That still left dozens of candidates, so much discussion ensued! Of course many will wonder why certain individuals have been omitted, but this is a long-term play - we plan on regularly inducting individuals, and discussion on our Facebook group ULTRA Magazine Community is encouraged.
You’ll always find the latest list of inductees here.