On Saturday 1st June Finlay Wild set a new record for the Tranter's Round, beating Jack Kuenzle's 2022 time of 8hrs 38mins 23secs by around ten minutes, to cross the finish in Glen Nevis at 8:27:53. 

This is the fourth time Finlay has set a new summer record on the famous Lochaber route, a round of the Mamores, the Grey Corries, the Aonachs, Carn Mor Dearg and Ben Nevis totalling around 58km, and with over 6000m of ascent. He also held the winter record for a while.

In 2022 the record changed hands twice in 24 hours, when local star Finlay became the first to run it in under nine hours only to be pipped the next day by visiting American runner Jack Kuenzle.

Writing on Strava, Finlay described his latest effort as: "My best ever run; perfect conditions; solo and unsupported." 

On one hand I was sore and it was hard. But there was no way I was stopping: I was flowing with purpose across the land, a moving element within it. A sublime feeling

We caught up with him to find out how it all went:

UKHillwalking: Solo and unsupported: what, for you, is the attraction of doing things that way?

Finlay: It's the simplest way, I value the pure aesthetic. It's just you and the mountains: there is no hiding, no help, you are fully committed. Route, pacing, fuelling, motivation - all down to you alone. It's the beautiful simplicity of it. Specifically in terms of Tranter's Round, Jack had stuck to the solo unsupported style for his record, so there would be no way I'd use support to try and break that.

You had a failed attempt last October. Had you had this weekend's attempt in mind for a while, or was it a case of suddenly feeling inspired and just going for it on a good forecast?

Trying to get the record has been on my mind ever since Jack broke it! Last year I had a few minor niggles that meant I wasn't confident going for an all out Tranter's effort until October, when it wasn't really good enough weather. This year I've had a good build up progression of distance objectives but haven't raced much. I felt my endurance was in a better place than last year, but it was hard to know what my overall form was like. Another issue is that it's often pretty hot in June and July, so I needed a day of good weather either at the end of spring or early autumn, with cooler temperatures. When I saw the brief weather window developing I got excited as I knew I was well rested after the Cuillin Round a month ago [more on that soon - Ed], in pretty good shape, and it did look like it was going to be such a great day on the hills.

You have previously held the Winter record. How many times have you done a TR now, both records and non-records?

I think almost eight times (I bailed out from the penultimate summit, Carn Mor Dearg, on my attempt last October). One round was on skis with Tim Gomersall in 2016 - another incredible day.

Might you think about having another pop at the winter one?

I'm always drawn back to this round as it's such a logical, classic line. Apart from the valley crossing of the Abhainn Rath at half way you remain high up, often on brilliant ridges traversing above some of the great wild areas of Lochaber. So I'm sure I'll be back at many times of year.

Is it likely you know this round better than anyone else alive? Your CV suggests you've made it very much your own!

Many people know and love these hills. There will be ecologists who know the mosses of the corries better than me, and historians who know much more about the history of humans in and around these hills. But yes, I have spent a lot of time running in these mountains. Not just fast efforts on the ridges or 'rounds' but also exploring and enjoying at a slower pace. One memorable outing years ago with friends was to circumnavigate Sgurr a' Mhaim on old stalkers' tracks without ever going to the summit. My connection to these places is strong.

You still have the Ramsay's Round record too: What is the difference in terms of logistics and the physical/mental approach you need to take, between TR and RR? I'm imagining it as more a sprint than a marathon (within reason, all things being relative)…

It's difficult to describe pacing for endurance running very clearly. For me, a lot of it comes from 'feel' based on experience gained running on all different distances over the years. Split times are very helpful, giving an aim and a progress report mid run. It's difficult for me to compare my Ramsay's Round record from 2020 with this Tranter's run as I have progressed a lot as an endurance runner during that time. Both runs felt very special, finding a rhythm and pace, and I think quite a lot of this was due to visualisation of the route: imagining the difficulties and what success would feel like.

My approach to Ramsay's was also solo and unsupported, so obviously I had more weight in terms of food. The pace had to be a bit slower as Ramsay's is 30km further, but I don't have any scientific way of working this out. Going hard, but not too hard! Maybe visualising being totally spent at the end of whatever length of run it is, but imagining still finishing strong. I collapsed on my knees at the Youth Hostel at the end of both those rounds, feeling like I'd emptied the tank. Tempting as it is, I'm not sure how relevant the sprint / marathon comparison is, as they are both long endurance runs. But I was reading about Ethiopian marathoners recently, so maybe that helped?

Saturday was pretty warm at times - how did you find conditions on the day, underfoot and in terms of weather?

The weather was perfect actually - every time I felt like it could maybe get a bit too hot there was a cool breeze which kept things ideal. All the rock was really dry, so those sections were fast and solid. There was a bit of bog to deal with, there always is on this round! The Abhainn Rath valley crossing was about average, but the early part of the ascent up Mullach nan Coirean and the short cut after An Gearanach were a bit wetter than they will be later in the year.

It was a low snow volume winter so many snow patches I'd usually expect in early June weren't present; most notably the one in the gully below Stob Coire Bhealaich. This usually produces a stream which runs at least until August, but this year it is already dry. There are a few shortcuts in the woods low down in Glen Nevis where last winter's storms have worsened the running lines slightly. It's minor in terms of the distances involved, but I did spend some time on Friday evening after work moving a few fallen trees and learning the new lines. You don't want the stress of working this out 15 minutes into a Tranter's record attempt!

Your TR records are: 2016, 10hrs 15mins; 2020, 9hrs 5 seconds; 2022, 8hrs 52 minutes... and now 8:27:53. You're steadily upping the ante here, having been the first person to go below nine hours. Is it realistic to suppose someone will one day beat eight hours, and that this person might well be you? What would it take to do that?

Sub eight hours doesn't sound very likely for me. Although I thought even just beating Jack's record by a narrow margin would be a big challenge, so I've surprised myself there. With both myself and Jack, we've already pared things down to the absolute minimum - all I carried that wasn't edible was a tiny survival blanket, a PLB emergency beacon and a lightweight waterproof. I took mostly gels to maximise calories for weight and bulk. Obviously there's a risk to this minimalist approach but my point is that there's nothing else to cut down really. And my lines on the hill are fairly optimised. So to go faster it would come back to fitness and motivation.

Jack's 2022 record of 8:38:23 shaved about 14mins or so from your record set just the previous day. Did you consider that unfinished business?

Yes definitely. I was delighted that Jack valued Tranter's round, picking this first out of everything on offer in the UK. It was great to see it get that sort of international validation, which it deserves. On a personal level it was also great to have a new challenge right on my doorstep, something to push me further and deeper, and I've thought a lot about Tranter's Round since he broke my record.

Chasing the record (or pushing your own barriers as a runner more generally) is a catalyst to get into a rare mindstate - moving through these hills with this purpose and efficiency sometimes leads to a clarity and decisiveness that I haven't often experienced elsewhere. I touched upon trying to explain this in my Strava writeup: "The endgame was gloriously difficult: my legs were just the right side of cramping, my nose was bleeding, rocks in my shoes, but I was able to access something extra, some level of focus that I've rarely if ever experienced". On one hand I was sore and it was hard. But at the same time there was no way I was stopping: I was flowing with purpose across the land, a moving element within it. A sublime feeling.

I felt it would be really tough to make up the 15mins to his record, but that it wasn't impossible for me. On his record run, he really pulled time out of me in the second half, so I was concerned about just how strong his endurance was in the latter stages. On Sgurr Eilde Mor at the end of the Mamores I was only 2 minutes ahead of Jack (having been 5 mins up at this point on my October attempt - which I then lost in the Grey Corries and Aonachs) and knew his split time for the long leg down to the Abhainn Rath and back up to Stob Ban (Grey Corries) was 61.5 minutes. This is an awkward part of the route, with lots of pathless grass and tussocks. I've never beaten Jack's split for this section and previously this would be the point where my endurance has faltered. On Saturday however I could feel in my legs I had the endurance, and pushed on to make that split in just under 59 mins. This was a massive boost and gave me a surge of confidence pushing onwards to go the distance.

Were you confident you'd manage it throughout, or was it a bit of a battle? Any moments of doubt?

When I attempted last October, I got 5mins ahead of Jack in the Mamores, only to then lose it all in the second half. Partly this was due to weather but also I know I wasn't strong enough.

On Saturday I was only just keeping pace with his split times in the Mamores, but I felt weirdly comfortable, like I had another gear which I was saving for the 'real race' in the second half. Although at the same time I was a bit worried that I didn't really have any buffer on Jack at the half way point. But in terms of pacing this actually worked perfectly as I then found what I needed to push on in the second half. Really from that point of reaching Stob Ban - the first summit of the second half - with a faster split time than Jack, I was so invested in keeping my lead and taking the record, that all doubt was pushed aside and I ran with a laser focus. Really quite a special feeling.