Roberta Fletcher finished third in the West Highland Way Race in 2024. She returned a year later and finished second. In 2026, she completed that progression by winning the women’s race in 18 hours, 46 minutes and 58 seconds.

It was a brilliantly controlled performance. Roberta was seventh woman at Balmaha, but remained calm, trusted the effort she had planned and gradually moved through the field. She reached second place by Beinglas, took the lead before Tyndrum and continued to build her advantage all the way to Fort William.

In this episode, Roberta talks to Paul about how she moved from running 10Ks to entering the West Highland Way Race, after first experiencing the event while supporting another runner in 2023.

They discuss the influence of the communities around her as well as the increase in training volume that allowed Roberta to make such a significant improvement over three years.

Roberta also explains why she set herself the intimidating target of 18:45, how she avoided being distracted by the other women in the race, and why running by feel helped her stay composed when the early checkpoint times were slower than expected.

There is also plenty about the team behind the result: her twin sister leading the crew, the change from gels to sandwiches, bananas and pork pies, and the carefully chosen song that helped send her out of the final checkpoint towards Fort William.

This is a conversation about patient progress, trusting the preparation and learning to enjoy the process rather than allowing the result to dominate it.

Congratulations to Roberta Fletcher, the 2026 women’s West Highland Way Race champion.

Follow the West Highland Way Race on Instagram at @whw_race.

Find out more about the race at westhighlandwayrace.org.

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The podcast is hosted by Paul Giblin, ultrarunner, endurance coach and founder of Pyllon Ultra.

Connect with Paul and Pyllon:

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Website: pyllonultra.com

Podcast: Pyllon Ultra Podcast