HT550 by numbers:
924.67km/575 miles (The new sections are long!)
20,300km elevation
37,934 calories burnt
Elapsed time: 97hr 52
Moving time: 73.23
Sleeps:
1x3hr LochInver public toilets 🤌
1x1hr 50min Kinlochewe public toilets (over caffeinated & kept awake by a light sensor)
2x15 min naps
1x60 min out of Fort William (nothing like everything getting soaked through to get going again!)
Nutrition:
Prepped hard on this in anticipation of poor weather & 12x sachets of @styrkr.uk mix with Mango Loco monster in my bladder was the carb bomb dream when it was too cold to get real food out.
6x Strkr gels in a bottle
4x sarnies
12x @luchosenergyblocks (so good & easy to eat)
Hunners or wee bounty & choccy bars
2x pizza slices
A few huels
£18 worth of bakery goods from an Ullapool deli 🤐
1x egg roll
Other:
1x river dook
1x puncture
1x new tyre
1x new brake pads
1x severe eye ulcer
1x Sassenach chased across the bogs
7000 times my jacket went on then went off again
1x slug in my glove 😷
Dot watchers seen- so many 🤩🤗🥰
Shocked at how good I feel post ride, wondering if it’s from being well hydrated, being intentional with sleeps, if it’s all the gym work or if I’m just adapting to ultra cycling?!
Motivation? 📈📈📈
My love for Scotland? Still peaking 🥰
@mostly_by_bike I think you took this image?!
2 videos I took at the very top of the Highland Trail 550, going into Bealach na Feidh (pass of the deer) & right at the tip! There’s heehaw up there… HEEHAW! So exposed, nowhere to hide, just head down & keep moving.
I don’t think I posted these at the time as everything got soaked but I remember thinking I should probably try & record some bad weather moments too or nobody would believe me that it was rough 😂
I think this is when I realised I also quite like a mantra & one of my fave things to remind myself of when it gets a bit rough is that doing ultras, being on an adventure, being outside & seeing a place by bike are all the things I dream about when I’m at my desk at work! I quite enjoy my job(s) I should add 😅
Would I rather be at work dealing with people or in the outdoors dealing with nature? Mad how quickly that snaps you back into gratitude by the way! That’s not to say I also spent a lot of time questioning my life choices & feeling decidedly miserable 😅
The other thing I repeated in my head when things felt slow was simply ‘you’ll get there when you get there’. A bit like life itself 🙏🏻🙌🏻
I always joke I’m tragically optimistic but I think in ultra it works - always believing it will EVENTUALLY get better 🤣 That the weather forecast can’t be shite forever 🤣 That I will one day feel the sunshine on my face again whenever that may be 🤣 But it can only happen if I keep moving forward🙂
Highland Trail 550 2026 - wow wow WOW! 1st gal & third overall is absolutely mega 🥰 I’m really proud of this!
No words for now, just some images of pizza, bikes & a burd in some form of bog 😅
Is a bog a universal term for a bathroom as well as a feature of the highland landscape by the way or is this a Scottish word?
That was a pretty tough 4 days in amongst which were some pockets of my favourite times ever on a bike.
I came in to this with a plan. I’ve never prepped so hard for a race & it’s specificities & whilst I had a stretch goal of getting under 3 days & 20hrs, it was very easy for me to adjust my goal when it became clear the weather was going to make things very tough. Freezing conditions at times mixed with heavy rain, sleet, hail & strong winds made things savage. But then the sun would pop out & life would be good again!
I twanged a rock high up above Kylesku, throwing myself 6ft off a bridge & into a river, saved only by the bounce off the banking. Super scary, too cold to use hands, the sorry flat tyre nurse off the hill into shelter was a big low. I was sure I’d have to scratch but I found the Herculean effort to get the tyre & insert off the rim eventually.
Lochinver public toilets saved the day after this- a 3hr sleep & life was good. I don’t recommend Kinlochewe toilets though- they have an ultra cyclist light sensor deterrent which turns on at the slightest movement 😅
Another low was reaching Fort William. Freezing cold, raking about for a shed, open church or anything for shelter from the rain with no luck. No option but to keep moving, the rain abated on the first climb & I bivvied down only to wake with everything soaked through. The perfect push to get up & keep going to the finish with just enough sleep to make the final run in a joy. Not so joyful was the slug that had crawled into my glove thumb… I can still feel the slime now 🥵
When signal, power & weather allowed, I loved sharing my escapes though I have no recollection of what those sleep deprived spraffles were 😅sending apologies & also a huge thanks for sharing along 🥰
Feeling very grateful 🥰
Our own @kerrymacphee just absolutely smashed the Highland Trail 550 race, winning the women’s race and finishing 3rd overall 👏. Incredible.
Thankfully though, her little “holiday” around the Highlands is now over, so she can get back to organising Grand Old Dukes for the rest of us at the end of the month.
For context, Kerry just rode 912km around Scotland in under 4 days…
That’s more than 5 times the distance of Grand Old Dukes.
The good news is GoD also has: • no bogs • significantly less river swimming • a lower chance of sleeping in a public toilet • and definitely more champagne gravel
So honestly, it should feel pretty manageable.
That said, I once tried to hold @barloworld ’s wheel to the GoD finish line and can confirm there are still plenty of ways to suffer.
Apparently entries are flying in this week, which is down to the social media guy 👀. Not many spots left though.
P.S. Kerry hasn’t sent any HT550 photos yet (slacker), so the first is from the amazing @whisky_trail_angels who were at the finish line and a few of her in here the Gravelfoyle wilderness.
P.P.S. We’re actually very, very proud of you pal. So much love ❤️
She’s done it!
Kerry MacPhee has won the Highland Trail 550, one of the toughest races out there.
After 4 days racing through the Scottish Highlands, Kerry returned to Tyndrum as the first woman home and 3rd overall in a stacked field that included a record 32 women on the start line.
The HT550 is relentless: freezing temperatures, technical terrain, minimal sleep and long stretches of complete isolation. Kerry led from the front throughout, overcoming a crash from a bridge that tore her tyre completely, and still never let go of the race.
A huge ride defined by resilience, experience and sheer determination.
Congratulations, Kerry.
#GenesisBikes #HT550
📷 - @ospreyimagery
Sàr-churaidh na h-Alba 👸🏻 @kerrymacphee is this year's women's winner of the Highland Trail 550.
First woman back to Tyndrum and third overall, Kerry has finished in an astonishing 97 hours and 52 mins.
Amongst a stacked field of 32 women in this year's event, we've witnessed an incredible level of consistency while problem solving through the long cold nights. We are just grateful this year's river drama wasn't as brutal as the last go...
Huge congratulations Kerry! We are so incredibly proud, time for a wee dram 🥃 Stunning imagery by @ospreyimagery
@kerrymacphee wins the 2026 Highland Trail 550.
The one and only Kerry MacPhee is the first woman back to Tyndrum and third overall, finishing with an elapsed race-time of just over 4-days.
Kerry built up a big lead in an incredible field of riders, featuring a record 32 women on this year’s startline. She’s shown again just how strong she is over this terrain. She won the race in 2024, then lost her bike to a fast flowing river in 2025, so she returned this year with big plans for a fast ride. Falling five feet off a bridge after ripping a sidewall and spending long, cold nights riding meant she could have easily been forced to change her plans, but her optimism and whole approach has been inspiring.
Kerry’s updates throughout the race have given us all amazing insight into how she feels during these races, clearly loving the journey regardless of what is thrown at her. Her sister (Kirsty) has been a phenomenal source of information for anyone DotWatching and deserves her own mention too.
Congratulations Kerry!
Images @ospreyimagery
Are you taking on the innaugral Genesis Gralloch Ultra presented by Maxxis? 🏔️
@kerrymacphee shares her top tips for riding an ultra! Whether you are taking on the distance for the first time, or looking for new advice as a veteran, Kerry has got you covered.
On the bike comfort, finding food you love and realising the moments you dream of. Whatever it takes to get you to the finish line. 🏁
See you on the gravel in exactly 1 week😎
64 starters and 32 of us are wimmin!! What a flipping privilege to be on such a significant start line. Kudos Alan for creating that space at the table & kudos to all the wimmin who have taken a place at it 🥰
Highland Trail 550 ready & Wooft it’s come round fast! Plenty layers packed, noggin giiid and I’m just buzzing to get stuck in 🤩
Good luck to everyone out there, it’s without doubt the most incredible journey - An astonishingly beautiful route across some magical terrain but let’s not mention the weather 😅
My sister is a mad fanatic dot watching reporter who’ll have the inside scoop to supplement the sport of staring at dots so give @kirsty.macphee a follow! Her account is set to private but you can still follow her, it’s only because she’s a teacher and she loves sharing the stories 🥰).
Thank you too to all the good folk who’ve helped me get race ready. I’m in some super kit on a super steed 🥰
Event director appreciation post incoming!!!
One of the reasons we know the Grand Old Dukes route is SO good… is because of the people behind it.
One of those is our own queen of @gravelfoyle@kerrymacphee , who tomorrow heads off to take part in her 3rd Highland Trail 550 race.
Now, with the Grand Old Dukes event only a few weeks away, there are definitely easier ways to slack off organising duties than disappearing into the Highlands to ride 550 miles across some wild terrain… but we respect the commitment 😂.
If you know Kerry then you’ll know she’s not your average bike rider. She’s had quite the career on two wheels and over the last few years become an absolute ultra boss. Holding the Badger Divide FKT, winning multiple multi-day races and recently finishing 2nd in the Atlas Mountain Race.
But we know the HT550 is a special one to her, and yet again we’ll be finding ourselves waking up at 2am just to check a dot on a screen somewhere in the Highlands. Absolute mega fans.
Good luck pal! 🙌
#gravelfoyle
#ht550
@bike_trossachs
#gravelbike
#gravelride
4 days to go until the Highland Trail 550 & the most incredible traipse around the best parts of Scotland (outside of the Hebrides of course😆)
There have been some wee changes to the route this year but they’ve all balanced out well (swipe along for route overlay). I’ve taken some time to go and recce the new bits with some definitely slower & some definitely quicker! Last year isn’t a good side by side comparison for times after that hellish weather but based on my 2024 timings, I anticipate more people than ever going below 4 days. It’s a fun goal to have & still leaves plenty time to soak up the Highlands. I’d like to skin a good handful of hours off my 2024 time now I’m wiser & better-kent with the ways of an ultra.
Knowing the route 100% makes a massive difference - the mental load alone of just knowing when stuff is coming is huge, where to find a Bothy & how slow hike a bike sections really are. I’ve enjoyed approaching it this year with more focus & more of a plan but keeping those plans fairly loose of course as ANYTHING can happen & you definitely need a sprinkle of good luck in an ultra 😅
The weather is looking cold but settled with some rain which is flipping amazing after last year. A packraft is on standby though just incase of a last minute weather dump 🤣
All I have left to do now is fill my frame bags, make some sarnies & stay healthy 🙌🏻
Super excited to get going 🤩
The Bonnie snaps are by @hnnh.shw 😘
What better way to see your own country than by bike? 🚲
@kerrymacphee takes us through why you should ride an ultra. Take in beautiful views and challenging yourself, all in one weekend in the saddle.
‘You cannot know if you can do it or not, until you try’ 🏔️
The Genesis Gralloch Ultra presented by Maxxis entries close tonight, 23:59, 3/5/26. This is your last chance.
Link in our stories and bio🔗
