The Bennachie Hill Race is firmly established in the calendar as one of the most popular races in North-East Scotland among hill and road runners alike. At around 8.2 miles in length and with a total of 1600ft of ascent (13.1km and 500m), the race is an achievable challenge for everyone. The route is all off-road, and good trail shoes are recommended.

The Bennachie Hill Race starts at the Back O’Bennachie car park near Insch and takes in many of the famous ‘tops’ of Bennachie, including Oxen Craig, Craigshannoch and Mither Tap itself.  The route returns to the start via the famous ‘Maiden’s Causeway’, past Hosie’s Well and Nursery Cottage. Please note that the route may be subject to change due to forestry work.

In addition to the main (Senior) Hill Race, there is also a Junior Hill Race for runners aged 13–17, which is approximately 5k (3.1miles) in length and features 150m (500ft) of ascent.

This year's event will be held on Sunday, 29 September 2024.

ENTRIES

Senior Hill Race (18+) £12 entry (*)

Junior Hill Race (13–17) £3 entry (*)

(*) An administration fee of .50p will be applied to each entry by our online entry system partner, Entry Central.

As this year's event will be fully chip timed, there will be absolutely no entries accepted on the day for either the Junior or the Senior Hill Race.

ON THE DAY

Registration and race number pick-up will open at 10am and close at 10.30am sharp, so please arrive in good time.

The Senior Hill Race will start at 11am.

The Junior Hill Race will start at 11.20am. 

Prizegiving will be at 1pm.

Parking will be in the field next to the Back O'Bennachie car cark, near Oyne, Aberdeenshire AB52 6RH. Forestry and Land Scotland parking charges still apply and are the runner’s responsibility.

There will be no bag drop or changing facilities at the event. Runners are advised to arrive ready to run and to leave all possessions in their cars, at their own risk.

Entrants will be emailed final instructions the week of the race.

TRANSFERS AND WAITING LIST

If the 2024 Bennachie Hill Race reaches capacity before entries close, a limited waiting list – to be deployed on a first-come first-served basis in the case of pre-event withdrawals – will be opened. 

Runners may transfer their entries to another runner themselves via Entry Central until Sunday, September 22, 2024. After that point, runners unable to attend the race are asked to notify the club Secretary so that the place may be reassigned to someone on the waiting list. Runners whose places are thus reassigned will not be refunded.

The 34th Bennachie Hill Race is organised by the Garioch Roadrunners and is a Scottish Hill Runners licensed/insured event held under UK Athletics rules.

Thanks to Craigdon Mountain Sports for their generous sponsorship of the event. 

For more information about the Garioch Roadrunners, please see our website and public facebook page or drop us a line via the club Secretary. For more about the BHR please also join our dedicated BHR facebook group.