Cancer Research UK Etape Caledonia 2026 — Event Intelligence

Event Intelligence · Confidential

Etape Caledonia 2026

Sun 10 May 2026 · Pitlochry, Perthshire

4,579 Confirmed 3,402 Finished 74.3% Show-up Confidential

Confirmed

4,579

Finishers

3,402

Show-up

74.3%

85 Mile

2,799

55 Mile

1,202

40 Mile

578

Female

25.5%

First Etape

61.3%

Summary

Overview

Total Confirmed

4,579

Across all distances

Finishers

3,402

Chip time recorded

Show-up Rate

74.3%

1,177 DNS

Female

25.5%

1,167 confirmed

Median Age

49

Male 50 · Female 46

First Etape

61.3%

2,805 new to event

Registrations by Distance

85 Mile

2,799 61.1%

55 Mile

1,202 26.3%

40 Mile

578 12.6%

85 Mile dominates at 61.1% of the field. Almost two thirds of entrants opted for the longest distance.

Confirmed vs Finished vs DNS

Confirmed

4,579

Finished

3,402 74.3%

DNS

1,177 25.7%

Show-up defined as having a chip finish time recorded. 1,177 confirmed entries have no time — DNS, DNF, or timing failures.

Distances

By Distance

85

Mile · 2,799 confirmed · 61.1%

Finishers2,129 (76.1%)

Male2,314 (82.7%)

Female455 (16.3%)

Median finish5:41:59

Fastest2:44:17

55

Mile · 1,202 confirmed · 26.3%

Finishers887 (73.8%)

Male761 (63.3%)

Female426 (35.4%)

Median finish4:19:35

Fastest2:35:39

40

Mile · 578 confirmed · 12.6%

Finishers386 (66.8%)

Male286 (49.5%)

Female286 (49.5%)

Median finish3:39:22

Fastest1:50:57

Gender Split by Distance

85 Mile2,799

82.7% Male

16.3%

55 Mile1,202

63.3% Male

35.4% Female

40 Mile578

49.5%

49.5%

Female share rises from 16.3% on the 85 Mile to gender parity on the 40 Mile. The shorter the distance, the more balanced the field.

Median Finish by Distance

85 Mile

5:41:59

55 Mile

4:19:35

40 Mile

3:39:22

Chip times from 3,402 finishers (74.3% of confirmed). Remaining 25.7% have no recorded time.

Demographics

Gender

Male

73.4%

3,361 riders

Female

25.5%

1,167 riders

PNTS / Non-binary

1.1%

51 riders

Female Show-up

72.2%

843 of 1,167 finished

Male Show-up

75.1%

2,524 of 3,361 finished

Overall Gender Split

Male73.4%

Female25.5%

PNTS / Non-binary1.1%

Heavily male-dominated overall. Female participation climbs sharply at shorter distances — 49.5% on the 40 Mile vs 16.3% on the 85.

Median Finish Time by Gender & Distance

85 Mile

Male

5:37:59

Female

5:57:56

55 Mile

Male

4:11:35

Female

4:37:44

40 Mile

Male

3:29:22

Female

3:48:03

Female median finish times run 19–26 minutes behind male across all distances. Smallest gap on the 40 Mile (19 min).

Demographics

Age

Median Age — All

49

Confirmed field

Median Age — Male

50

3,361 riders

Median Age — Female

46

1,167 riders

Peak Age Band

55–59

682 riders · 14.9%

Aged 50+

2,195

47.9% of confirmed

Age Distribution — All Confirmed

0.0%

1.6%

7.3%

9.4%

10.1%

12.1%

11.6%

12.7%

14.9%

11.6%

8.7%

U18

18–24

25–29

30–34

35–39

40–44

45–49

50–54

55–59

60–64

65+

Crimson bars = aged 50+. 47.9% of the field is over 50. Peak band is 55–59 at 14.9% — older than typical mass participation running events.

Age Group by Gender

Age Group	Male	% M	Female	% F	Total
U18	2	100%	0	0%	2
18–24	53	72.6%	19	26.0%	73
25–29	201	60.2%	130	38.9%	334
30–34	286	66.4%	139	32.3%	431
35–39	320	69.1%	139	30.0%	463
40–44	412	74.6%	131	23.7%	552
45–49	394	74.5%	133	25.1%	529
50–54	446	76.6%	125	21.5%	582
55–59	502	73.6%	174	25.5%	682
60–64	416	78.3%	109	20.5%	531
65+	329	82.3%	68	17.0%	400

55–59 is the peak band for both genders. Female riders are youngest on average (median 46 vs 50 male) and most strongly represented in the 25–29 and 55–59 bands.

Performance

Finish Times

85 Mile Median

5:41:59

2,129 finishers

55 Mile Median

4:19:35

887 finishers

40 Mile Median

3:39:22

386 finishers

85 Mile Fastest

2:44:17

Chip time

55 Mile Fastest

2:35:39

Chip time

40 Mile Fastest

1:50:57

Chip time

85 Mile — Finish Distribution

0.5%

0.8%

4.1%

10.1%

13.2%

14.0%

19.1%

19.9%

14.2%

4.0%

0.1%

<3h

3–3.5

3.5–4

4–4.5

4.5–5

5–5.5

5.5–6

6–6.5

6.5–7

7–7.5

7.5+

Median 5:41 · Mean 5:35. 39% finish between 5.5–6.5h. 2,129 recorded times.

55 Mile — Finish Distribution

1.8%

9.6%

20.6%

25.1%

25.3%

14.8%

2.0%

0.8%

<3h

3–3.5

3.5–4

4–4.5

4.5–5

5–5.5

5.5–6

6+

Median 4:19 · Mean 4:21. Tight bell centred 4–5h (50.4%). 887 recorded times.

40 Mile — Finish Distribution

3.1%

17.4%

21.8%

26.9%

15.5%

11.4%

2.6%

0.3%

<2.5h

2.5–3

3–3.5

3.5–4

4–4.5

4.5–5

5–5.5

5.5+

Median 3:39 · Mean 3:41. More spread than longer routes. 386 recorded times.

Participation

Show-up Rate

Overall

74.3%

3,402 of 4,579

85 Mile

76.1%

2,129 of 2,799

55 Mile

73.8%

887 of 1,202

40 Mile

66.8%

386 of 578

Male

75.1%

2,524 of 3,361

Female

72.2%

843 of 1,167

Show-up Rate by Age Group

Age Group	Confirmed	Finished	Rate
U18	2	2	100%
18–24	73	55	75.3%
25–29	334	263	78.7%
30–34	431	326	75.6%
35–39	463	349	75.4%
40–44	552	421	76.3%
45–49	529	369	69.8%
50–54	582	446	76.6%
55–59	682	493	72.3%
60–64	531	390	73.4%
65+	400	288	72.0%

Show-up is broadly consistent across age groups (69–79%). The 45–49 band is the weakest at 69.8%. 25–29 year olds are most reliable at 78.7%.

Show-up Rate by Distance & Gender

85 Mile2,799 confirmed

76.1% finished

23.9% DNS

55 Mile1,202 confirmed

73.8%

26.2%

40 Mile578 confirmed

66.8%

33.2% DNS

By Gender

Male3,361 confirmed

75.1%

DNS

Female1,167 confirmed

72.2%

DNS

40 Mile has the lowest show-up (66.8%) — the entry-level distance likely attracts more speculative sign-ups. Male show-up (75.1%) is modestly higher than female (72.2%).

Demographics

Ethnicity

White British

81.6%

3,738 riders

White (all)

88.6%

White British + Other

Non-white

4.8%

Excl. prefer not to say

Prefer not to say

6.5%

298 riders

Ethnic Background — Confirmed Entries

White British81.6%

White Other7.0%

Prefer not to say6.5%

Asian / Asian British2.6%

Mixed / Multiple0.9%

Black / Black British0.7%

Other Ethnic Group0.6%

88.6% of the field identifies as white. The event takes place in Perthshire, Scotland, where the population is approximately 97% white, which contextualises the profile.

Non-white Participation — Benchmark

Etape Caledonia

4.8%

HHM Half Marathon

18.9%

HHM Community 5K

61.6%

England (Census)

~18%

Scotland (Census)

~3%

Against the Scottish census baseline (~3% non-white), the event is broadly representative of its host nation. Against UK-wide benchmarks, the gap is significant.

Participation

First Timers

First Etape — All

61.3%

2,805 of 4,579

Returning Riders

38.7%

1,774 have done it before

First Etape — Female

70.4%

822 of 1,167 female

First Etape — Male

58.0%

1,951 of 3,361 male

First Sportive — Female

33.1%

386 of 1,167

First Sportive — Male

17.3%

582 of 3,361

First Etape Caledonia by Gender

All riders4,579

61.3% first-timers

38.7% returning

Female1,167

70.4% first-timers

29.6% returning

Male3,361

58.0% first-timers

42.0% returning

70.4% of female riders are new to the event vs 58.0% male. Female riders are being recruited but not retained at the same rate — a potential focus area for 2027 targeting.

First Cycle Sportive by Gender

All riders4,579

21.2% first sportive

Female1,167

33.1% first sportive

Male3,361

17.3%

1 in 3 female riders (33.1%) has never entered any cycle sportive before, vs 1 in 6 male riders (17.3%). Female participants are nearly twice as likely to be entirely new to the format.