Some races sell themselves on huge fields and city centre crowds. Coigach Half Marathon offers almost the complete opposite.

The small community event returns to Achiltibuie on Saturday 10 October and has already reached its maximum number of runners, with organisers confirming that no further entries can be accepted.

Its appeal is easy to understand. Coigach occupies a spectacular corner of the north west Highlands, with a landscape of mountains, lochs, coastline and islands providing the backdrop to 13.1 miles of running.

The race starts at 1:00pm, around 1.25 miles south of the Community Hall where registration takes place. Organisers will provide lifts to the start and are encouraging runners to share transport where possible.

From there, the emphasis is very much on a traditional community race rather than a large commercial event. Four water stations support runners around the course, bags containing warm clothing can be transported to the finish and every finisher receives a medal on the Primary School Playing Field.

There is a three hour cut off, with prizegiving scheduled for 3:00pm.

Perhaps the detail that best captures the character of Coigach comes afterwards. Rather than a sprawling event village, runners and their families are invited back to the Community Hall for a post-race tea.

The organisers describe it simply as a "small, friendly event". With the 2026 field already full, plenty of runners clearly agree that this remote Highland Half Marathon is worth the journey to Achiltibuie.

Find out more about this stunning Scottish event at the runABC race hub.

Image courtesy Coigach Half Marathon on Facebook.