In the beginning, there was rivalry. Growing up in Scotland, Scout Adkin, now 29, and her brother Jacob, three years her junior, used to love to compete - and they did so often. Having been brought up in an athletic household, both of them have tried a number of disciplines. “I remember Jacob kept trying sports that I did,” says Scout. “And it didn’t seem to take him long to get better than me.” Despite all the childhood rivalry, Jacob used to look up to his sister. “Although our family was always the active type, I think the desire to try new sports and better myself in them was, knowingly or not, inspired by Scout and her sporting exploits.”

Over time, the sibling rivalry turned into support; these days, the two of them are always rooting for each other. “Now we’ve been at a number of the same races together it’s become quite natural with a mutual understanding and respect for one another’s way of approaching and navigating race day,” says Jacob.

Once they were done with trying and testing, the pair got hooked on mountain running – but not only that, they both became really successful too. It seems the “contests” during family trips – Scout and Jacob running ahead of their parents or trying to outdo one another running uphill – have paid off. Scout came third at the 2022 EC and fifth at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand, last November. “Chiang Mai was definitely a different experience to anywhere I have ever been before,” says Scout Adkin, who works as a physio.

Coming 22nd in the Uphill, brother Jacob was less successful in Thailand than his older sister. “Although on a personal level my race at the World Championships in Chiang Mai was well below what I knew I was capable of, I enjoyed the process of preparing for and facing the challenges that the quite different environment presented,” he says.

“The environment is super nice and relaxed and it’s somewhere I could see myself living” Jacob Adkin

“There’s something special about the Alps” Scout Adkin

Scout’s only visit so far was during a summer holiday with the family. “I remember Jacob and I running up the ski trails to the summits and meeting our parents, who walked up; it was certainly higher than we’d been before.” Measuring a mere 659 meters, Windlestraw Law, located in the Moorfoot Hills south of Edinburgh, is the highest peak back home. In comparison: Innsbruck lies at 574 meters above sea level.

In general, the Alps are unfamiliar terrain for the Adkin siblings, different to what they are used to from England or Scotland and the races held there. “There’s something special about the Alps,” says Scout. “It might be because they’re unfamiliar – I am away from home and exploring new trails.” Jacob too is looking forward to running in new territory. “The fells and mountains of the UK are as different as they are to the Alps, and it is impossible to have a favorite.”

Pictures: (c) Dan Vernon, Stephen Wilson, private archives Scout and Jacob Adkin