Life of two halves makes Kirsty Skye Dickson feel whole

Saturday 20th September 2025

Photo by Marco Gulberti for WMRA

Nine will be fine: Scots selected for World Mountain Champs in Spain

By Katy Barden

‘Identity is a funny thing to talk about,’ reflects Kirsty Skye Dickson.

‘What do you identify yourself as . . .? I guess I’m a trainee orthodontist who loves to run in the mountains.’

It’s a perfectly pitched profile; a social media-ready biography that combines her complementary rather than conflicting passions.

It’s also a positive descriptor, especially when compared to friends who identify solely as runners and tread a terrifyingly fine line between fitness and injury.

The reality is that Dickson is impressively balancing the two loves of her life.

The Edinburgh-based dental graduate is currently in year two of a specialist training programme in orthodontics, splitting her time between Fife and Dundee. Later this month she will represent Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the third time when she competes in the uphill race at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Spain (25-28 September).

The last 12 months have been characteristically busy for the Carnethy athlete, but sleep (slightly more of it), stress (slightly less of it) and the incorporation of a weekly speed session to her training have resulted in her most successful year to date. Self-confidence remains a work-in-progress.

‘I don’t back myself that much,’ she told this interviewer following her recent third place finish in the final race of the 2025 World Mountain Running Association (WMRA) World Cup at Velika Planina in Slovenia (finishing tenth overall in the multi-stage competition won by fellow Scot Scout Adkin).

A key difference this year, however, has been that her mentor, Angela Mudge, backs her absolutely.

‘Angela is incredible,’ says the 29-year-old. ‘She has a wealth of knowledge so I feel very, very lucky that she’s helping me. To hear her say, ‘I believe in you’ . . . I still don’t know if I believe in my own ability, but having someone who thinks, ‘If you do this, you can do that’, I think that’s a big thing.’

Dickson’s love of uphill running is rooted in her childhood. Born near Banchory in Aberdeenshire, she grew up in Calgary, Canada, before moving back to Scotland in her teens. Her dad was a geophysicist who loved rocks. She in turn fell in love with mountains and the view she was treated to when she reached the top.

As a competitive athlete that hasn’t changed, but her ability to balance running with her career in dentistry has put greater emphasis on its importance.

‘The two years I was in core training I knew I wanted to specialise and there was no (work/life) balance, I was all-in,’ she laughs, tellingly.

‘You’d go into surgery at 8am and you’d get a drink of water at 5pm. I knew that I wanted to give it everything. All the hours, the shifts, the on-call. It was a great year for seeing a different side of life – and I was still running – but I don’t think anyone could run for GB in that job.

‘I will be honest, it’s quite a privilege to be doing this (specialist) training and I do understand that. I think the consultants and the trainers, they see that as well; they’re putting a lot into me, so when it comes to the crunch, my job is always going to be the thing that running works around, and I think what I’ve learned is that running can work around it.

‘‘I think running is a great thing for me as a person because it’s a joy. It’s the best part of my day because it’s an escape.’

Dickson is not new to this sport – she made her GB and NI debut at the 2022 European Athletics Off-Road Running Championships in El Paso (La Palma, Spain) where she finished 12^th overall in the uphill race and won team gold. But the inclusion of speed work, under the guidance of Mudge, has further enhanced her potential.

‘Every week she (Mudge) sends me a session and that’s definitely the one thing that’s held me accountable,’ she says.

‘She’s made it something that I really enjoy; the sessions are always doable and I have this desire to get faster and stronger – and I think when it’s something you want to do it’s fun.

‘It’s helped me so much. Even if she thinks it’s not a lot, to me it’s obviously made a big difference. I’m not a fast runner by any means, but I’m definitely much better than I was.

‘I think a big part of it is sleep, too,’ she continues.

‘Jasmin Paris touches on it a few times when she talks about being a mum and how she realised what real exhaustion was. I’d say when I was working in surgery there were days when I was completely exhausted. I’d be working seven days in a row, I’d be on call, I’d be up all night, barely getting any sleep, and I’d still want to run over Arthur’s Seat. It felt good, but I’d be in pieces.

‘I think that experience grew me as a person because that’s exhaustion. I think this year I just have more energy. It means that doing things like (speed) sessions is more possible.’

Victory in the British trials in August (uphill race) – coupled with her WMRA World Cup performance – was evidence of progress; lining up in Canfranc-Pirineos, Spain, will be the next test.

‘I know people who say, ‘I want a podium’ or ‘I want a top ten’, but success is relative,’ she says of the forthcoming World Mountain and Trail Running Championships.

‘I’m such a team girl, team prizes always fill me with such joy, but what I want is a run where I feel like, ‘Wow, I really tried there’. You want to be in the mix, you want to be amongst it and giving it a shot, and more than anything you want your body to be feeling good.’

Coincidentally, the Championships take place across the same period as the British Orthodontic Conference. Dickson, perhaps unsurprisingly, will be doing a poster presentation virtually from Spain.

‘I can’t think of a better way to taper than to watch the conference the day before my race, it’s going to be fantastic, I’m so excited,’ she says.

‘Specialising (as an orthodontist) is difficult, so I think it’s good to have two halves to my life.

‘Having a sense of identity is important to me and hopefully a little Scottish girl will read this and realise she can still have career ambitions without sacrificing the chance to race across the world.’