And when they were up they were up, and when they were down they were down, and when they were only half way up......they said "Sod this I'm walking!"

Snowdonia Marathon Sat 24th Oct 2015.

Well the day had finally come, it was the morning of my last charity run this year as part of my 14RUNS charity campaign (soon to be renamed 'Running with Gru'), and it was going to be a tough one.

This event sold out in the first 48 hours of opening for this year so I felt privileged to have a place in such a momentous marathon and had indeed been looking forward to it since January when the places went on sale.

I had only done my last tough event less than 2 weeks ago with the 'Seaside24' 35 mile ultra I blogged about recently, and I had done my best to rest and recover as much as possible ready for today.

The lead up to this event was pretty touch and go as I hadn't managed to secure a lift as I didn't know for sure if I was going to be physically fit enough or injury free enough to even contemplate this event after the ultra. For that reason I hadn't booked any kind of travel or accommodation just in case I cancelled.

Thankfully once I had decided I definitely could do it, and definitely did want to do it, I put a few lift requests out across social media to fellow running friends across the North West. True to form a few came forward to offer lifts from Liverpool. Only problem was I had to get to Liverpool pre public transport hours, so I would be looking at £30 worth of taxi and a donation towards petrol, a cost I couldn't justify.

True to form a good fellow running friend Ben aka 'Ultra Ben' mentioned he was going and after a polite and not so subtle " any chance of a lift?" he came up trumps and even volunteered to pick me up from my home in Southport. Big thanks to Ben for that one.




The night before/morning of the run......


Well I'd gone to bed early in a vain attempt to rest and sleep, and I managed a fair few hours but still woke up at 3am feeling hungry and I was tempted to get up even earlier than the 4.30am I had set my alarm for.

I stayed in bed and dozed a little til 4am and then gave up and got up as I was wide awake, hungry and quite excited to be honest.

I was genuinely excited because I used to holiday with my family in the area that this marathon is held, and I was extremely familiar with the starting point at Llanberis next to Llyn Padarn. It was nice to finally be going back and doing something I truly love i.e. running and in an area I love..

Llanberis next to Llyn Padarn with Snowdon in the background.

The weather forecast for the day was atrocious to say the least, with heavy rain forecast all morning and the first 2 hours of the run at least. Temps were forecast at 9C but a 'feels like' equivalent of 3-4C. This didn't bode well with running gear selection.

I finally decided on a Tech t, then a zip up second layer running top and then a fully waterproof jacket.I finished it off with a peaked cap to keep the rain off my face and a thin pair of running gloves. Bottom half was compression shorts, running shorts and long compression socks with a secondary pair of socks to help prevent blisters when my feet were wet and sliding especially on downhills. Shoe selection was my Hoka Cliftons which I knew would bode well for the 90% or so of road we would be running on.




6am and we are off to Wales......


A nice prompt pick up at 6am by Ben and we were off on our day trip to Wales, and at this point it was still completely dark, and the race wouldn't be starting until 10.30am!

The trip there was fairly straight forward as there are main roads pretty much all the way there, although we did get caught out by unannounced roadworks at Runcorn and ended up following the official 'Diversion route' which seemed to be a mickey take diversion of 99% of the surrounding countryside in the dark. We could of been going around in circles we wouldn't of known as it all looked the same in the dark.

Eventually after a 10 minute or so diversion we were back on the A55 and and along the Welsh coast, shadowed by very impressive yet daunting cliffs and hillsides along the way.

Daylight finally arrived and so did the rain and at this point we were not too far from Caernarfon. The road there thankfully was a fairly newly resurfaced one and nice and wide as the rain was coming down that thick and fast it was hard to see where the road was, never mind where we were going.

Caernarfon castle.

Safely at Caernarfon and then off towards Llanberis down a road I must of been down a hundred times as a kid. I could of almost followed it blindfolded and it brought back fond memories of the route, including going past Bryn Bras castle which is next to the caravan park we used to holiday at.

A little further down the road and we were at Llanberis itself and we swiftly parked up by the roadside on the outskirts of the village.




Registration and number pick up.....


Our first port of call was the registration and number pick up at the Electric Mountain Visitors Centre. We had to pick up our numbers by 9am but we still had 20 minutes, so there was no panic. On arrival we found the big room at the back to check our numbers on the lists on the wall, and then line up to collect our number, our t-shirt, some HI5 goodies, a nice little memento race booklet and a nice big waterproof 'poncho' which had Brooks running printed on the back. It could just as well of said "Welcome to Wales".

Official T-shirt given out pre race so no problems getting the correct size.

Now it was hang time as we tried to kill an hour and a half of waiting around until the start.
We used the time to talk to people we knew as there were quite a few that either I knew or Ben knew through our usual running social circles. I bumped into Eamonn, Rachel and Jane all from Penny Lane Striders from the Liverpool area and a regular sight at these tougher events. I also bumped into Gillian from Liverpool Running Club which was a surprise, but then again as I was stood near a toilet queue it probably wasn't that surprising because that is were most of us bump into each other.

Priority number one was now frequent visits to the loo as my guess was we wouldn't be finding any Porta Loos on this course, and I hadn't been to the loo yet as I got up so early.

Next was last minute food and in my case it was a large flapjack bar to ensure I felt at least a little full. As I was eating it I saw a cameraman accompanied by a presenter and watched as I saw her stop people and ask them on camera why they were running the Snowdonia marathon etc. I panicked and did my best to look like I was really busy eating my flapjack and avoided eye contact and they went past..phew!

Ben returned from his visit to the loo and I was totally blindsided and caught out when the presenter and camera man reappeared in front of us and said something in Welsh. I'm guessing she asked if we were Welsh or spoke Welsh, I panicked and pointed at Ben who then looked as panicked as me. I had to quickly open with "Sorry, we are both English".

She thankfully smiled and then spoke to us in English and asked if it was OK to ask us a few questions while they filmed. "Yes fine" we said and she started with Ben and asked "In three words describe today's event" Ben replied "3 big hills!" which got a laugh out of the presenter. She then asked "Why are you here today?, or why did you choose the Snowdon Marathon?" (something like that) I replied "I used to holiday here as a kid, and I thought it would be nice to come back and run here".

She moved onto Ben and I mentioned he was on his 97th marathon and was doing the last 3 next week after this one. She was flabbergasted, and as Ben explained that he was doing it as part of his attempt at joining the '100 Marathon Club' she had to start again and ask him to explain. He calmly explained on camera that this was his 97th marathon and he is doing another on Tues and then Wed and then the final one on Saturday!




10.30am and it's time for the off!....

The starting line up at this years event.

The start line was a little stroll down the road and yes it was still chucking it down, but by now we were getting used to it. We walked down with Eamonn, Rachel and Jane and readied ourselves for the starting gun/whistle/horn or whatever it was going to be.


A quick 'have a good race' to and fro and we were off. Ben was taking it easy he said as he obviously had his marathons next week to get through as well, but I knew full well his 'taking it easy' was my 'full throttle effort' so after the initial 3-4 miles we gradually parted company as we dodged other runners of various paces who were in front of us.

Dodging the camera bike become a regular chore after a while at this point as it kept appearing from behind and driving through us all while beeping it's horn to warn us. It seemed a bit dangerous to me and to be honest bloomin annoying, and I won't repeat what came out my mouth on the 3rd or 4th time I had to move over for it.





The first 5 miles and the approach up to Pen-y-Pass.

 Llanberis Pass to Pen-y-Pass.

The first section of the route was up Llanberis pass through the magnificence of the valley and the enormous and steep mountain side on both sides of us. This is truly a reminder of how small and insignificant we truly are when compared to the vastness of nature and the World around us.


I recalled looking up at these mountain sides in my youth and looking at the tiny specks that were mountain climbers attempting their latest death defying feat of climbing up the valleys vast mountain sides. The Llanberis pass has a long history of rock climbing and to this day is a mecca for the adventurous among us.

Water station 1 came and went half way down the valley at just past 3 miles, and it was onwards to mile 4-5 and what was the start of the long climb out of the valley to Pen-y-Pass and the YHA buildings there.

This was a tough long and slow climb and at it's highest would reach an elevation of 1000ft+, but with it being the start of the race most of us had the freshness and energy to still run up it.

I was starting to struggle and had to constantly tell myself that I'm not allowed to stop and walk at this point because I was better than that, and that I can have a rest at the top. I was also getting overheated as I was fully wrapped up against the rain and this was causing me discomfort as well, but I decided being dry at this stage was better than being soaked early on.

Still smiling.....if only I knew.

The final bit of the climb before Pen-y-Pass finally arrived and the steepest part of the climb, and boy was it hard not to walk it. A timing mat was there and I crossed it with a time of 44mins 40secs for what was about 4.75 miles and I was in position 986 out of 2000+.

I had a gel and drink at this point and stopped for 5 mins to try and pack away my waterproof jacket which folds into it's own pocket and then straps around your waist. Unfortunately this jacket clearly wasn't designed to be worn with the strap whilst running because it bobbed annoyingly up and down even when I tied the elastic strap as much as I could. I resorted to carrying it in one hand in it's packed up state.





Miles 5 to 13 Pen-y-Pas to Beddgelert.

The steep descent from Pen-y-Pas down into the valley.

Next was the rapid decent down to almost normal ground level before a sharp right turn that took you towards Bethania and Beddgelert and at this point I hit a 7 min mile as I tried to be careful and not blow out my quads by running too fast and damaging them for later on.

Shortly after the bottom of the hill and the right turn you take a little road down the right hand side of the main A498 and this is a farmers track with loose stone, mud,grass and lots of water and trip hazards.

It was also by now full of road runners wondering what the hell was going on and running fairly slow and cautiously down it. At this point I thought 'sod it' and ran without a care in the world down what was going to be a fun part of the route.

My kind of running trail.

We rejoined the road at roughly 8 miles and the road was open to traffic, so this became a bit of a battle between runners and road users who thankfully on the most part were quite patient and courteous to one another apart from the odd **** with their 4X4's, camper vans etc etc who clearly were in too much of a hurry to consider other peoples safety.

Mile 8 to 9 was alongside Llyn Gwynant and past water station 3, and it was a welcome distraction to what was still an uncomfortably wet run as it was still raining and as I had taken my waterproof off I was pretty wet and not that warm

Llyn Gwynant.

Mile 10 approached at Bethania and it was at this point I tried to work out how I was feeling physically, as the earlier miles had taken some toll with the ups and downs and the damp weather was not suited to keeping my leg muscles nicely warmed up. I could feel my right hamstring was not particularly happy and it felt way to loose and relaxed considering it should of felt slightly pumped and firm, it was at this point that I started to worry that if it felt as weak as it did, that it could turn into a major issue later.

Mile 11 was alongside Llyn Dinas and onto water station 4 and if I remember rightly the water stations now had HI5 electrolyte drink as well as water so I started on them.

Llyn Dinas.

I was now trying to run at a comfortable pace and was telling myself that I can have a breather and a walk break just after the half way point at Beddgelert, which I knew also had HI5 gels which I was going to have to take regularly to avoid hitting 'the wall' at the later stages. Miles 12-13 seemed to go on forever but I managed to keep running by convincing myself it was just around the corner, I avoided looking at my Garmin and just used the regular mile markers to gauge where I was.

Beddgelert arrived and the welcome sight of some gels and lots of support from the local crowds who were good enough to come out and cheer us on in the wet weather. I lost track of how many times I heard "Da iawn" which I presumed was Welsh for "Well done" and several "Oh my goodness" as I passed. I was a little concerned at the "Oh my goodness" comments and started to check my clothing to ensure I wasn't showing more than I should in anyway, my shorts were fully intact so no problems there.





Miles 13 to 21 Beddgelert to Waunfawr.

The bridge at Beddgelert.

At some point in or around Beddgelert the halfway timing mat was in place and I clocked it at 2hrs 00mins and in 755th place. I didn't know it at the time but I had gained 200+ places at some point since the 5 mile timing mat, and I'm guessing it was the long downhills I bombed down. I was now knackered though and was very willing to lose places from now on as I just tried to survive the second half of the course.

Coming out of Beddgelert is a several mile long 600ft+ climb, and I won't lie I had always planned on walking this one in an attempt to preserve my legs for the later stages.
I didn't realise just how long this climb was and felt guilty at times to be walking, but I can walk fairly fast with my long legs and quite a few others were now walking this section too. It rapidly became a game of cat and mouse with several other runners as we alternated between running and walking etc.

Miles 13-15 were pretty much the long drawn out climb and a chance to admire the surrounding scenery which was indeed magnificent and worth all the pain I was in.

My hamstring was now feeling pretty tired as would be expected and my other one was tired as well, but by now my previously injured one was making me limp a bit so I knew it wasn't working 100% and wondered how it would deal with the final miles, the final big hill climb and indeed the leg bashing final decent back to the finish.

At the end of the climb was a welcome water stop at Pont Caer Gors and mile 15, and again it was HI5 electrolyte time. Then it was back to running again finally.

Welsh highland railway at Pont Caer Gors.

Mile 16 was alongside Llyn-y-Gader and Rhyd Ddu and water stop 7 and this time I stopped to take a gel, I realised how tired my legs were at this point as I nearly fell backwards when I stood at the side of the water stop to take the gel. I think this is partly down to standing still when you have just ran 16 miles or so leaning and moving forward and your bodies balance is a tad confused.

Miles 17-18 was now a case of running a mile and walking for a couple of hundred yards and running another mile to ease my legs a little.Mile 18 was the Snowdon Ranger Youth Hostel and the official cut off point where if you hadn't passed this point by 4 hours into the run you had to stop and jump on the sweeper bus that takes you back to the finish. I was at this point extremely happy to see this and felt a lot better in myself that come what may I will finish even if I have to walk the damn thing.


Mile 18-19 was alongside Llyn Cwellyn and miles 19-20 took me to Betws Garmon.
The 20 mile marker was at Betws Garmon and finally the sun showed it's face and blessed us with some warmth for the first time in the day.

Llyn Cwellyn.

I glanced at my Garmin on mile 20 and was quite surprised it stated 3hrs 19mins which is how long my flat training runs take if I have walk breaks or food or rest stops. This meant that even though I had wasted time on walking the previous long hill and had a fair few little walks I was on a decent time for that terrain, for me anyway.





Miles 21 to 26.2 Waunfawr to Llanberis, the final stretch and the the final 1000ft+ hill!



Mile 21 and the sight of Waunfawr in the distance was a welcome one, even though I still couldn't comprehend running to it. I was having regular walk breaks at every mile marker now just to keep me going. I told myself no more walking, that big bloomin hill is coming up soon and you can walk up that as a rest lol.

22 miles and Waunfawr was finally here and the famous right hand turn up that hill. Thankfully a water station with HI5 electrolyte and gels were in abundance ready for the task ahead so I grabbed a few of those and did my best to power walk up the hill, or at least walk it quicker than the oldish man that I am would do if on a stroll.

Mile 22 beyond Waunfawr and up towards Bwich-y-Groes (older picture).

23 miles and another welcome water station in which I think I just had water to help all the previous gels and electrolytes along. There was also another timing mat here as we were almost at the top of the hill and I crossed it at 3hrs 53mins and position 1125.

All the walking in the previous miles had now taken it's toll on my position but I wasn't there for a position, I was there for the fun, the adventure, the stunning scenery and the leg busting challenge. I was just below the highest point on the course and the hardest bits (I thought) were behind me, I was on top of the world and rather ecstatic!!

24 miles and we had topped out the hill and there was a flat stretch ahead, my head and my legs really didn't  want to start running again but I forced myself to as I knew the downhill was coming and time would probably be lost there as well. The final check point was here as well, so a quick final drink and off.


25 miles and after a few minor ups and downs and a mile of water soaked paths with running water going across them and I'd totally given up the notion of trying to keep my feet remotely dry. It was now the dreaded quad busting ,hamstring busting, knee busting and now for me foot busting final decent for 1.2 miles straight down the hillside paths which went from stone to mud and path to grass back to mud and path, water and more water and eventually after many slips and almost falls finally some tarmac.

No rainbow on the day, but this was the view we got as a reward on the final descent, albeit on a far wetter and more muddy and slippy day.

I had to walk a lot of it as it was way too slippy to run in road shoes, and I for a brief second wished I'd worn trail shoes just for this section alone, but the other 90% of road in them would of trashed my legs and feet even more.

The final bit on the farmers track was ridiculously steep,and if you couldn't run it with fresher legs you had no option other than slowing to a walk/jog. I had to lean back to slow down and my knee was taking a beating and really hurting and so was my foot as another old reoccurring injury had come back, and the bones in my mid right foot were killing me.

So now I had a very sore right hamstring, a very sore and painful right knee and a very sore right foot, I was surprised I could run in a straight line at this point and hadn't already ran of a cliff or into a prickly roadside bush.

At long last the roads of Llanberis arrived for the final third of a mile or so and a welcome section of flat terrain, and finally a bit of speed returned to my legs as I could see and hear the lovely Welsh welcome home reception that the locals were giving each and every runner as they ran down the high street on the final approach to the finish line, and finally I was over the line in a welcomed 4hrs 35mins.

A visible sense of relief that I had finished.

Afterthoughts....

It was a truly lovely event in a lovely area and I would recommend it to anyone who is capable of a marathon and at least the odd hill already.

The Welsh hospitality was second to none, and there was no feeling of been rushed or jostled along at any point which you tend to get at most road marathons.

It would be a good idea to try and stay locally in a B&B the day before or even the day itself because there is some lovely cafes etc there and the scenery of the area surrounding it all is fully accessible from Llanberis as a central point.

Snowdon itself is accessible via the Snowdon Mountain railway based at Llanberis so worth a trip to fully appreciate the wonder of God's country that you have just ran through, and indeed the great mountain you have just circumnavigated over a very tough and challenging 26.2 miles, it's one hell of a way to sight see.

A massive thank you to 'Ultra Ben' for the lift there and back and to all the other people I know that ran it and wished me well, and all the people who supported me in the lead up to the event itself.

Thank you also to all my friends in my running circles, particular my running group 'Run or Cake' who fill me with confidence ever day with their on going love and support, you truly are my running family.




A final few pictures.... 

The route circumnavigating Snowdon.

The beast itself 'Snowdon'.

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