Foreword
As many of you will know the following running achievement this blog is about has been a long time coming, at least two years to be precise. It is also a very special event location in a place very special to a very special lady, my Mum. This event was ran for my Mum, in her honor and in her memory.
For the last two years at least maybe even three I have been trying to gradually increase or advance my running achievements to the next level i.e. Ultra marathon distances.
I have done 10+ marathons over the years and have managed to do 35 miles in a charity event I organised a few years back so have officially ran ultra marathon distance before, but never at an actual ultra marathon event.
Every time I booked one and planned ahead for one I suffered some kind of setback, usually a knee issue which prevented me doing enough training to at least give me a respectable chance of completing the event, and indeed turning up with enough miles under my belt to show my respect to the distance ahead.
This year was the year I was not going to fail as I now had a very personal reason to drop everything else, and concentrate only on staying healthy and uninjured and reducing all other activities in order to ensure my knee health was as good as it could be.
I have promised to remember my Mum every year by doing a fund raising challenge in her honor and intend to do as many as possible in Snowdonia where we spent many happy family holidays year on year.
My Mum passed away in June last year and this challenge is my first official annual remembrance challenge in her name and in her honor.
Some of the challenges will be made up by myself and on my own, some will be as part of official events, in this case the new GB Ultras Mt Snowdon 50/100 mile ultra. Thankfully for me this time round I choose the 50 mile option which would be my first ever 50 mile ultra marathon attempt and what better place than Snowdon.
Not only did my Mum love Snowdon, she asked to have her ashes spread there. This we did as a family as it should be.
I chose to raise money for Lupus UK and the Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team by taking on this event as they are both personal to my Mum and to me, and are two very worthy charities that need monetary support.
As some of you know I have set up 'WWMD - What Would Mum Do?' as a charity and fund raising legacy in honor and remembrance of my Mum, and all my fund raising challenges go through that channel and fund raising page so all monies raised can be seen and recorded.
Each charity fund raising page I post or share for each event I do is linked to the WWMD one and all monies go direct to the charities via Just Giving.
The training
The training for this event was strict as it entailed big events or one off training runs followed by decent rest periods to ensure my knees healed before I did another.
I kept training specific to this event by trying to build leg strength and try and get some climb/ascent training in by running sand dune ranges locally as there are no hills where I live on the coast.
I took on a weeks training in Wales back in June on the race route itself which incorporated two days of official recce days with GB Ultras themselves who very kindly put on recce days for free.
I was in Wales that week with my Dad as it was the official first anniversary of my Mums death and that was the place we wanted to be at that time.
I also did the GB Ultras new GB24 24hr running event in the lakes back in July to get used to 24hrs of running with lots of climb, and feeding myself from checkpoints as I go. This worked well on the day as I covered 65 miles and 15,800ft of climb. A fairly respectable equivalent to what would be needed for Snowdon, albeit it being done on easy trail paths, something I would not have the luxury of in Snowdon.
Two weeks later I volunteered to run at the Bliss24 a local new charity event based on my own creation the Seaside24 charity event which I let them use as I used to work for them, and was happy to see the event continue to do good for charity.
I managed 49 miles helping fill gaps in the relay format they had, and by doing extra laps as a chaperone for lady runners to ensure they felt safe out there in the darker hours.
My success at the events helped give me a confidence boost, but I was still getting sore knees and they were suffering and limiting what I could freely do. I always had to have a full rest for a week or so and limit training after ward, and I always knew my knees would be my issue at Snowdon.
The day before the event
I was thankful that my Dad was going to accompany me to the event and we were going to be staying at the Royal Oak Hotel in Betws y Coed, which is across from the village green that the start and finish area would be for the event itself.
We got there on Friday afternoon and checked my Dad in for two days, and myself in for one day as I would obviously still be out running on the Sat night as I had no delusions of grandeur, and pretty much knew I would struggle to get back in much before the 6:30am cut off time for the finish line, so had no need of somewhere to sleep.
I had a late Lunch in their restaurant as I needed to eat ready for the next day and needed to get to bed early to get some sleep if possible as obviously I was going to be up for a long time and out running in the surrounding mountains and valleys.
I had a Thai vegetable risotto as I am plant based and don't eat meat and dairy anymore. Something I have found has improved my running performance and recovery immensely despite the fact I train far less than I ever have as my knees can't take it.
Also the added bonus of not being personally responsible for the misery and death of innocent animals also does a lot for my mental and physical welfare and indeed the Environment that we live in, and leave for future generations.
My Dad also had the same meal and I am slowly trying to get him to eat healthier and more plant based as obviously I want him around as long as possible.
After getting my Dad to his room and his stuff up there it was time to retire to my own room and select my running gear for the weather conditions.
I had packed loads of stuff so I could make a final choice on the day so I laid out what I felt would be my choice and packed most of my backpack/run vest ready for morning.
Pre race registration was also on Friday night, so I went down to collect my race number and give my emergency phone number details etc in in case something bad happened to me while out there.
This was also a first chance to see some of the other runners and to put names to faces. I kept my head down pretty much as I'm fairly new to all this ultra running stuff so don't know many people and I also suffer Anxiety as well as social Anxiety, so keep myself to myself a lot.
Event day
After a varied sleep which seemed to be 30 mins or so at a time I finally got up at 4:00am and went for food straight away as I needed food down me no later than 2 hours before race start and after that I would have to feed myself on the go or from the official checkpoints/aid stations which would have a selection of food and drink provided for all the runners.
I had a pack of Hummus and fallafel wraps and a banana and a coffee for my breakfast and got dressed in all my gear.
Prior to putting my socks and shoes on I put Vaseline all over my feet as we knew it was going to be a wet day overall and the trails would be sodden in places and we would at some point have to run through water multiple times, meaning we would have soaked feet for hours on end.
Race brief
Once down at the start area ready for the race brief at 5:55am it was time to listen up and get last minute instructions about the route, the course, the conditions and whether or not there would be any last minute diversions due to extreme conditions.
We were ready to go for 6:30am in the dark after seeing off the 100 mile runners at 6:20am.
Race start
6:30am came and off we went across the village green until we came across the single file gap in the wall to get onto the road, a sign of things to come for the next few miles as we slowly thinned out and settled down into our respective ideal paces. You can just about see me on the far right in the above picture, I'm wearing a blue waterproof jacket, red backpack and black running tights and bright blue and yellow Hoka Speedgoat 2s.
Race start to Checkpoint One (8.2 miles in)
The first section of the route to checkpoint one is a nice section pretty much alongside the river after leaving the quaint main road of Betws y Coed itself. It was mainly wooded so there were sections of tree roots ready to catch out people not looking at their feet, and also people who hadn't turned on or worn their head torches for the start.
There were a few sections of rock stepping stones, some up , some down, and some just to get us from A to B without slipping on our arse.
After a mile maybe it was up and out at the quaint road bridge and a look at the Ugly Cottage before going up the sharp hill alongside it, thankfully in this case an actual tarmac road so fairly easy.
We continued on alongside a few fields and wooded areas with a fair amount of mud and water in places and over a few styles and bridges and then came out onto a fire road before jumping straight back into a wooded path and slowly upwards.
A fair bit of water and mud on this path and a slow uphill and to be fairly honest my memory of most of that bit of the route is fairly blank. I'd run it before on a recce so knew it was just a case of keep slogging, watch your feet and get it done safely.
On the downhill slope to Capel Curig we discovered a friendly photographer...
On the downhill slope to Capel Curig we discovered a friendly photographer...
After about 5 miles you eventually appear at the roadside at Capel Curig and a junction with a shop/convenience store and also a public toilet (coins needed).
After that we entered a long runnable section which is pretty straight and takes you all the way to the checkpoint at Gwern Gof Icaf campsite, our first of many for the day.
I did manage to bump into Matt Wanderer who I know from running circles and managed to have a brief chat with him. He was doing the 100 at this point.
Onward I went and this section would be one of the only ones where I would attempt to run properly as it was fairly flat and wouldn't hinder my knees as long as it wasn't massively long. I knew it was roughly 3 miles max so was happy with that, not so much all the patches of funny looking light brown mud on the path that didn't quite match the other bits of mud. Turns out it was rain sodden cow sh*t!
I arrived at Checkpoint One at roughly 8:20am which was 1hr 50mins to cover 8 miles. Not exactly a fantastic pace, but one I was expecting for the terrain in general and on my target at least. My target was to be between 17.5min per mile avg and maybe 20 min mile avg overall.
My plan was faster sections would bank time for the slower mountain climb sections and balance it out overall. I knew I could afford anything up to a 25min avg mile overall and still have time for spare in case of emergencies, but stops would have to come out of this time too.
Checkpoint One (8.2 miles) to Checkpoint Two (13 miles)
After suddenly realising standing at the checkpoint talking wasn't what I was supposed to be doing I decided I needed to move on, but only after the support team on the checkpoint doing a sterling job of asking if myself and obviously all the other runners needed any food or drink or water bottles filling up etc.
I filled my bottle with a Tailwind stick pack and they filled up my water and I ate a banana and I was off again.
We set off down the fairly flat path again for a while and then it got interesting as this section is where we meet the approach to Tryfan and it's wondrous sounding 'Heather Terrace' for the first time. Sounds lovely doesn't it? I can assure you just like my namesake ex wife, it has a bit of a bite and a cold shoulder. In this case the cold shoulder was the terrace itself that runs alongside the mountain roughly two thirds the way up and it's a b*gger to get to too.
I had to concede and get my walking poles out of my back pack as there was a long climb up the grassy terrain just to get to the bottom of Tryfan itself and the hand and feet climb up onto the start of the terrace path itself.
A smiley Jonathon awaited us as we started continued on up the climb of the grassy mountainside...
A smiley Jonathon awaited us as we started continued on up the climb of the grassy mountainside...
The poles were with me to save energy and my knees for the long haul ahead. Yes they are aptly named 'cheat sticks' but you don't criticise old people who use walking sticks to get down the street to where they want to go do you? I have crap knees, in order for me to survive 50 miles of wear and tear and climb and descent I took the sensible no shame option of sticks.
The terrace was a challenge in itself with a fair amount of use of hands needed to balance yourself and at times to pull yourself up while you put all your weight on a singular footing below, safety first meant getting a good grounding or grip of something whenever you could.
Just beyond our first climb up a gully there was a smiley Marshall offering encouragement and taking out photo's as we grimaced or smiled on our way up. Big thanks to that lady.
We turned left and then headed properly up and along the very slow climb and often down a little and then up again, all the while with a nice big drop to our left which if you slipped and fell could lead to serious injury or even death!
Just beyond our first climb up a gully there was a smiley Marshall offering encouragement and taking out photo's as we grimaced or smiled on our way up. Big thanks to that lady.
We turned left and then headed properly up and along the very slow climb and often down a little and then up again, all the while with a nice big drop to our left which if you slipped and fell could lead to serious injury or even death!
For the record someone was unfortunate enough to slip off and drop 10ft onto rock and subsequently had to be airlifted of by the coastguard rescue helicopter and this poor guy was a mountain rescue member himself. It's not just novices who are at risk on events like this, conditions and terrain always need our respect and concentration and even then that's not guaranteed to ensure your safe passage.
Thankfully the guy was ok and not seriously injured as he posted the same or next day to let us all know.
Onward we went upwards for what felt like an hour at least to the highest point we would reach on route on Tryfan and then down behind it's South peak. The group I was following here lost the path a bit as markers seem to disappear at one point (we missed a turn) and we ended up going further down the mountain than we needed almost down to the lake before moving back over again and back up to the path to get you over towards the Glyders.
I knew we seemed to be wrong but was aware on the day the route may be different in parts to recce runs and we were warned not to rely on markers and with the severe weather conditions all week not all the course was fully marked and some markers had also been removed by walkers or eaten by sheep etc.
Once safely back on track on the Miners track it was up onto boggy land and time to get our feet soaked and then down the mountainside toward checkpoint two. This was a long descent and not as runnable as planned due to slip risk with the wet conditions. I was also being careful to not smash my knees up on descents early on in the race.
Bottom of the mountain and lo and behold another bog of doom but at least the checkpoint was there and a chance to sort out wet feet and socks if wanted.
I arrived at 10:50am and also texted my Dad, as I told him I would let him know I got to each checkpoint safe and at what kind of time as he was meeting me at checkpoint five later.
I spent a little too much time at this checkpoint again but was conscious I needed to eat some solid food as well as refill my Tailwind bottle as there was no longer a Checkpoint Three aid station water wise on Snowdon summit due to weather conditions preventing the train getting supplies up there.
Water was also available at the cafe and toilets at Pen y pass etc so no worries really as you passed it on the way up and down.
Checkpoint Two (13 miles) to Checkpoint Three (17.3 miles)
I set off to Pen y pass and decided to nip into the toilets there to reapply Vaseline to my feet with them getting wet earlier, conditions were getting wetter in general so I needed to do everything possible to protect my feet from water.
It was a slow process having to take my back pack off and get the stuff out, dry my feet with a towel, reapply and then put my wet socks and shoes back on and then all my gear etc. It was a good 20 minutes or so including using the toilet itself.
It was a vital decision though to protect my feet as I went, as problems with feet are a major downfall on long distance events for many and a big cause of many DNF's (Did not finish).
On the path leading up to Pen y pass prior to my loo stop I just mentioned, we found the friendly photographer again for another photo opportunity....(All professional photo's were provided free of charge courtesy of GB Events).
On the path leading up to Pen y pass prior to my loo stop I just mentioned, we found the friendly photographer again for another photo opportunity....(All professional photo's were provided free of charge courtesy of GB Events).
All ready to go again and it was all the way up the Pyg track to the summit and it was a Saturday morning and by now getting very busy with dawdling and ill equipped walkers going up. Many many people in blue jeans, plimsolls and God knows what fashion wear. Not a lot of waterproofs in sight either and at this point I decided I needed to put mine on.
I continued on and as I approached the junction with the Miners track that leads down, the marshals there were letting us know we would be taking that route down as the original route on the opposite ridge was not considered safe enough in the current conditions. This was a relief as I'd recced that section and although nice it's a long difficult drag time wise.
Onwards toward the top of the path and another group of Marshall's this time with the marvellous G-Man Adam Gallimore at the forefront giving us all a warm welcome as we got to the top.
Not quite the top though yet, still a bit of a slog up alongside the mountain railway to the summit cafe and the peak itself once checked off by the Marshall's there to ensure we did indeed get to the top.
I arrived at the summit at 1:15pm and texted my Dad to let him know I got there safe.
Checkpoint Three (17.3 miles) to Checkpoint Four (22.4 miles)
Once at the summit of Snowdon it was time to make our way back to the G-Man at the top of the Pyg track and then head to the junction with the Miners track and head down there.
By now it was continuously raining and waterproofs were a vital decision to stay dry and indeed warm at this point as it was cold on the mountain tops, and in the cloud so damp and chilly in general.
On the summit I had bumped into Katy Mac whose name I recognised from Martin Connells blog and stories from the recent GB Ultras Race Across Scotland, a 214 mile beast for the maddest of mad runners out there.
We ran together mostly down the now extremely busy tracks down from Snowdon still full of now wet and stupid walkers/tourists still madly climbing up totally inappropriately dressed for the conditions and indeed the climb.
This is one of the reasons I fund raise for the Mountain Rescue Team as they have to come out and rescue people like this all the time, especially when they twist an ankle or head down the wrong way in the mist. The teams are purely volunteers and unpaid and I tell you now I wouldn't put my life at risk daily for some of the clowns I see on Snowdon. Hats off to the teams they are far better human beings than me.
After a long descent and a banana along the way, which I will point out I carried all the rest of the way down until I found a bin, I was now back at Pen y pas and I split up with Katy Mac and another runner as I wanted to visit the loo again and redo my feet again with Vaseline as I knew the bogs of doom were fast approaching.
Feet done after another 20 odd minutes and back onto the trail to checkpoint four which is the same one as checkpoint two as we are doubling back on ourselves at this point.
Checkpoint Four (22.4 miles) to Checkpoint Five (28 miles)
I arrived at checkpoint four at 3:15pm and slightly behind my predicted target of 20min miles avg as I think I told my Dad I was on roughly 21 min miles at this point when I texted him. I was happy with this though as it was still within my overall targets and I figured having just done the Snowdon section that will of bumped my time up anyway and I'd stopped twice to sort my feet out.
I was happy to see the smiley face of Sal Seeney who I know well through running circles and respect and love very much as a person and as a runner. I got my second hug of the day, as the first had been G-Man on Snowdon, and after getting two Tailwind bottles this time kindly refilled by the wonderful aid station crew I was off with flapjack in hand as I was struggling to eat at that point.
Off across the bog of doom again and upward back up the Miners track (not the Snowdon one) and a very long slog up the mountainside which doesn't really have a trail or track just a worn bit of path from peoples boots etc.
This section I hate as I've done it before without poles and my legs were stuffed at this point on recce day, so I wasn't looking forward to this climb at all. I'll be honest I'd liken it to the climb up the mountainside that Sam and Frodo and Gollum take up from Dol Guldur, although not admittedly needing to use hands to climb the rock face, but constantly looking back to where you had come from, seeming to go on and on.
I took it slow and managed to get to the top without tanking out energy wise, but this was why I'd filled two Tailwind bottles this time, as I knew I needed it to get me through that climb and onto the path for the Glyders.
Finally at the top true to form I somehow missed the path or took a slight wrong one up there and came out on boggy grassland but further across than when we had descended originally. I could see Tryfan ahead to the right across the valley and I could see Glyder Fach to my left so I headed freestyle across the grassland in the general direction of the Glyders.
I eventually ran into the correct marked path along the way and thankfully missed all the boggy bits we had ran through originally earlier in the day.
I eventually ran into the correct marked path along the way and thankfully missed all the boggy bits we had ran through originally earlier in the day.
A quick hello and photo from the Marshall and I was on my way up the familiar path up Glyder Fach as I'd recce ran it before.
This was a long slow slog again and this time I actually went all the way to the top onto the massive rock slabs picking another runner up along the way, who like myself was struggling a bit at the top to see the official path.
Rock slabs are not exactly easy to mark and I expect a lot of the markers likely blew away in the recent storms or were removed from the cairns by walkers etc. We found the route along the ridge and also some other runners further along who at this point were climbing down where the path takes you down and around the rather dangerous looking rock slab house of card formations that were at various points along the ridge peaks.
Eventually it was finally Glyderr Faur time and it's peak finally came into view and was conquered by us all, only for it to laugh in our face with a blanket of cloud at times and a rather open plain of rocks with a not so obvious route down the side of the mountain.
Luckily I'd been before so knew we follow the cairns down as you do normally, but I also knew there was a shale laden descent down through hell literally towards Devils Kitchen. This was quite frankly a bl**dy ridiculous path or route down as it was the first time I took it in June, but then again it is the only way down so no fault of the event organisers.
Half way down after multiple cursing of the route and lack of an established safer path I slipped sideways and fell on my arm onto rocks. Thankfully my arm survived unscathed but it very easily could of been a broken arm had my guardian angel not been watching me that day.
Finally at the bottom and a little shaken I came across another wonderful Marshall who said 'Well done' and took a decent photo too...
Now it was the descent down through Devils Kitchen which I'd done before on a recce but this time my knees were screaming at me and I had to drop down from one big rock step to another very slowly and very nervously as I felt the pain in every step.
This was a serious time drain and I was now overdue at my guesstimated arrival time at check point five to meet my Dad and indeed now well off max factored time target for this checkpoint.
I had texted my Dad while still on the mountain when I had signal to tell him I was an hour away, but Dad clearly was sat somewhere without signal as it was going to answerphone at his end. I figured though that he was likely already sat down at checkpoint five as I was obviously now late and I knew there was no signal down there mostly.
I got down eventually safely to Llyn Idwal and as it was flat managed to get a small amount of running in, and just as well as Wayne the Race Director was there taking photo's and video, and I was very glad to see him to be honest as he has given me so much support and encouragement in recent times. I actually felt quite proud of myself at that point and felt like saying 'Look, I did it' but I was only just 27 miles in at this point.
Checkpoint Five (28 miles) to Checkpoint Six (36.2 miles)
I arrived at checkpoint five at 6:48pm which was over my own max allowed 25min mile avg, but still within the 8pm cut off time. One of the aid station volunteers got a picture of me on the way through the car park looking for my Dad, I was looking a bit lost as I could see the car but not my Dad. Turns out he was in the loo.
I had organised for my Dad to meet me here so I could changeover some clothing and put some warmer stuff on as I knew it would be dark soon and I knew I would be walking most of the rest of the route from here likely, and also I knew Carnedd Llewelyn etc would be damn cold and likely the heavens were going to open while we were up there.
I changed my base layer over to a fresh one, put on a fleece and changed to a fully waterproof Berghaus jacket and put on my woolly hat and headlamp.
I also gave my watch a bit of a battery top up just in case it died on me towards the end.
The kind aid station volunteers filled my Tailwind bottle for me and I had a few Welsh Cakes for food as I was struggling to eat flapjacks now and took the rest of the pack of them with me figuring I could eat on the way.
I said my goodbyes and set of up Pen y Ole Wen, I'd been here before and I was dreading this climb knowing full well it will be an energy sapper and that it would soon be pitch black before I could reach the top.
I also knew the path is extremely hard to follow as it goes of all over the place as people take slightly alternative routes between sections of the path.
Sadly I went down one of those alternative paths and was going along the side of the mountain more than actually up. I had no option other than to scramble up the heather and past bits of rock faces until I found the marked path again.
I found a few other runners too while up there eventually and by the time it had gone fully dark we were all struggling. We lost the path again and I went onward to what I thought may of been the path but I ended up rock climbing and pretty sure I hadn't chosen wisely and was a little concerned about having people follow me as I do take risks.
I eventually got further up and found markers again and every time I found one I would pause there for a few minutes with my head torch illuminating the red flag marker until I saw others behind me so I knew they could see it ahead and then I would move on.
Everyone else seemed to be making it up safely, but we were still climbing and getting very close to the massive drop of the left side of the peak. On the recce we avoided this and had already gone over to the right, but not so today as the markings took us right up.
Everyone else seemed to be making it up safely, but we were still climbing and getting very close to the massive drop of the left side of the peak. On the recce we avoided this and had already gone over to the right, but not so today as the markings took us right up.
We eventually after rock hopping again in the dark managed to find the true flattish summit of Pen y Ole Wen and stood there looking into total blackness thinking WTF!....
I knew then that this was going to be trouble from now on. I couldn't really see Carnedd Dafydd or Carnedd Llewelyn and you couldn't even see the drop down to the ridge line that takes you around there.
Thankfully I knew it was there down to the left as I'd been before of of we went along the lunar ridge toward the first peak Carnedd Dafydd.
It was a long slow walk as none of us were running at this point as conditions underfoot were extremely difficult to walk on never mind run and it was a hard surface so I in particular was trying to protect my sore knees.
The cloud and mist kept coming and going and we were doing fairly well but at some point after passing over Carnedd Dafydd we or should I say I got disorientated without knowing. At some point it got really rocky which I knew it did at points from the recce and I also knew at some point you go to the left of one of those sections so we did but as we did the cloud came in and we couldn't see 10ft ahead.
Now trying to find the correct line again to continue along the ridge we saw a marker and turned and went in that direction only to lose visibility again and any sign of markers. Somehow we actually crossed over the actual path and headed of towards the edge and down but saw another marker to our right so we headed to that.
At this point I had thought we were just going around a large peak on the ridge or a point were the ridge turns so thought nothing of the direction changes. How wrong was I. We had now lost a couple of guys who had been with us and were down to two but not concerned. That was until I realised I could no longer see Carnedd Llewelyn ahead in the poor visibility and I could no longer see other runners head torches as they went up it, as that had been our route guideline.
I was now well and truly confused, and so was the guy with me. We saw some lights coming towards us off a small peak, which was strange as to us they were heading in the wrong direction. We stopped them and asked if they were on the 50? They were, I asked where had they come from and they said Pen y Ole Wen. I was now totally confused as to me we had come from that direction and they had come from towards Llewelyn.
I doubted there direction choice and by now they were as I was convincing them they were wrong. I got my GPS out and as I pulled it out it was already turned on and it kept going off, so I turned it on, and it went off again. I struggled to remember where the route map was in it's memory so couldn't see where we where in relation to the map, and the GPS map for the spot we were at was pretty bare and North was not in the direction I thought it was so I was now doubting the start up accuracy of the GPS. I know they can freeze, so I couldn't rely on where it said we where actually being true.
I'll be honest here, in hindsight all I had to do was pull out the mandatory compass and check my direction along the way and more often. I totally failed to do this and am embarrassed with myself for not doing such a basic thing. I had a mandatory map and compass for a reason, we were told to carry one and told we were supposed to know how to use use one. But being stupid enough not to get them out of my back pack in the first place is totally down to me and noone else.
I'll be honest here, in hindsight all I had to do was pull out the mandatory compass and check my direction along the way and more often. I totally failed to do this and am embarrassed with myself for not doing such a basic thing. I had a mandatory map and compass for a reason, we were told to carry one and told we were supposed to know how to use use one. But being stupid enough not to get them out of my back pack in the first place is totally down to me and noone else.
Thankfully the couple we had stopped had a GPS too so we trusted theirs and followed them. I was now frazzled mentally and very disappointed in my self for losing direction and for now not knowing exactly where on the ridge we where.
We joined up with a few others who had also just come down from the small peak and asked them the same, and the general consensus was Carnedd Llewelyn is this way, so we followed as a group.
We slowly eventually reached Carnedd Llewelyn, but not via the zig zagged approach we had taken on the recce run, and there was no visible cairn or rock shelter that I knew was up there. Again I doubted where we where but couldn't do anything other than follow the others.
We started off down what should now be the descent but they had followed a blue marker which in this case was only for the 100 and was the route beyond Carnedd Llewelyn.
After a little while and the others starting to also doubt the route I expressed my fears that we had followed the 100 route by mistake and should return to the summit and try again.
Others had come to the same conclusion and as a group we all seemed to go for the summit return and they went of down the side again and I followed trusting their choice as I couldn't trust my natural instincts anymore.
We carried on down and it got really rocky but I knew the route had a very craggy section at some point and that would require some difficult scrambling down some flat rock faces. We eventually hit that section, but doubt was on peoples mind this was correct, because let's face it, this was a very dangerous looking section and everyone doubted something like this could possibly be on a chosen root for a run event with the likelihood it would be dark for some runners.
I at times went ahead in the general direction the group was heading as a whole and I'd spot markers and move on. We finally hit the craggy section and I recognised it and was relived that I finally knew 100% where we were but I was also very disheartened to realise just how far of the checkpoint this spot was and I knew there was no way we would hit that checkpoint in time for cut off.
We continued on past the worst and onto the ridge that goes to Heigi Du and a couple of runners started to run ahead to catch up on time, I followed them as I knew we were at least all safe now and I could not afford to be timed out as I was running for charity and in memory of my Mum and not finishing was not an option for me.
We ran on down the big long grassy descent and I now ran on ahead of the two runners I was following and made my final dash for the checkpoint praying for a miracle.
Checkpoint Six (36.2 miles) to Checkpoint Seven (43 miles)
I finally made it into checkpoint six after Midnight hoping some leeway would be given due to the amount of people struggling with the last section taking a lot longer than predicted due to the cloud and mist making visibility so poor.
G-Man as always was on it and on the phone to I guess Wayne and explaining how long it was taking people on the Carnedds and explaining it was taking some 5-6 hours, the same with people who had just come down from the Glyders. He was offering to go up and bring people safely down being the top gent he is.
G-Man as always was on it and on the phone to I guess Wayne and explaining how long it was taking people on the Carnedds and explaining it was taking some 5-6 hours, the same with people who had just come down from the Glyders. He was offering to go up and bring people safely down being the top gent he is.
I told a Marshall at the checkpoint that I thought more time should be allowed due to the conditions and unrealistic 3.5 hrs between the cut offs at 5 then 6 and said I was going on to the next checkpoint as there was plenty of time to get there by the 3am cut off as I knew the route and it was pretty much flat. Two other guys agreed and decided to join me and we set off after refilling our drink bottles again.
The next section was as before fairly flat and a long track back to Capel Curig. We had done it before so it was all the same only in reverse, plus the addition of fresh cow sh*t!
I had told the other guys I was fast walking or hiking as I needed to save my knees and had stressed this at the checkpoint when they decided to follow on. They were fine with this and at times we got a joggle on as one of them called it as we were obviously best taking some advantage of the flat to make time up.
Now 3 miles on and at Capel Curig we headed back into the varied terrain towards the last loop out to the two lakes. At this point I bumped into Matt Wanderer again who had now dropped down to the 50 which was a sensible decision as not everything was feeling right and going to plan.
We moved on fairly well together and I fast hiked ahead, maybe not technically fast anymore but faster than a typical walk. I knew I needed to set some pace for us all to follow and I knew the route so could take turns without hesitation this time.
We carried on along all the by now flowing trails and could just about make them out as we walked/hiked and at times you weren't sure whether you were walking on the official path or just walking up a stream.
We finished the slow climb up the valley and finally got to the descent that takes you down to the farm and the first lake. This was a faster section and we were now alongside the lake and making reasonable time.
One of the guys I was with Sheldon if I remember rightly was suffering with his feet and I think his gps or watch had died too so was relying on us for direction. I stayed with him as the other guy went ahead and assured him I would stay with him till the next checkpoint. He had decided he was going to officially stop his race at the next checkpoint in order to cease further damage to his feet as he had issues prior to the race and didn't want to make them worse.
I offered some encouragement but made no attempt to change his mind other than suggesting he got some food and some rest and stay there for a while and then decide.
We got to the checkpoint bang on the allotted 3am cut off and it had taken us surprisingly near on 2.25 hrs to get there and it was only 7 miles and fairly easy terrain, we were certainly moving a lot slower than expected but then again by now it was mostly fast walking as obviously by now things were sore and muscles were tired, but in our heads we figured we still had time to take this approach and still make it.
A quick chat at the checkpoint and refill of drinks and 5 or 6 Bourbon cream biscuits and I was good to go. Sheldon was definitely staying at the checkpoint so I wished him well and pressed on. The other guy had already gone ahead.
Checkpoint 7 (43 miles) to the Finish (50 miles)
The next section was as before fairly flat and a long track back to Capel Curig. We had done it before so it was all the same only in reverse, plus the addition of fresh cow sh*t!
I had told the other guys I was fast walking or hiking as I needed to save my knees and had stressed this at the checkpoint when they decided to follow on. They were fine with this and at times we got a joggle on as one of them called it as we were obviously best taking some advantage of the flat to make time up.
Now 3 miles on and at Capel Curig we headed back into the varied terrain towards the last loop out to the two lakes. At this point I bumped into Matt Wanderer again who had now dropped down to the 50 which was a sensible decision as not everything was feeling right and going to plan.
We moved on fairly well together and I fast hiked ahead, maybe not technically fast anymore but faster than a typical walk. I knew I needed to set some pace for us all to follow and I knew the route so could take turns without hesitation this time.
We carried on along all the by now flowing trails and could just about make them out as we walked/hiked and at times you weren't sure whether you were walking on the official path or just walking up a stream.
We finished the slow climb up the valley and finally got to the descent that takes you down to the farm and the first lake. This was a faster section and we were now alongside the lake and making reasonable time.
One of the guys I was with Sheldon if I remember rightly was suffering with his feet and I think his gps or watch had died too so was relying on us for direction. I stayed with him as the other guy went ahead and assured him I would stay with him till the next checkpoint. He had decided he was going to officially stop his race at the next checkpoint in order to cease further damage to his feet as he had issues prior to the race and didn't want to make them worse.
I offered some encouragement but made no attempt to change his mind other than suggesting he got some food and some rest and stay there for a while and then decide.
We got to the checkpoint bang on the allotted 3am cut off and it had taken us surprisingly near on 2.25 hrs to get there and it was only 7 miles and fairly easy terrain, we were certainly moving a lot slower than expected but then again by now it was mostly fast walking as obviously by now things were sore and muscles were tired, but in our heads we figured we still had time to take this approach and still make it.
A quick chat at the checkpoint and refill of drinks and 5 or 6 Bourbon cream biscuits and I was good to go. Sheldon was definitely staying at the checkpoint so I wished him well and pressed on. The other guy had already gone ahead.
Checkpoint 7 (43 miles) to the Finish (50 miles)
Now roughly 3:15am it was time to move on, as said Sheldon was staying put and rightly so and the other guy had gone ahead so I caught him up and continued on. Also by now Matt and the guy with him had caught up and was now kind of with us as we continued on in two pairs.
I knew the route even in the dark this time, but to be fair one guy was ahead so I was following him but knew he was right, occasionally we would swap places as we waited for the other team member, this went on for a bit until at one point Matt stopped to let me past and seemed to disappear behind.
Once we had negotiated the route through all the ferns in the pitch black and over a wall and style I stopped for the other guy (maybe Stephen at this point, apologies) and the guy in front who was kind of teamed up with Mat waited for him, apparently he had stopped to sort out his head torch.
I now continued on with Stephen to the next lake and alongside it to the right, I had already explained it's not an easy path to find or see and it doesn't look like the natural path at first but bear with me as it is correct.
Once on that path it was alongside the lake and all the dodgy tree roots trying to trip you into the lake below to your left. I had warned Stephen that this was going to be a dodgy section as I'd seen all the roots on my recce and couldn't comprehend trying to do any kind of running along them in the dark.
At this point my head torch died....
Pitch black, alongside a pitch black lake stuck in the middle a mile of tree roots! Thankfully I had a second head torch as back up. I stuck my hand in the long pocket on my run vest and tried to feel for it, my heart sank...had I forgotten to put it back in when I swapped some gear at checkpoint Five with my Dad? I'd already forgotten to re stock my flapjack/food source and had resorted to Bourbon creams at the last checkpoint. I was cursing my stupidity when I finally found it right at the back of the pocket almost around my back, damn those pockets they are so long.
We continued on and finally got to the end of the lake and past the sweetie table left by a very kind family who were runners, and staying in the area and we went onward up the hill.
By now I was pretty sure the hills were gone but knew we had the odd walk upward on the forest road that we were now on. I kept telling Stephen there is a flat bit ahead, and for the next half mile or so he kept saying 'I haven't seen this alleged flat bit yet' lol.
Over a few cattle grids and Mat and the other guy were back again, and by now we were bumping into others occasionally or they were going past us and then dropping back again as various members of groups attempted to run again as it had flattened out a bit and the forest road was runnable.
We got into the foresty bit and a bit of downhill so joggled on for a bit until realising it was actually quite tiring and sore after roughly 45 miles or so, so went back to walking...
The path for the Ugly Cottage was next and the loop out to the lakes had been completed successfully without getting lost once, phew!
Down the muddy paths alongside the fields and walls, over a few styles which were now becoming a serious task to climb over as legs rebelled when asked to step up, and in my case hip flexors that just said 'Nah!'
Back out onto a bit of a road and down the steep hill to the Ugly Cottage and a left turn to go back alongside the river to the Swallow Falls and we were finally nearing home and the finish line. We kept bumping into other runners in little groups and at styles sometimes passed and sometimes held back to let groups through.
I lost Stephen at one of the styles, I though a group had let him through ahead and I was stuck in the middle of a small group of 4. I slowly got past further on and could see a runner ahead but turns out it wasn't him.
Back onto a forest road again and I caught up with a group of 3 or 4 who weren't any of the ones I had previously been with and I had just taken a minor detour 5 minutes back double checking a route prior to a wooden footbridge as I didn't remember it on the outward route.
I walked alongside this group which contained a chatty Malcolm and followed or joined this group for a while.
Down the steep slope and past the fallen tree and we were riverside again and a very helpful guy from the finish line was doing run ins leading groups back in on the final mile or half mile, it felt like a mile anyway at this point.
Past the tree route laden sections and over the tripping..sorry..stepping stones, across the field and back alongside the river and now we could see the road and street lights across the river and eventually buildings and shops. The realisation started to kick in that we were going to make it, I was going to make it, I was still able to walk, I wasn't in major discomfort, I hadn't died or been lost til dawn on the mountains, I was going to do this and I was going to make my Mum proud.
We crossed the big stone bridge and approached the village green, we paused and grouped together for the finish line run in and at 6:01am on the 23rd Sept 2018 I officially finished the first Mt Snowdon 50 mile ultra.
My Dad had brought me safely to the start line, and my Mum had brought me safely over the finish line........
Thank you
Thank you firstly to my Mum, the most important and loved woman my life will ever know.
Thank you to God for the ongoing strength and determination to get through everyday even when it is all to much.
Thank you to everyone who supported me prior to this event and during this event. Thank you to all the wonderful Marshall's, volunteers, supporters, aid station and check point people, first aiders, medics, fellow runners and their families.
Thank you especially to the organisers and in articular Wayne Drinkwater for putting together such a great events company and such great events focused on the runners themselves and not just on monetary turnover.
Thank you to my Dad for being there for me and taking me there and back and paying for the hotel for us both. Thank you also Dad for all the donations. Thank you to my Brother Chris for all his support and donations.
Thank you to Martin Connell for your support and kind words and letter of encouragement, it means a lot.
Thank you to Sal Seeney I see you as my adopted older sister (not old enough to be my adopted Mum) from Wales, thank you for your continued support and love, and for putting up with my attitude and grumpiness at times.
God Bless you all.
I now have a 100% organic cotton clothing online store via TeeMill. All profits from designs on my store go to charities. Some of those charities are mountain rescue teams in Wales itself. Please take a look and share around if possible, and hopefully consider a purchase.
I knew the route even in the dark this time, but to be fair one guy was ahead so I was following him but knew he was right, occasionally we would swap places as we waited for the other team member, this went on for a bit until at one point Matt stopped to let me past and seemed to disappear behind.
Once we had negotiated the route through all the ferns in the pitch black and over a wall and style I stopped for the other guy (maybe Stephen at this point, apologies) and the guy in front who was kind of teamed up with Mat waited for him, apparently he had stopped to sort out his head torch.
I now continued on with Stephen to the next lake and alongside it to the right, I had already explained it's not an easy path to find or see and it doesn't look like the natural path at first but bear with me as it is correct.
Once on that path it was alongside the lake and all the dodgy tree roots trying to trip you into the lake below to your left. I had warned Stephen that this was going to be a dodgy section as I'd seen all the roots on my recce and couldn't comprehend trying to do any kind of running along them in the dark.
At this point my head torch died....
Pitch black, alongside a pitch black lake stuck in the middle a mile of tree roots! Thankfully I had a second head torch as back up. I stuck my hand in the long pocket on my run vest and tried to feel for it, my heart sank...had I forgotten to put it back in when I swapped some gear at checkpoint Five with my Dad? I'd already forgotten to re stock my flapjack/food source and had resorted to Bourbon creams at the last checkpoint. I was cursing my stupidity when I finally found it right at the back of the pocket almost around my back, damn those pockets they are so long.
We continued on and finally got to the end of the lake and past the sweetie table left by a very kind family who were runners, and staying in the area and we went onward up the hill.
By now I was pretty sure the hills were gone but knew we had the odd walk upward on the forest road that we were now on. I kept telling Stephen there is a flat bit ahead, and for the next half mile or so he kept saying 'I haven't seen this alleged flat bit yet' lol.
Over a few cattle grids and Mat and the other guy were back again, and by now we were bumping into others occasionally or they were going past us and then dropping back again as various members of groups attempted to run again as it had flattened out a bit and the forest road was runnable.
We got into the foresty bit and a bit of downhill so joggled on for a bit until realising it was actually quite tiring and sore after roughly 45 miles or so, so went back to walking...
The path for the Ugly Cottage was next and the loop out to the lakes had been completed successfully without getting lost once, phew!
Down the muddy paths alongside the fields and walls, over a few styles which were now becoming a serious task to climb over as legs rebelled when asked to step up, and in my case hip flexors that just said 'Nah!'
Back out onto a bit of a road and down the steep hill to the Ugly Cottage and a left turn to go back alongside the river to the Swallow Falls and we were finally nearing home and the finish line. We kept bumping into other runners in little groups and at styles sometimes passed and sometimes held back to let groups through.
I lost Stephen at one of the styles, I though a group had let him through ahead and I was stuck in the middle of a small group of 4. I slowly got past further on and could see a runner ahead but turns out it wasn't him.
Back onto a forest road again and I caught up with a group of 3 or 4 who weren't any of the ones I had previously been with and I had just taken a minor detour 5 minutes back double checking a route prior to a wooden footbridge as I didn't remember it on the outward route.
I walked alongside this group which contained a chatty Malcolm and followed or joined this group for a while.
Down the steep slope and past the fallen tree and we were riverside again and a very helpful guy from the finish line was doing run ins leading groups back in on the final mile or half mile, it felt like a mile anyway at this point.
Past the tree route laden sections and over the tripping..sorry..stepping stones, across the field and back alongside the river and now we could see the road and street lights across the river and eventually buildings and shops. The realisation started to kick in that we were going to make it, I was going to make it, I was still able to walk, I wasn't in major discomfort, I hadn't died or been lost til dawn on the mountains, I was going to do this and I was going to make my Mum proud.
We crossed the big stone bridge and approached the village green, we paused and grouped together for the finish line run in and at 6:01am on the 23rd Sept 2018 I officially finished the first Mt Snowdon 50 mile ultra.
My Dad had brought me safely to the start line, and my Mum had brought me safely over the finish line........
Thank you
Thank you firstly to my Mum, the most important and loved woman my life will ever know.
Thank you to God for the ongoing strength and determination to get through everyday even when it is all to much.
Thank you to everyone who supported me prior to this event and during this event. Thank you to all the wonderful Marshall's, volunteers, supporters, aid station and check point people, first aiders, medics, fellow runners and their families.
Thank you especially to the organisers and in articular Wayne Drinkwater for putting together such a great events company and such great events focused on the runners themselves and not just on monetary turnover.
Thank you to my Dad for being there for me and taking me there and back and paying for the hotel for us both. Thank you also Dad for all the donations. Thank you to my Brother Chris for all his support and donations.
Thank you to Martin Connell for your support and kind words and letter of encouragement, it means a lot.
Thank you to Sal Seeney I see you as my adopted older sister (not old enough to be my adopted Mum) from Wales, thank you for your continued support and love, and for putting up with my attitude and grumpiness at times.
God Bless you all.
I now have a 100% organic cotton clothing online store via TeeMill. All profits from designs on my store go to charities. Some of those charities are mountain rescue teams in Wales itself. Please take a look and share around if possible, and hopefully consider a purchase.
