'If you go in to the woods today, your in for a big surprise!...........yep 45mph winds!!

Montane Trail13 Grizedale Half Marathon Sunday 7th Feb 2016.

The day begins....

Well it wasn't as early as some starts I've had to run days, but today was a 6am alarm call after the usual pre run morning broken nights sleep. I'd had about 5 hours in bed if I was lucky, but I'd slept well the day before so I was fairly confident I wouldn't feel too tired when I got up.

I felt fairly refreshed after the usual shower and then made my final decisions on what running gear I was going to wear. Several layers was going to be the key today as the forecast was about 5-6C and likely very wet and damp. I had to consider there may be times where I have to walk and would rapidly lose body heat, so I layered up with a compression base layer, my Run or Cake tech tee, my zip up running top and then finally my waterproof jacket which I was going to use mainly for it's windproof abilities.

I had compression shorts, running shorts and a thin pair of showerproof full length pants, again to keep the cold wind of my hamstrings. I wore my compression socks as well, along with my hat and gloves I had the complete kit list pretty much on my body to start the race with.

Breakfast was the usual toast and coffee, and a carry along bag for the car with drink and flapjacks and Mars bars and a banana in so I could choose and graze on the journey.

The journey....... 

The journey today was courtesy of fellow runner Annie who was driving and our other fellow passenger was another fellow runner Maddalena. We all know each other from the various run groups we are in and often run together in run groups or social training runs in our local area.

I had made the conscious decision today to run with Annie and Maddalena because I wanted to start running with friends more as opposed to racing events on my own. This is all part of my 'Running with Gru' concept this year as well ,and I am trying to run with fellow 'Cakers' from my 'Run or Cake' charity running group in more of a support role and to have more relaxing fun.

The journey was a reasonable 1hr and 40ish minutes up to the Lakes towards Keswick, and then onto Grizedale Forest itself. Quite a few twisty narrow roads for the last 4-5 miles and a few panicked 'are we on the right road' moments but we got there safely and nicely parked up at the Grizedale Forest Visitors Centre car park right near the toilets and indeed the starting area.

Registration and then find a friend time...... 

In it together and raring to go.

Next was registration time to pick up our race number, chip and event memento t-shirt. This was all done quickly and smoothly and we went back to the car to pin our numbers on etc and put our final gear selection on.

I was now wearing my entire kit list with the exception of my spare base layer. I was feeling nicely prepared and reasonably warmer now so happy with my selection.

Next was get to the start and watch the people doing the marathon set off on their journey as they start 20 minutes before us. Quite a few people we knew were doing the full marathon, Mainly Darren F, Michelle B, Gillian V, Paul G, Rachel R, Dom G and several others.

We saw them off and then looked for fellow halfers who like ourselves were doing the easier option of the half marathon. We managed to find Sarah and Marc, Kelly and fellow injured runner Sharon who obliged in taking the obligatory pre start smiley picture...

Myself, Marc and Sarah, Kelly, Annie and finally Maddalena.

Race start..... 

So the 9:50am start was here and we were off, out of the visitors centre and compound and of up towards the forest with a fairly gentle incline. This incline was infact pretty much going to carry on for 3-4 miles and it got steeper and less fun as it went on. 

We were now on the Grizedale Forest fire roads and steadily climbing but it was not too hard, and varied with ups and slight downs and then back to ups again. This went on and we ran and chatted and tried to admire the views as we went whilst trying to determine our comfortable pace.

Annie and Maddalena were both nursing injury issues and did extremely well to get to the start itself and to make the decision to crack on with it. It seemed to all be going well and we stayed together as our paces were similar.

As the hill got steeper and we started to work our way up the first and biggest climb I slowly ran ahead but tried not to go too far so they could still see me and I wanted to push up the hill to practice my hill running as I never get to do any and I need to train for Excalibur in May.

It was a hard slog and I was determined not to stop and several people were walking already as it is a long climb. I started to get warm but was content with the fact that when I got to the top I would be nicely warmed up and I could take off my waterproof .

Official map of the half marathon route.

Once I'd decided to stop at the top to wait for the others the top never seemed to arrive, I thought it topped out at about 3 miles in but I was rapidly approaching 4 miles, but it finally arrived and I did it without a walk so I was very happy with that.

I stopped a bit further beyond the top where you go downhill for a while and then hit open hill top and indeed the full 40+mph winds. I stripped off my waterproof and stood at the side waiting and at least half a dozen people said "Thanks marshal" to me thinking I was a trail side marshal as I was stood there with my luminous yellow top, but once they spotted my run number I could hear them saying "Oh, I though he was a marshal,lol".

Annie and Maddalena arrived about 5 mins or so after I stopped , and we carried on across the open hillside. It was extremely wet and muddy and boggy in places as you would expect considering the weather we have had over the last couple of months, and everyone was concentrating on foot placement that didn't involve sinking into a bog, losing a shoe, and slipping on yer a***.

This went on for quite a while but the views on this section were stunning although it was a bit grey and overcast and with the high winds I didn't bother to take my phone out and take pics as the wind would of just given me camera jitter. 

I ran any hilly bits and waited at the tops so I could admire the view and get a breather at the top, and waited briefly for Annie and Maddalena to catch up. I think people thought I was playing cat and mouse with them as I kept running up the hills and past them as they walked and I then stopped at the top and looked around as they went past me again.

Picture courtesy of Michelle B.

The views were indeed stunning and I would highly recommend a visit to this area as it is ideal for walking as well, and Grizedale Forest has dedicated cycle and mountain bike trails as well. The visitors centre has toilet facilities and a full on cafe as well.

Approaching halfway.... 

After multiple slippy wet and muddy downhills and technical bits the path went to a narrow trail back into the hillside forest. This was now single track and technical as you had to watch your footing all the time otherwise you would stub your foot on a rock or even trip over one, and it was puddles galore.

We were approaching the halfway point now and we hit the fire road again through the forest but it was a wide road and fairly open section of forest, but it gave you good views.

Thankfully all the fire road sections of forest etc did keep us pretty much sheltered from the extremely high winds that were howling through the region.

Now past the halfway and a feed station was due around the 8-9 mile point, as we got to 8 miles or so I spotted fellow running friend Darren F, aka #Fatmanultra or Ultra Darren as I often call him. Darren was doing the full marathon and was not particularly feeling the enjoyment of it all at this point, and I'm not surprised as I wasn't exactly feeling fresh myself at this point and I was only doing the half.

Myself and Ultra Darren.

I ran and walked with Darren for a while while Annie and Maddalena ran ahead as I hadn't seen Darren for a while so we had a catch up, and luckily a photo op as you can see from the above picture.

Darren was considering stopping at the half marathon finish point instead of going out for the second more technical second half of the marathon, as sometimes if you are really not feeling it or don't feel right with regards to previous injury it is sometimes a wise decision to stop and start the next step which is recovery ready for your next big event.

Full respect to Darren as the Grizedale event is a fairly tough one and the marathon definitely was a tough one, and I found out later in the day that Darren did himself proud by sticking it out and doing the whole 26.2 with an additional 3+ miles for good measure because he was clearly loving it so much out there. Well done Darren.

I ran ahead after saying goodbye to Darren and caught back up with Annie and Maddalena which wasn't as easy as I expected as I was more tired than I thought, and as usual my hamstring was being awkward and didn't feel right and I was a little worried that extra exertion might cause issues. It hadn't been helped by jumping over big puddles earlier and over stretching every time I did it.

After catching up we hit the feed station and stopped for a quick drink and nibble of whatever they had. I went for the flat coke and had a gel just to keep me going for the last 3-4 miles.

Shortly after we hit another photo  opportunity with the official photographers Sports Sunday, and we managed to pull off a decent smiley picture again so we must of still been enjoying it at that point...

Maddalena, Annie and myself.

The rest of the route was now pretty much going to be fire road like you can see in the above picture, and we shortly came across Rachel who was running the marathon so I had a chat with her while the others ran a little ahead. Again full respect to Rachel for taking on the full marathon, I really wouldn't of wanted to do it myself as I hadn't trained up to marathon distance over the Winter as I've been trying to get some rest in. Especially as my hamstring still causes me issues.

I left Rachel and ran on to catch Annie and Maddalena again, and again found it harder than I expected to speed up, but it was fun to practice catching up with people ahead of you as it can be vital for when you are actually racing an event.

We were now down to the last couple of miles and after about 10 minutes Rachel reappeared and caught us up as she was clearly having a good day pace wise, so we all chatted as Annie and Maddalena hadn't officially met Rachel before whereas I've met Rachel loads of times at other events over the years.

The finish at last...

So the finish line could be seen in the distance, albeit down the hillside and several twists and turns away. The 12 mile marker had been passed and we were on our way to the finish and I think I can safely say we were glad to see the finish but we were all finishing feeling in decent shape for a tough run.

A couple of switchbacks and turns later and we were now on flat land and the last couple of hundred yards, we regrouped a little and pretty much all came in together with the exception of Rachel who had another loop to do.

Finish line crossed in roughly 2hrs 29minutes chip and gun time which included little stops we had along the way, and overall for a toughish course it was a respectable time for 3 injured older runners lol.

Medals collected and around our necks and it was now find the cafe time for a nice hot cup of coffee and a chat and catch up with fellow runners and friends who had already finished.

Official finishers medal.

 All done and dusted....

We were now ready to set off home after a bit of a clothes change and the odd painkiller or anti inflammatory, to aid the long journey home so we could actually get out of the car at the other end.

I think I speak for us all when I say we had a great day, it was great to run with friends during the actual event and be able to stop and walk and chat or indeed run and chat with others I knew along the way without worrying I was losing precious time on a PB time attempt. 

The Grizdale Forest and indeed the visitors complex was top notch and I will return another day as it was tough but not tough enough to put me off going back, and it would be nice to get back on a sunny warmer day so we could take in the full splendor of the scenery in that area. You never know I may even get to wear the great looking t-shirts you get at the event as a memento. 

I can safely say I have officially joined the Trail Running Revolution and am getting ready to run #Further Faster.....

  

'Running with Gru' What's it all about any way?

What's it all about?...

So I came to the realisation recently that a fair few people will of stumbled across my running blog here, and may not actually know who I am and what it is all actually about.

For this reason I recently updated my 'Running with Gru' Facebook charity running page  description to get it upto date and inline with my new fundraising plans for 2016.

That Facebook page is closely linked with this blog as my blogs are usually race reports from events I have done as part of my charity fundraising over recent years. That Facebook page and indeed this blog was originally titled '14 RUNS' which was my charity running campaign title in 2014 and 2015.

I renamed this blog and the Facebook page 'Running with Gru' to get it ready for 2016 and onwards and to bring it inline with my other charity fundraising project a Facebook charity running group titled 'Run or Cake...We run for cake and charity,  what else is there?'


Run or Cake, a brief intro...

The group was set up in Feb 2015 by myself as a way of encouraging runners in their training and supporting them, and at the same time raising money for a total of 4 and recently now 5 charities along the way.

It has indeed been far more successful than I ever dreamed of and as of this week we have raised over £1800 inc gift aid merely by collecting 50p forfeit payments off our runners in the group each time they fail to meet their self set weekly run targets.

The group has a fantastic bunch of fairly local and friendly runners who I know from my various running circles, and were all invited to join by myself or other members of the group.

 https://www.facebook.com/groups/761659000585116/ 


Where does 'Gru' fit into this?

Well my nickname in Run or Cake is 'Gru' as I rightly or wrongly see the members of the group as my running minions (in a loving friendly way of course) and try my best to watch over them and look after them as I go along.

I also have a group of Adminions (get it?) who help monitor the runners and their individual targets and they give regular supportive comments and advice and support when needed.

In 2016 the group is continuing to succeed with ongoing donations and new members, although I have capped the membership at 100 members and I carefully consider requests to join the group on a local to the group basis and a friends in the group already basis. This enables members to easily get on with each other and support each other as they are often already friends and well known to each other.

My Running with Gru exploits for 2016 will mainly entail me running with fellow members of Run or Cake on a social and running support basis, as I try to enjoy my running events more with less pressure over speed and time and less pressure on my own individual fundraising total.

My fundraising link on Running with Gru has now also been changed to the Run or Cakes fundraising page as I hope to raise small amounts as I go along, but add them to the groups efforts.

Please support myself and our runners where you can by making donations via the Virginmoneygiving link on this page, which will automatically split the donation between our 5 charities which are all mentioned on our fundraising page.

 http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/runorcake


Another project...

I do have another charity project which is the now yearly 'Seaside24' run which you should be able to see a blog about back in October 2015 and also back in Sept 2014.

It does have it's own Facebook and Twitter pages for updates and pictures and of course a fundraising link.

The Seaside24 in it's first year was set up by myself as a charity run to raise funds for a charity called Chuf - Children's Heart Unit Fund, which is a charity based at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle and deals particularly with heart operations etc on often very young babies and children. They operated on the baby of a former colleague, and as work colleagues were organizing a fundraising charity ball I decided to set up the charity run to run alongside it on the day.

In it's first year the event involved a team of runners running relay around our local seaside marine lake for a total of 24 hours and we raised over £1600 inc gift aid.

We also raised money for another local charity Community Link Foundation who help people in the local area with money towards much needed items and grants.

In 2015 I organized the Seaside24 again, this time for THHN- Torbay Holiday Helpers Network and again Chuf. this time we took it up a notch distance wise and we ran Seaside pier to Seaside pier by running from Blackpool South Pier to Southport Pier, a distance of 35 miles. This time we had a team of 10 runners and we all completed the distance together as a group. It was a fun day with lots of pictures a long the way, and we managed to raise over £1400 inc gift aid this time.

In 2016 the Seaside24 is returning for a third time, this time running around the marine lake again, but this time it will not be a relay. The entire team have committed to individually running (with a bit of walking at times) for the 24 hours. They can have rests and breaks when they like and they can retire early if they overdo it, but this will be a tough one. Some of us are going for 50+ and 75+ miles as a personal target.

The charities for this year are being finalised as I type as I await confirmation so I can set up a joint fundraising page for the donations to go to.

Please follow our exploits on the Facebook link here and by all means search us out on Twitter under Seaside24.

https://www.facebook.com/seaside24 

https://twitter.com/Seaside_24

Anyway this was supposed to be a brief update about the various fundraising projects to help link everything together. I am leaving you with a 'copy and paste' from the page description section from my 'Running with Gru' Facebook page as I have just updated that and left a back story in there as well about myself and my fundraising since it's beginning in 2012. You can probably skip through a few sections of it as I have probably repeated a lot above.

Thank you all for your time, and indeed for past support , encouragement and in some cases donations.

Kind regards,

Gru :)



The 'copy and paste' from the Facebook page description....   

 Intro and a little about me:

I am a charity runner in my spare time and I like to at least think I am helping those in true need with what physical and mental attributes I  was given by God.

My time is my own and in my search for purpose in my life I decided to dedicate all my time and effort to fundraising to help improve lives where I can because as someone once said "A life not lived for others, is a life not lived".

I have been charity running since 2012 when I first started running and raised money for Age UK and Clic Sargent during my first year.

In 2013 I carried on fundraising after a close friend of mine died and I started fundraising for Mind, I did my first marathon in this year dedicating it to my friend's memory.

In 2014 I continued raising money for mind with my 14RUNS charity running campaign.

I also set up my own charity run concept the 'Seaside24' in 2014 which entailed a 24 hour relay run around my local Marine Lake. We fundraised for 2 charities at that event raising over £1600.

I repeated the 14RUNS campaign in 2015, but this time for THHN Torbay Holiday Helpers Network who give free holidays and free holiday accommodation to seriously ill children or bereaved families with children who have lost parents

Again in 2015 I organized another 'Seaside24' event, this time as a 35 mile Ultra from one seaside resort Blackpool to another Southport. Again raising money for 2 charities, just over£1400.


(Please note: This Facebook pages previous title was 14RUNS The Sequel and was the follow on from my original 14RUNS campaign from 2014, and ran through until the end of Oct 2015).

Now in 2016 the 14runs campaign is being renamed 'Running with Gru' to tie in with my charity running blogs new name, and to tie in with my other charity fundraising project 'Run or Cake'

https://www.facebook.com/groups/761659000585116/

I am trying to move away from all the physical pressure of me doing harder and harder events and am moving onto being a facilitator to fundraising by creating various fundraising concepts which involve group fundraising. This gives my body a rest, but certainly not my mind, time or commitment.

I will continue to run in 2016 and raise a little along the way but it will all go to my charity running groups fundraising page for 'Run or Cake' which raises money for 5 different charities with it's unique Run or Cake concept.

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/runorcake

Running with Gru will become a running for fun concept as I run in multiple events alongside some of my fellow fundraising members of Run or Cake throughout the year, supporting them and encouraging them where I can.

I will write an accompanying blog/review for each event I run and include my fellow runners in the blog, hopefully recording a great event and a great run with friends..

The original fundraising link has now changed  to the new one which is the fundraising link for my charity running group 'Run or Cake' which I set up in Feb 2015, and will still raise funds for THHN alongside another 4 charities, Mind, Alder Hey Children's Hospice, Claire House Children's Hospice and MAMA Academy which is a stillbirth awareness charity.

SOCIAL MEDIA :

I have a 'Running with Gru' blog at the following web address for all my 2014/2015 and now 2016 exploits:

http://runningwithgru.blogspot.co.uk/

I am also on Twitter as Gru@RunningwithGru

https://twitter.com/RunningwithGru

This Facebook page will be the main hub for running related stuff and updates about my runs and fundraising, as well as the Twitter page so please follow them regularly if you can as your support is greatly appreciated and helps to motivate me throughout the year.

A little more detail about my previous exploits in 2014 and 2015:

2014: My running challenge and charity campaign comprised of 14 runs over different terrain and distances, mainly 10k's, half marathons, marathons, 24 hour events and multiday events,and they were all completed by the end of Aug 2014, I carried on running until Nov, hitting 20+ runs.

2015: I continued with the 14 runs theme by selecting another 14 running challenges again 10k's, halfs, fulls, 24hr events, multiday events and this time a 35 mile ultra charity run I set up.Despite gaining a repetitive hamstring injury in June I ended up doing a lot more than 14 in the end again, but finished the year still with hamstring issues. This convinced me to look after myself more and ease the pressure by aiding others to fundraise.


2014 and 2015 SPONSORS:

I was graced with a selection of sponsors who helped me in 2014 and then again in 2015 who stood up and backed me all the way and helped me cover some costs by paying some sponsorship.

My employer Ramada Plaza Southport came on board in 2015 and backed me and I thank them for this.

During 2014 and 2015 I was very honored to of been given a personal discount on all my running gear needs throughout my campaign by a very kind supplier the Ultramarathonrunningstore.com based in the UK.

A very big thank you to them.

http://www.ultramarathonrunningstore.com/

A big thank you also to Vital Events who put on various sporting events throughout the North West including a local Triathlon and Half Marathon.

A big thank you to them for 2015 as they agreed to come on board in 2015 as a sponsor

Take a look here: http://www.vitalevents.co.uk/

An extra special and BIG THANK YOU also to Colin from Holmes-Smith Butchers in Southport for sponsoring me for the full cost of the Hoka's that I mainly run in, and for helping me with my nutritional needs in 2014 and 2015.

I also had another new sponsor who have helped me in the past with my nutritional needs.

51 Trattoria, an Italian restaurant on the Promenade in Southport and just across the road from where I work. A very nice restaurant who agreed to sponsor me in 2015 :

http://www.trattoria51.com/

I'd also like to thank Sam and Run Geek.co.uk for their help in getting my custom designed running t-shirt designed and printed up with the 14RUNS logo's and the sponsor names etc and for doing the work for free.

RunGeek is a supplier of running clothing,footwear and running accessories etc and can be found at the following web address:

http://www.rungeek.co.uk/

Watch this space folks, and please support me along the way

Sponsors as ever will always be welcome so please get in touch through here.

Helsby Four Villages half marathon, where Thunderbirds are Go! but sadly not public transport.......

  
The past history of weather at Helsby and the pre race forecasts.....

Well what can I say. I wasn't ever going to run Helsby half marathon again after freezing my n*ts off at a previous event there in 2014 when the baggage reclaim was atrocious due to long and slow queues in very cold temperatures, and the following year the event was cancelled within hours of the start due to extreme conditions and an over zealous Health and Safety minded Police force.

This year though they promised full road closures, so no traffic Health and Safety issues and an improved baggage facility, and as it is usually a good run to open the year with I bit the bullet and entered.

I started to regret my decision in the days leading up to the event when I checked the local weather. We were having a cold snap and some light snow, and there was a danger it would melt and freeze and leave us with ice. After an initial forecast of -3C at 9am on the day of the event from a forecast done 3 days before I figured it was going to be a no go.
Thankfully the weather warmed (a little) to a forecast of 1C!

All eyes were on the Helsby Four Villages Twitter and Facebook feeds for info the night before and on the morning itself. Thankfully local people were giving localised reports of the conditions so it was pretty certain it was going to on OK and that it would be safe to set of.


The morning of the run.....

Well thankfully I had managed to get a lift arranged with a lady from Southport and Waterloo Athletics Club that had offered to car share. Along with Jane a fellow runner from that club and who is also a fellow member of my 'Run or Cake' group.

Drama for the morning was checking the forecasts as already mentioned to ensure it was actually worth traveling there. The biggest drama was Janes car would not start and she was stranded at home and it was a panic whether she would now be able to make it to the car share from Southport.

Thank fully she bit the bullet and ordered a taxi to Southport and then we all jumped in the car share vehicle and set off for Helsby.

Directions had been supplied by Helsby in the booklet that came with race numbers etc and a pc printout had also been supplied by the partner of the driver from Southport Waterloo Running Club.


At the venue....

I'm loitering in the back ground here, and pointing out the hot coffee van to a lady of camera asking where we got our hot coffee, she is actually stood behind it :)

We arrived safety and promptly after roughly an hour tops, and even managed to get into the main car park at the clubhouse and start area etc. We parked up and headed towards the hot drink facilities, food vendors and toilets etc.

It quickly became apparent that 1C was bl**dy cold, and the icy cold wind was even colder, and if that wasn't bad enough it decided to start snowing! Thankfully only for 20 minutes or so.

It was now a case of staying warm while you stand around , so the hot coffee became my last resort even though I wouldn't normally drink it within an hour of a run, but I had no choice if I was going to get through the cold. I already had Four layers on top, two layers below and a woolly hat and gloves, but I was still cold.


Find a friend time....

Find a friend time, I sense an impostor in the midst.

It was now find a friend time, or find the ones you said you were going to run with at least.
In my case it was fellow 'Cakers' Catherine, Sal & Darren, Jane, Sarah,but there was also  fellow Cakers Trevor, Justin and Ian who would be running their own race. Also among other friends there was Ultra Darren who was out for a little half marathon jaunt.another Caker Sarah and her boyfriend Marc, several regular runners from the Facebook Running Discussion Board, Derek, Erica, Claire, Ed, John, Emma, Dave, David and several more who at the moment I cannot recall.


Last minute pre race rituals.....

So it was now time for the usual quick (who am I kidding) toilet visits and baggage check.I had seen a massive line of Port a loos and thought 'Yay, no probs with queues' until I got there and saw a huge queue. So I decided to queue for the ones in the clubhouse which for some reason had Women in as well because they decided it was acceptable to use our queue and facilities, which meant any guy waiting for a cubicle had to wait a hell of a lot longer. Luckily I went for the quick option.

Baggage check was next, bag already numbered and in within minutes, a vast improvement on previous years. Big credit to Helsby Running Club for listening to feedback even if it was negative at the time.


Race start......

Clearly the early stages, running with Catherine here.

It was 10.30am and we were ready for a prompt start, we found our little running pals and we were off, or at least we were shuffling along the exit road of the car park at least.
Over the official start and the chip mats and we were definitely off and running.

It was now a case of follow the 'Caker' as we tried to keep together. I started running with Catherine who started chatting away and the miles started to pass. Although when we hit two miles I do remember thinking It felt like 3-4.

We continued on and it become apparent very early on to me that I hadn't eaten enough last night and this morning as I'd been working til midnight and hardly eaten when I got in, and then had 4 hours sleep and struggled to eat breakfast. I was 3 miles in and already feeling hungry, that for me is bad as I only only feel hungry when my tanks empty and I usually slowly get slower and slower until I conk out.

We got to the 4 mile marker and I had slowed and was already falling behind Catherine as I could now feel my legs draining of instant energy. Don't let anyone tell you you have 2 hours of energy sat waiting in your muscles ready to get you through a long run. On a good day yes, but when you are under nourished that day and possibly the previous day the stores are running seriously low.

For this purpose I carry gels with me but I had failed to take one before I started which to be honest I shouldn't need on a good day and can be considered a waste, but sometimes it is worth topping up just in case. Today that would of prevented my now 4 mile conk out.
I got to the water stop and stepped to the side while I had a drink of water and resorted to taking the gel I was carrying for mile 9-10 where it is normally needed for the last couple of miles etc. As I was taking it Justin a fellow Caker stopped by and said hello and walked with me for a few minutes as I was taking the gel and drink.

I then realised that Catherine had ran on and was a lost cause as I was waiting for the gel to kick in, and I then wasn't sure where the rest of the group where who were originally just behind me. I couldn't risk waiting for them in case they had already passed and I then lost more time. So I carried on and ran with Justin who was running just the right pace.

We carried on and the miles passed and I felt a lot better as my energy had returned and I could run unhindered. The scenery didn't change much as it was country lanes and fields and more fields, farmhouse after farmhouse and the odd person clapping us as we went past.

Several well manned and enthusiastic water stations later and we were rapidly approaching mile 9 which is where the proper hilly bit starts. Justin had a gel to top himself up, and I was hanging on to the last bit of energy I had from the one I took at mile 4. I could feel myself waning but did my best to carry on and ignore it.

Thankfully we managed to get up the hilly bits without bother and I was actually surprised when we peaked the highest bit that didn't really appear to be the hill I remembered from last time.We even got a compliment of a lady who said "Well done" as we passed her and complimented us on our up hill pace and said she was jealous.

Not far away from the end now, couple of more miles.

It was now downhill for several miles but we couldn't get carried away as that can drain your legs as well, and I remembered last time I went hammering down this hill in 2014 and ended up with legs of jelly at the bottom when I discovered there was another mile or so of undulating ups and downs.

Finally the houses near the finish were in sight and it was over the finish line we went, straight down the finishing funnel to be handed our commemorative medal/coin in a holder, a goodie bag and some little ginger bread men (very little, more diddy men than men) also some water and juice drink and a foil blanket, also a nice little green Hi Viz reflective vest to go over your running gear when you run at night.

Approaching the finish line with our suspect running fashion, not sure who is worse :)

After a 5 minute or so chat with Justin I then bumped into Trevor who had finished way earlier and we decided to go back out down the road a little to cheer our fellow running friends in.

I saw Erica, Derek, Sal and Darren, Jane, and Ultra Darren that I could remember and then stood chatting to Trevor who was waiting for a guy from his club he had been chatting to earlier and he wanted to clap him in.

After a while I suddenly realised it was way later than I thought, as I'd finished a lot slower than normal as I had agreed to run at 10 min mile pace with the others and had maintained that pace hoping we would all catch up etc.

It was now panic stations as I returned to the car park to discover no return lift as the original lift had been waiting a long time and collected Jane and then after trying to contact me and failing had made the decision to set off thinking I had jumped in with someone else as I usually finish a lot earlier than I actually did. It was my own fault.

I initially panicked that Jane was also stranded, but after waiting around for a while and being able to see there was hardly anyone left, I realised she must of been picked up as I'd already seen her cross the line at least 30 mins or so earlier so knew she had already returned to the car park.


Race over....but the adventure had only just begun!

That was the race/run part of the day done with as far as this blog is concerned, so feel free to stop here. If you want to know how a freezing cold embarrassed and stranded runner got home to Southport from Helby in Cheshire then read on.......

I eventually realised I still had my bag in the baggage tent, so I reclaimed that and decided to set of down the road towards home at least. By now everyone I knew had set off home and I didn't want to go online on Facebook or anything and try and get someone to come back for me, as I knew it was cold, we were all tired and we had already run a half marathon.

I carried on down the road and decided that Helsby train Station would be a good call as I knew they do trains that could one way or the other get me to Liverpool and Southport.

Sadly today was Sunday in January and that is obviously when the railways think nobody needs a train, and they had planned engineering works on the line somewhere on the line between there and Chester and there and Runcorn and Warrington

Helsby train station apparently without trains.

I got to the notice boards for Helsby train station to discover there was in fact a rail replacement bus service in place, somewhere down the road. But in big red PRINT was a notice that stated 'You must have your rail ticket in order to use the rail replacement bus service' this was impossible because the station was not manned and you got your tickets on the bl**dy trains from the conductor!

I decided I wasn't going to stand around for an hour in the vain hope that the rail replacement bus driver would let me on as I was cold and I honestly would of got hypothermia as I was still in sweat laden damp running clothes.



The long walk....

The image of that hill is going to haunt me, as it never seemed to get any smaller no matter how far away I had walked from it.

I decided that there was only one option, and it was a long walk to somewhere with a major train station. In this case I aimed for Runcorn and Runcorn bridge which on the journey there in a car didn't seem that far, and on the map seemed hardly any distance at all (You may have realised in previous blogs that I sometimes warn you that I can be an idiot at times!).

So off I went happily power walking down the long but scenic road trying my best to maintain a speed that warmed me up a little, and to be honest it wasn't too bad. I did have a few cold spots I couldn't resolve but I didn't feel there was any hypothermia risk although I did feel sleepy a few times so knew not to stop at all costs.

Just so you are aware, there were no buses on that route sadly on a Sunday (why would there be, after all we have trains!) but there were plenty of bus stops to remind me there were no bl**dy buses.

I went through several places along the way including the rather lovely Frodsham and I walked past multiple pubs and did consider going in for a bite to eat or a hot coffee. But I only had £18 on me and decided it was best to keep it as I didn't know how much trains would be, especially if I had to take a few.

Thankfully my memory is quite good with routes and I managed to pretty much reverse the route we had driven there by walking. I did get stuck when I eventually got to the major A roads and the motorway flyovers etc and as I walked through several sections of roadworks and fencing which were now across what would of been my right of way.

I eventually got to signs for Runcorn and was fairly confident I could get there on foot and then discovered the footpath was completely blocked and it had a diversion over to the other side of the main dual carriageway via a footbridge and then a very vague map on the end of it showing how to get back in the general direction of where I was trying to go.

The diversion was a joke, it crossed the road and went through a built up area and took several twists and turns. Once I got to the first lot of twists and turns I was now guessing on where I was going as I could no longer see beyond the houses etc in the built up areas.


Luckily I remembered right and eventually saw a sign for Upper Runcorn and as I walked down that road I approached a couple and asked if I was going the right way for Runcorn train station. I got an alarmed "Ooh!....yes, it's down this road" and they gave me a long description of how to get there, followed by a " It's a rather long walk" of which I replied, "So is the one I've just had to get here" and thanked them and set off.

They were right, it was a long way and by the time I finally caught a glance of the Runcorn bridge and eventually the station I had walked near on 9 miles, which to be honest sounds like nothing as I thought I had at least done another half marathon in distance at that point, and it had taken me just over two and a half hours!

Here is the route if you want to see it : http://m.walkjogrun.net/jsroute.cfm?rid=51120DEA-BDA9-BCF2-849962A62F22FA75



A train, an actual train!!......

Actual luxury.

So... Virgin Rail, I have never been so glad to see one of your stations and trains. I got a bargain priced ticket for £4.30 to get me to Liverpool Lime St on a nice comfy Virgin carriage. Although sadly I picked the carriage with lads drinking Stella on and multiple kids asked "are we nearly there yet?" over and over and over. But at least it was warm and I was finally sat down.

I was now happily content upon arriving in Liverpool Lime Street and wandered off to Central station to purchase one of it's finest tickets to travel on it's ultimate and luxurious and reliable Northern Line, only to be told by the nervously smiling ticket clerk, that " You are aware there is a rail replacement bus service from St Georges Hall to Sandhills and you have to get on that, and then catch the train at Sandhills back to Southport?" My inner monologue was screaming "Arrrrgggghhh!!!no sh*t Sherlock, of course I was aware, I'm stood here for fun, can you not see the huge smile on my face?"

So after thankfully not saying the above, I accepting his offer of buying my rail ticket there, so I could get on the same said bus at fricking St George's wherever it is Hall.

I went back out into the darkness as I tried my best not to look lost and went to where I at least thought St Georges Hall was. I wandered a bit and wasn't that far off when I eventually asked Dumb and Dumber in day glow Security jackets "Do you know where the rail replacement buses stop?" of which I just got confused looks, I figured where they were stood they would of been asked multiple times by tourists, but clearly not."Is that St Georges Hall over there?" I asked next, to confirm I was at least in the right area. "It's just a bit further down there" vaguely pointing off into the distance and the dark. "Ok, thanks" I replied, not sure if they had helped me or not.


Rail replacement buses....the height of luxury travel.

 

Luxury?...not so much.

So I found it, I got on, and then off again, as the driver in the first bus decided the bus behind him was going next! After 10 mins we were off, and after 10 mins or so arrived at Sandhills. Straight up to the platform to find a train sat there waiting, to go to .....Ormshirk! Arrrrggghh!!!! It was going to be another 20 odd minutes until the Southport train arrived, and the platform was literally in the highest part of the local area with a freezing cold wind blowing right through it. The tiny little closed shelter was already full of people so I just stood there and admired the view of Sandhills in the dark. To be honest, I think it probably looked better in the dark.


Southport bound at long last...

Open plan = Frickin cold and windy.

Miracle of miracles and the Southport train finally arrived and I manged to get myself a nice warm seat to endure another 45 minutes of my never ending story, never mind journey.

On that note I will let you know I obviously got home safe a mere four and a half hours after I finished my run, I had the longest ever shower to try and get my body temperature back to normal, and I ate an entire Jamaican Ginger Cake as a reward for my effort for the day, washed down with a full mug of hot milky coffee, my favourite :)


Final notes and thoughts.....

Thank you to everyone who ran with me today at various points, apologies to those I lost, it was never my intention, especially as I was trying the new 'Running with Gru' social aspect of the running events I am signed up for this year, of which there are many. Well done to everyone who ran at Helsby today, the conditions were tough, you all did well, and it was nice to see you all come home with a smile or grimace on your face.

Thankyou for reading my blog, sorry about the length, but it was a long day as I'm sure you will appreciate.

If you are feeling a little sorry for me right now, please feel free to make a little donation to the JustGiving link on this blog, all monies go to THHN-Torbay Holiday Helpers Network which is a Childrens charity.

Final thoughts....never underestimate the importance of pre race nutrition and food the night before and the morning of the run, it makes all the difference between a comfortable run and a bad one where your not sure you will actually finish.

Finishing late on it a run not only makes you miss the right sized T-shirts at a lot of events, it also makes you miss your lift home :)

My next run is at the Montane Grizedale 13/26 event, and again I am running with fellow 'Cakers' and am looking forward to it.

See you there folks!!

Gru.

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'.

Entries go live 1/1/2016

 http://www.snowdoniamarathon.co.uk/

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https://shoutoutwear.co.uk/