Friday, 21st June was a glorious day. Before getting in the car to Snowdonia, I was enjoying the rarity of UK summer sunshine. When I arrived at the campsite in Rhyd Ddu, it was quite different: overcast, misty, and windy, with the threat of heavy rain on the horizon. After quickly registering, I opted to put the seats down and sleep in the back of the car rather than in the tent. It was an uncomfortable night, with continuous rain hammering down and midges infiltrating the vehicle.

At 4:45 am, I got up and had breakfast, which ended up being cold pasta from the night before, along with an electrolyte drink and a banana. I wanted to have a decent amount of food well before the race start as I knew there were only two aid stations en route, and I only intended to quickly snack at those.

At 6 am, we boarded the coaches that took us to Aber Distillery, where everyone waited for the race to begin. The start was delayed by four minutes because two people had turned up at the distillery who hadn’t registered. Michael, the organiser, explained that they wouldn’t be able to start because all the trackers and numbers were at the Race HQ.

The race began at quite a fast pace on the roads out of Abergwyngregyn as we wound our way up the mountain towards Foel Fras (the first peak of the day at 942m). Following this, we progressed to Foel Grach (976m), bypassing Carnedd Gwenllian (926m), which has now been added to the ‘15 Peaks’ variation but wasn’t part of this race. I felt like I was moving well, and there was a group of us in close proximity (even if we couldn’t see each other well) as we progressed to the peaks of Foel Grach (976m), Carnedd Llewelyn (1064m), Yr Elen (962m), Carnedd Dafydd (1044m), and Pen yr Ole Wen (978m) before descending to the road and the first checkpoint underneath Tryfan. The weather on the first leg was warm in the valleys but breezy up high, with poor visibility until the final stretch.

I filled up my water bottles, had a drink, and ate a Voom Power Bar at the aid station before beginning the climb up Tryfan north ridge. It was warm at this stage, and the sun was out as we started the steep scramble up Tryfan, which I knew would be one of the tough sections. Whilst progressing up the ridge, I was passed by Mark Darbyshire and Ifan Oldfield, who were leading the way in the Snowdon Skyrace with the eventual winner, Alex Hill, hot on their heels. After summiting Tryfan (917m), we made the steep descent and started the climb up towards Glyder Fach (994m) before progressing onto Glyder Fawr (1001m), Y Garn (947m), and Elidir Fawr (923m). The Glyders were foggy for the most part, but with some good visibility when the clag dissipated. The group I’d been with for most of the race was largely in close proximity, but it was often difficult to see others due to the poor visibility. This is a long leg (harder than the first leg) and, for me, the crux of the race. Once I arrived at Nant Peris Checkpoint, I ventured over to the campsite toilets and seemed to have lost a few places as people I was ahead of must have leapfrogged me. But needs must.

The next section is 2 km of road through the Llanberis Pass before venturing up Cwm Glas Mawr and winding its way up the steep slopes to the final steep scree approach to Crib Goch (921m). This was a tough climb as the heat of the day had kicked in and a lot had been done by this point. I was pleased to get onto the ridge and made quick progress, passing lots of runners and tourists. My rock climbing experience definitely helps me on these sections as they don’t faze me, and I can enjoy them more. The different kind of movement offers a bit of respite from the running too. As we progressed across the ridge, it wasn’t long before we arrived on Garnedd Ugain (1065m) before heading to the final out and back to Yr Wyddfa (1085m), which was as busy as ever (visibility was poor again at this stage). The final descent down the Ranger path before breaking off down towards the Race HQ was fast, and I was able to come in and finish in 9 hours, 50 minutes, and 42 seconds, 23rd place out of 179 and 6th in the M40-44 age group.

I received my wooden medal, a bottle of beer, and a chilli baked potato and chatted with Tinka Vinks, who’d finished 2nd Lady a few minutes before me. As I’d got back reasonably early, I opted to drive back with a nice hot shower and bed being more appealing than midges and another night in the car. All in all, a great race that I’d highly recommend. My final Strava report recorded 53.83 km and 4305 m, which is more great mileage and elevation after completing UTS 100 Mile last month. Next month, I’ll be doing the Helvellyn Sky Race with the ultimate challenge coming on 1st September in Swiss Peaks 360k.