Snowdonia trail half marathon

I was standing in a crowd of lean, rugged, mountain-fit people, wondering quite what I was doing here, still technically recovering from injury (my left side was a little bit achy as we jogged from the car park) and with no recent hill training and absolutely no mountain racing experience.  The lovely Mrs S urged me not to fall off Snowdon and extricated herself from the start - she was doing the 10k.

In the start field

There was a short flat section through Llanberis, but quite quickly we began on a steady uphill climb; first on tarmac, then, a concrete track, and then an open path.  I got into a panting rhythm and felt OK, albeit apprehensive about the climb ahead. 

The course profile

I progressed up an impressive dry valley, over a coll and then down a short downhill section before I got a view of the mountains.  On the downhill section a couple of guys came tearing past me, but I caught them soon enough on the subsequent climb.

There was a very definite point when the gentle ascent became proper mountain.  It was time to walk.  I adjusted into the new cadence, hands pushing down on thighs, and started the climb. 

The first proper mountain climb is just ahead

It was a narrow, technical mountain path, only wide enough for single file.  Everyone was very good at letting overtakers past, and there were a few walkers out and about smiling at the nutters heaving their way uphill, including a few teenagers probably doing their D of E.

We were soon enough enveloped in cloud, and the warmth of the day was lost as we ascended.  I was really enjoying it, and felt a mixture of emotions as I saw a thickly-clad marshal directing runners sharp left downhill.  It would have been great to go to the summit proper, although there would be no view.

For a moment the landscape was lost in thick cloud as I took the turn, and it was a bit of a job to spot the next marshal directing me on to the path.  I started a gentle descent, my legs feeling the change of gait.  Soon enough I was on to a steep gravel slope, taking short rapid steps.  My feet slipped forwards, and I was nearly over on my back.  I was racing down a steep mountain and I was not enjoying it at all.

What made it worse was all the runners who went rushing past me, making it look easy.  They just bounded confidently downhill while I picked my way through all the hazards, feeling like I was only one step from certain doom.  The gravel gave way to uneven rock.  At least three times I caught my toe and lurched forwards with a yelp, only just regaining my balance.  There were sections of made path comprised of large smooth boulders, and I briefly caught my foot in one, threatening to twist my ankle into horrible positions.  I felt like a soft southerner chastened by proper mountains and scorned by all the proper tough men who rushed past me.

This went on and on, until we reached a steep road where I felt my toenails bashing into the front of my shoes.  The road evened out but I felt beaten up and drained.  I was back in Llanberis, with the final section ahead over the top of Dinorwic slate mine.

The view from the slate mine path

We set off back uphill, and I was OK again.  I started overtaking people, the steep zigzag slope feeling easy.  The lake dropped away and I happily pressed on along the path, the commentary of the finish line clearly audible.  I was dreading the final descent, but it was nothing like as technical as the Snowdon path and was over soon enough. Then it was a straight chase across the valley floor to the finish.  Mrs S was waving at me, having finished her 10k, and I had a good run to the line. 

The flat finish

So here's the data; my chip time was 2:22:33, by a long way my slowest ever half marathon!  My Garmin stats showed that my 9th km took me 14:28, with a hoofy 248m of ascent.  A similar descent in the 12th km took me 7:22.  It was a day of very new experiences.  For the main downhill section I had found it a never-ending nightmare, but once the race was over I felt exhilarated by the whole experience and chuffed to be 3rd M50.  I think we may be back again next year.