It's probably like giving birth. An incredible experience which leaves you with a huge sense of acheivement but very uncomfortable at the time.

Completed it in 2019 and signed up again for 2022. I found it more like a sportive than a traditional marathon - nice pauses in the villages for cakes and a chat. The "slope" at the end is quite brutal of course, but 10 miles of jogging through riverside forests along the valley floor are lesser reported highlights. Took me 60% longer than a normal marathon to complete.

This race takes in all of the best and toughest that Snowdonia has to offer. The route goes almost all the way to the summit of Snowdon, with spectacular views until you disappear into the cloud at the top!

I was allowed to drop down from the marathon distance on the day, which was very straightforward. There was a separate race briefing for each of the races that commenced and the climb starts pretty much from when you leave the race village.

The climb and descent are both pretty steep in places, so caution is advised for inexperienced trail runners. The various layers that were listed in the mandatory kit list were appreciated as the temperature plummeted towards the highest point.

Once you've descended all the way back towards the race HQ, the half marathon route then takes you straight back up again into a slate quarry, which offers you some final birds-eye views of Llanberis, before the run back down to the finish.

It's a beautiful part of the world and I'd like to go back and tackle the full distance.

I ran this in 2019 and wow, what a challenge! 

- Views....outstanding! You can't beat it

- Course was well marked.

- Volunteers were very supportive and friendly 

- Huge sense of achievement on finishing....you've just done a marathon up Snowdon!

Where I feel needs improving...

- Same medal for all races

- Cotton tshirt not tech

- Aid stations could be better, for the cost of the event considering there's no goodie bag, there's room for improvement here. 

I said I'd never do if again but - never say never!

If you are looking for a challenge, the Snowdonia Trail Race is up there with the toughest in the U.K. A punishing and beautiful experience in equal measure, ensure this one is on your bucket list.

There are four distances to choose from: 10K, half marathon, full marathon and ultra. This review will discuss the half route.

Pre race briefings via email were generally good, I would suggest an emphasis on the fact that there is a mandatory kit list for all distances. Whilst this is indeed mentioned, it was buried in the body of email text rather than placed in bold at the top of all communications, as it should be.

The Race Village is situated immediately adjacent to the Llanberis Steam Railway, there is a good number of parking spaces for those travelling by car. Toilet numbers seemed adequate though I didn’t use them and baggage drop looked straightforward.

Whilst we waited to set off, there was a small number of race merchandise marquees to mooch around and kill time.

Following a race briefing 15 minutes before, we were sent on our way. The half marathon route moves quickly out of Llanberis and on to the winding trail paths towards Mount Snowdon. Unless you are a trail professional, progress will be slow as we found. The trail surface is narrow, harsh, uneven and covered in sharp stones making the running intermittent. Even at this point, we were treated to some breathtaking views across the valleys.

The elevation profile increased sharply around the 4.5 mile mark and reached its zenith at 6.0 miles in to the race. At 3,181 feet we were almost at the summit of the mountain but not quite. We were greeted by marshalls and there was an opportunity to take a well earned break for some photos, food and liquids before beginning our descent.

It’s worth stressing at this point why there is a mandatory kit list. Conditions on the day for the 2019 were perfect with the temperature around 15°C. At the peak of the mountain, this dropped sharply to 8°C. It’s critical to have long sleeved bottoms & tops in your bag, as well as a whistle, given the visibility dropped to around 20 metres.

The descent was harsh and fast, this was the point in the race where injury was the most likely if care was not taken underfoot.

Once descended, there was an exercise in psychological torture as we ran past the Race Village and finish line, only to ascend another 1,000 metres at Dinorwig Quarry for the final 2 miles!

In all, a painful, bruising and utterly exhilarating experience with a cool medal and t shirt (albeit cotton) to greet you at the finish.

This was a stunningly beautiful, incredibly difficult race! I am sure there are people that can bound up the mountain like a moutain goat, I am not one of them...:0) It was a great challenge that was well organised apart from a couple of distracted marshalls that allowed me to run past them missing important turns, fortunately I still got a PB...(first time) Would I do it again? No thanks...would I recommend it? Absolutely!

This is my third visit to the Snowdonia Trail Marathon event. In previous years I've done the marathon and the ultra-marathon. I thought I'd do the half-marathon this year as it ascends Snowdon by a different route to the longer races, via the Ranger Path rather than Pen Y Pass & Pyg Track.

Having done the event before I knew that the half marathon was a tough course, but it's safe to say that it really is hard work. The longer races, whilst having a more challenging ascent also have large sections of relatively flat terrain as you work your way through the valley.

THe HM is different in that you start with the same 4 mile climb out of Llanberis but with only a short drop before you join the Ranger Path. ANd whilst it's more runnable than the longer distances, I didn't see many people running the climb!

Whilst the climb is quite steep, it's also a lot shorter than the Pyg and just as I was thinking 'this is getting hard' we reached the Finger Stone and started the 4 mile descent of the Llanberis Path. This is runnable although it's particularly steep in the top section and there are plenty of walkers on their way up, so one needs to take care.

Unlike the longer distances, the HM has a sting in the tail. Getting to Victoria Road at the bottom you're only 10 miles into the HM distance and the route then circumnavigates the  event field to head up into the slate quarry that looms behind it. It's not a huge climb, but it's at the end of a race and hurts as a result. The descent back to ground level is quite steep but mostly on tracks so easy terrain and  it's straight back into the event field and the finish.

It's a great route. A tough run, but then you shouldn't expect anything less if it includes running up Wales' largest mountain.

My first trail marathon and what can I say but 'WOW'.

From running down through the slate quarry, through the bogs, along by the lakes, woods, Beddgelert and Snowdon itself this race had everything.

The views from start to finish was amazing but it is definatley not a race to be underestimated and deserves a lot of respect.

The route was extremely well marked out and the all the marshalls were very helpful and supportive. 

 Mile 18-19 upto Pen Y Pass, almost finished me but everyone running and the marshalls were all so supportive and once you get upto Pen Y Pass with the views there is no way you are not finishing.

The Pyg track was a walk and a hard climb, how anyone ran up there I do not know. 

This was the hardest race I have ever done but it is worth ever ache and pain and I will be going back for more next year.

My first trail marathon ... and I picked a hard one to do!! After being poorly in June and not doing much training I managed to complete it but it was ‘brutal’ to put it bluntly. Snowdonia is a lovely location for a run but don't underestimate those HILLS!

I’d walked up/down Snowdon a few times in the past BUT having  to run/walk 19+ miles to get to Pen Y Pas on the marathon it took all my energy out of me and the ‘run’ to the obelisk via the Pyg track was all walk to be honest ... How anyone can run up it is beyond me!  At one point I didn’t know where to put my feet on the rocks and a lovely guy doing the Ultra helped me after I stood and had a cry ... I don't like being close to the edge on hills/mountains at the best of times.

It seemed to take forever from Pen Y Pas, I was just shattered and my legs didn’t want to work 😐 Once I’d reached the Obelisk I had another cry as I was just relieved to get to that point. A marshal asked a couple of lovely ladies to take care of me on the way down and one walked with me for a bit until I felt I could ‘run/jog’ down the Llanberis path. It was a slow run/walk down to the finish as it was very steep in parts and rocky underfoot. I just took it steady as my knee was starting to hurt towards the end of the run.

This is a very well organised race, good pre-event information, generous cut off times (which I believe were slightly extended on the day due to queuing at some of the stiles), plenty of water/feed stations and a spinning medal (which served the 10k, Half & Marathon). Unfortunately no t.shirt for me as they ran out of the size I had ordered when booking the race 😕  Not sure how this can happen as organisers should have ordered the correct amount based on entries received!

It was a long day, ticked the race off my list ... but I won’t be doing it again that’s for sure! At my age I don't need to put my legs and body through that again!!