First race of the year and first Buff 10k. Set in the Afon valley, so you know the views are going to be astonishing. I was late arriving, as I was teaching a class that morning, so got there about 10:45am (race started at 11am and regsitrarion closed at 10:50am) luckily my friends who were also running were able to collect my bib for me. I didnt have any experience of the queues but my friends said it wasn’t too busy or took too long, so that was a plus point. Parking is limited, so either get there early (around £5 to park for a few hours) or do what I did as I was late, I had to park at the bottom of the road in, on the side of the track. This meant a 1/2 mile walk uphill but a good chance to have a warm up anyway. The start line was a bit muddled, as you had to walk through the first part of the course to get to it, which meant a lot of runners had already taken their place at the start line and they had to part in the middle to let a lot of other runners through. There was no way of us walking up the side of the start line so that delayed the start a little. First mile or so are uphill, its not too bad either. I had heard there were two massive hills, one at the start and one at the finish, so was expecting a beast of a first climb. They had also changed the route slightly due to tree felling, ao the first climb was longer than previous. The downhill sections more than make up for it with a great long downhill zig zag. Plenty of time to stretch the legs out and go for it. Views are stunning. Plenty of photo opportunitues if you want to stop and admire the views. One water starion at 5k which wasnt busy. Plenty of marshalls out and about all cheering you on but no crowd support on route (not that it bothers me). Theres a few very stony sections on the route but as long as you have the right footwear on its ok. There are a few MTB riders on route coming the other way so keep an eye out, especiallly on the downhill sections. The last hill..... now that is a climb! Super incline, a huge test for everyone running. As you near the summit, there was a drumming band playing you up that last 100 metres to the finish line, where the photographer is waiting to catch you... There will be some epic photos, especially after that last climb. Really nice medals, weighty and they look nice too. We went into the lodge for a cuppa as it was a bit cold post race. Super busy in there as they had a presentation for the top 3 males / females and age categories. All of them were presented with a really nice slate plaque. Nice touch. To the man selling doughnuts at the end of the race. Amazing! Blueberry jam and vanilla custard. Yum. Would I do it again? Yes. Ill be back next year. Cracking route and the start line kerfuffle is a teeny glitch.