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.
Hi Luke. Thanks so much for this awesome review. It's great to see you had a fab time and hopefully we'll see you again next year. It's also great to read your thoughts on the compulsory kit. We can't stress enough how important it is that runners are prepared when running in the mountains. See you again soon - Always Aim High Events