rbyde

11:35 28-05-18

I ran the inaugural UTS50 in 2018. When I say ran … I mean to say, I somehow hauled my increasingly militant body up and over many Snowdonian mountains, sometimes almost literally at a crawl.

I thought I had been well prepared. I had been able to recce the full route, had practised with all my kit and had a pacing plan. As it turns out, this race is tough even after all that, and probably even tougher if you turned up expecting your normal kind of 50 mile race but with extra hills.

I recorded 89km / 6000m of ascent. The first three sections to almost halfway are almost a walk in the park compared to what comes. Largely runnable, beautiful sunrise views and three main summits including Snowdon all ticked off.

Then the beast of a section comes. Two main mountains with bumps along the way and a big dip in the middle. A steep sided ridge requiring hands and a head for heights, much more awe-inspiring in the sunshine than it had been on my recce in fog. Then a trip through abandoned quarries and the endless slog of Moel Hebog. I think my poles were the only thing stopping me falling backwards.

Next comes the Welsh Matterhorn (Cnicht). There was another short technical bit here, made harder for some people by the tampering of course markers. For me, this is where my woes really started, with big blisters developing. Fellow racers really kept me going.

But nothing would stop me setting off on the final section, not even the concerned looks of my family. The lights of other racers always bobbing way, way up ahead, looking an impossible vertical distance away. Although I enjoyed the mental distraction of route finding and clambering over the ridge, on the way down even the smallest of steps felt like precipices to my shot legs.

For the final ascent of Snowdon I had sleep deprivation and was only spurred into running to get away from some drunk teenagers. However, on the descent I found new life, finally falling into the finish 23h41 after starting.

OK, so I was slower than hoped, but just be warned – if you take on this race it is a challenge and a half. I highly recommend it, and will be back to give it another shot!

This was Michael Jones’ first event as race organiser and everything went smoothly from my point of view. A few little things to improve on for next year, but the basics were all in place. Good course marking, well stocked feed stations (the surplus going to charity after the event), endlessly cheerful and helpful marshals and a course that I hope will become a classic.

You can read my full length report here: https://planetbyde.com/2018/05/20/uts-50/
Also lots of chat and other reports on the UTS athletes' page.