Ultra Trail of Snowdonia 100k report (May 2024)
I thought it would be a good idea to put race reports together of all the major races that I do so one day I can read through them and they’ll remind my of the good experiences and all the moments when the toys were threw out of the pram! Hopefully you will enjoy them too and if they help or inspire at least one person, that would be splendid! The reports won’t be too long..hopefully.
So, here goes. Report number one which is about the UTS 100k by UTMB in the stunning mountains of Snowdonia National Park. https://snowdonia.utmb.world/ https://utmb.world/ check out these links for context of the event series.
Building up
The previous year, I raced the 50k version of this event. The weather was very warm, bit too warm and it was a tough day out. I remember saying to myself while I was dragging myself up the last set of mountains before the finish that I was glad I didn’t enter the 100k race as that would be horrendous. Balls to doing that race I thought and I was chuffed to see the finish gantry. Looking back now, I was just a bit too undertrained for the race, the UTS events are definitely not to be underestimated and you MUST be fully prepared. Anyway, as you do, I soon forgot about the pain I suffered during the 50k event and as soon as the race entries opened for 2024, I happily signed up for the 100k which would take place in May 2024. I had plenty of time to prepare, I knew what I needed to do, especially after a period of coaching from the fabulous Tim Pigott, so I was looking forward to getting stuck into the training and began making plans.
I had a think about my training and decided to change tack from the usual approach. I’ve realised that a combination of running, cycling and gym sessions (as prescribed by Tim) works really well for me, rather than just going running nearly every day. The indoor Turbo and Zwift sessions were a life saver during the usual shite weather and I found I could push really hard on the bike without worrying too much about getting injured. I still did my long runs most weekends, did a lot of training in the Lake District and on the actual UTS course in Snowdonia. I even entered the Lakes Mountain 40 as a practice race and was very pleased to finish third in my age cat! I’ve only mentioned it once or twice!
An example of some of the weather I encountered during my training in the mountains
Overall, my training for the event went well. The odd niggle here and there and I put on a few pounds during and after Christmas but I wasn’t too alarmed as I knew I’d shift that once my volume increased leading up to the event and it’s important to let your hair down here n there….well that’s my excuse and I’m sticking with it! The last few weeks leading up to the event in May I ramped up the climbing volume as I knew that I had to be as best prepared as I could. I also worked hard in the gym to strengthen my legs up for the battering that they were gonna get during the race. I was actually getting nervous in the final week or two and I wasn’t sure whether I’d finish the race as I knew how hard it was going to be. But I put a plan together for the race and what will be will be, I kept reminding myself that the race is actually a training run for a race in Austria this coming August, so don’t do anything stupid and just go out there and enjoy it.
Race weekend
I arrived at daft o’clock on the Friday in Llanberis where the race HQ was housed and headed over to registration and kit check. As usual, I got a bit nervous about the kit check even though I knew I had all the required kit. Unlike one or two pillocks who had stuff missing and were sent away. It always amazes me when people can’t follow simple, well published instructions from the organisers weeks before the event. In fact, I stayed away from the Facebook group for the event as it was awash with stupid questions that were easily answered if they bothered to read the information on the website. Reminds me of the famous Montane Spine Race and the barrage of questions for Lindley Chambers! Anyway, I queued up and took my turn in the kit check, received my race number and then did a smug pose for my race photo. My race tracker was attached to the left side of my race vest (bit of a superstition) and I was a set and dot watching for my family n friends could commence at 04:45 the next morning (Saturday).
I was staying in a local YHA the Friday night with a new found friend Justin Bramall, we went for dinner and a pint and then checked into the YHA to begin kit faffing where you piss about with your kit for a few hours before going to bed and trying to get a few mins sleep. It’s always the feckin same the night before, I can’t settle and it takes ages to drift off, usually drifting off when my alarm goes off in the morning. The alarm went off at ridiculous o’clock and I got up and got ready, slapping on a shed load of sun cream and anti nappy rash bodyglide chafe stick. I do find that Bodyglide works the best for me and lasts the longest and delays the John Wayne walk. Chafe rub if you haven’t had the pleasure of it is horrendous and a potential race ender. Imagine how pissed off you’d be if you trained like mad for months and months and something simple like a chafed undercarriage makes a balls up of your race! Everything went fairly smoothly the morning of the race, apart from thinking I’d lost my phone, I spent a while trying to look for it and as a consequence, I had to run about a mile to the start and just made it as the race set off…not a good start you tit…but I did find my phone and I was nicely warmed up!
A glorious sunrise greeted us as we headed up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) for the first time
It was already getting warm as we all headed up the first ascent of Snowdon and I settled straight into my planned pace of reaching the summit in 1hr 30mins, this time was very doable as I knew how long it takes me reach the top if I’m pushing the pace a bit and I was conscious to keep my heart rate as low as possible. The worst thing you can do on this type of race is red line it during the first couple of hours…unless you happen to be Kilian or Jasmin! My feckin fast run to the start line didn’t help and as a consequence I was already sweating. People were jostling for position on the way up but fortunately, it was still early morning so there were few other people on the Llanberis Path, a great relief as later on I knew it would be packed with loads of people heading for the summit, I’m not a people person at all as some will confirm. I plodded along nicely, felt good and made sure to enjoy the stunning scenery, the views in this area are spectacular and well worth the effort. I reached the top and the beginning of the first descent bang on 1hr 30mins, ‘nice one’ I thought and I stopped to take a photo, had a swig of my fluids and necked an energy gel.
See what I mean?
Summiting the top I briefly admired the view and was relieved to start descending down the other side. This section is very technical and requires a lot of concentration as it’s mainly loose rock, scree and boulders all waiting to sprain your ankle or send you arse over tit! Heading down into the valley there’s a scramble section that even requires going down backwards (well I had to do that anyway) then it flattens out while you run past a small Lake. I took this opportunity to take on more water and something to eat, fortunately I passed a fast running stream and also took the chance to refill my water bottles. I swigged nearly half a litre of the cool mountain water too as I was getting thirsty and was sweating a lot, not too wise to have it sloshing around in my gut while trying to run but I thought sod it, I’ll soon sweat it out. The weather was getting really warm by now and there was little breeze to help keep cool, but from here to the next checkpoint was all downhill so I got into a steady pace and was soon greeted by lots of race supporters as I reached checkpoint two. I again stopped briefly to get something to eat and drink, even switching to full fat coke as it’s perfect for this type of stuff, rocket fuel! Works for me anyway. Keeping an eye on the cut off for this checkpoint, I headed out and got my trekking poles out for the next monster of a climb, Pen yr Ole Wen. I’ve dragged myself up this mountain a few times now and it’s always horrendous and I knew I’d have to dig in.
It took an age to reach the summit in the heat, I stopped about half way up to drink some more stream water where it was running fast and threw some of the cold water over my head, others quickly followed suit. It felt great and took my breath away a bit, I fancied just sitting in the stream..but maybe not. Nearing the top when you’re knackered, there’s a small scramble section just when you need it the feckin least and your legs are screaming at you. I started to notice some cramp warnings in parts of my legs which was worrying, especially this early on in the race. Reaching the summit at last, I stopped for a couple of mins to let my legs settle down and called the missus on the phone. It was useful to switch off from the race and check in to let her know I was ok. The next few miles were pretty runnable and flat..ish as you basically run along a ridge ticking off a few peaks, rather like leg two of the Bob Graham Round if you’re familiar. After that bit, you begin a long descent into another valley bottom and eventually the next checkpoint in Capel Curig. I was looking forward to reaching this point as I promised myself that I would stop there for a while and have a good feed and rest as I was well ahead of the cut offs so could afford to chill out for a bit. My legs were feeling the effort of the day and the heat was not very welcome either and one or two blisters were doing their best to get on my nerves. Apart from that, I was feeling good. I was eating and drinking often and I could run when I needed to. Finally reaching checkpoint I grabbed my drop bag which was full of goodies that I prepacked and took a seat on the benches outside as inside the building was roasting, full of people and smelling like a wrestlers armpit!
It was nice to chill out for a bit and get something a bit more substantial to eat and drink and as I did that, I slowly took my shoes and socks off with slight apprehension about what might be lurking underneath! My feet were a bit macerated and indeed had a couple of blisters on the sides. I managed to pop them to drain the fluid (apologies if you’re eating, oh the joy of Ultra running) and let my feet dry off for a bit in the fresh air. There was a horrendous odour emanating from my shoes, so I moved them downwind to escape them for a bit! I gave myself around forty five minutes at that checkpoint and then began sorting myself out the the next half of the race…shite, I’d only reached the halfway point and had to do the same distance again and through the night. At least it would be cooler during the night and I love running through the night and into the next day. Leaving the checkpoint, I felt refreshed and ready to go. Some of the other competitors looked a lot worse than me, some were just sat around and staring into space and some were just coming into the checkpoint looking rather disheveled, the temperature and effort of the day showing on their faces. That gave me encouragement as I left and began to jog, heading for the next climb, the rather long but not too steep climb up Moel Siabod.
I felt pretty good heading up the climb, it was still very warm but there was a nice breeze to help a little. I started to labour a bit about halfway up and decided to just have a little sit down and admire the view as it was still stunning. The cramp seemed to have gone by now which was good and I was eating and drinking well and as I reached the summit, I broke into a jog as I knew that the next bit was a long gradual downhill towards Pen y Pass and the main road. It took me by surprise to be honest as I thought “where did this burst of energy come from” I was trotting along at a good pace and feeling good. Crossing the main road at the bottom, I wasn’t too far from the next checkpoint and it was only a mile or so downhill, I was getting a bit tired by now and my feet were getting sore again, so when I reached the checkpoint I decided to give myself another twenty minutes or so to recharge a bit. The situation with my fecking feet was beginning to piss me off as otherwise, I felt pretty good. Yeah I was getting a bit tired but that’s just normal, heck I wasn’t even having signs of nappy rash! BONUS!!
Having reccied the next section, I knew what was coming, a nice flat bit and then the second slog up to the summit of Snowdon so I began looking for a spot to lie down, maybe even get a power nap? As I jogged along, I found what I thought would be a good spot on the bank of a stream under a tree. It was getting dark by this time now so I thought it would be perfect timing for a nap. I noticed quite a lot of Bats flitting around me but I lay down and tried to get settled. No sooner I did, I was attacked by a shit load of mossies, those annoying little swines that bite the crap out of you! So that’s why there’s so many Bats!!! I guess trying to lie down next to a stream it’s such as idyllic as it sounds. Anyway, I grudgingly got back on my way after a few expletives. It was dark by now so the head torch was switched on. Coming up next was my second ascent of Snowdon, I was actually looking forward to doing it in the dark as it was a pretty clear and calm night so at least the view would be nice. I was tired by now though so I knew it was gonna be tough.
Trekking poles out once again I headed up the path, I could see the line in front and behind of head torches in the dark. As I climbed I stopped once or twice to rest and admire the view. Climbing was becoming a bit difficult now, not due to injury, just sheer fatigue and probably my circadian rhythm. My head and body saying “why the eff are you not in bed by now!”. I was prepared for this though as I’ve been in this situation many times during this type of event. Just keep plodding along mate I thought and the tiredness will pass. I also knew that there wouldn’t be a good spot for a nap until the next checkpoint. So I promised myself that I will try another lie down once I reached it. That’s a good tip for an event of this type, break it down mentally into manageable chunks and promise yourself a reward for reaching the next checkpoint or section. That way, you’re far less likely to have a meltdown when this go a bit tits up as it were. As I neared the summit, it began to get colder and the wind picked up. At first it was a relief but my body began to cool rapidly due to the tiredness. I found myself trying to utilise the rocks and use them as a shield from the wind. Even nearer the summit, I was shrouded in mist which made the atmosphere more menacing, add to the fact that it was nearly mid night. I was rather pleased to eventually reach the cafe building at the summit (yes, there is even a cafe at the top) and noticed a few sleeping bags where some hardy souls had bed down for the night in the shelter of the building. I didn’t faff around here for long and broke into a jog heading for the Ranger Path which would take me down off the summit into the valley and to the sanctuary of the next checkpoint at Rhyd Ddu and my prize of a lie down. Remember “small rewards!”
Apologies by the way for the lack of pictures at this stage. I was rather tired and couldn’t be arsed getting my phone out!
The checkpoint was pretty busy, the marshals doing their fantastic work looking after some sorry arse looking runners while some loud cheesy dance music was blasting out. I noticed a screened off section in the corner marked “quiet zone” with two camp beds inside. One was occupied by some lump of a person shrouded in a blanket out for the count, the other empty, perfect. I simply took my pack off my back and collapsed onto the bed, it was then that I took a whiff of myself and feckin hell, the stench emanating from my shoes earlier was nowt compared to this unholy odour. ‘Straight from Satans bottom’ as Edmund Blackadder once proclaimed! I set an alarm on my phone for thirty minutes and closed my eyes. Even though my legs wouldn’t get comfy and I was full of adrenaline, I managed to get some sleep. Conscious of the cut off time for this checkpoint, I got myself together, had something to eat and drink and said my goodbyes. I had plenty of time before the cut off but I wanted to make sure I had a good buffer, just in case I needed another sleep. The plan was going well and I felt refreshed after that sleep, a valuable lesson learned there for my future events. It will get to a point in an event such as this where it’ll be too debilitating to try and push on rather than sleep. It was still dark when I set off for the next climb to the summit of Myndd Mawr, another beast of a climb. I tagged onto a group of other runners and we all trudged up the hill, feeling pretty good. In the pack I noticed one of them was a one hundred mile racer and that made me feel even better as I thought how far he had come to get to this stage..stop whining about your feet and how tired you are Andy! Think how he feels! It was good to have a bit of a distraction from how I was feeling though and it didn’t seem long before I reached the summit. By now, there were the early signs of the sunrise to the east and it was a welcome sight as I picked up my pace and jogged the downhill section towards the final checkpoint. When I say jogged, it wasn’t as you’d imagine. My feet were now beyond in bits and it hurt to run downhill, my quads were pretty trashed by now but I knew I wasn’t far from the finish, so balls to them I thought. I’ve reached the point now where I know I’m gonna finish. I remember thinking, thank the Lord I did all that gym work to strengthen my legs and I shuddered to think how sore my legs would be I I hadn’t! I even managed a decent jog pace when the terrain flattened out when I reached the valley bottom, I suppose I just switched off from the discomfort and began just enjoying the views again, people say that you will hit highs and lows during an Ultra distance event and I was indeed having one of the high points. If you can ride out the lows and as long as you’re not injured, the highs will come, trust me! By the time I reached the final checkpoint, it was daylight. It was located in a caravan park and some people staying there were giving me a cheer as I approached. Must have been avid dot watchers which is a sport in itself (following the runners tracking link on the event website if you’re not familiar).
Sat in the checkpoint, I had a brew and a bit to eat. Not daring to take my shoes off no matter how painful they were! I was frightened what would come off with the shoes!! I didn’t fancy much to eat but I shoved a few bits in nonetheless as I wanted the fuel for the final mountain range before the descent into Llanberis. I knew I had it in the bag now, aside from a catastrophic incident I would make it to the finish well ahead of the cut off. Even if I walked the last few miles, I would complete the event in the allotted time. One last climb mate I said to myself as I set off and left the checkpoint in high spirits. I was so pleased that my plan worked well, I had low and high points but I used my experience and it worked a treat..the beer at the end wouldn’t touch the sides! On the way towards the final climb, I had another burst of energy and vigor, once again I didn’t have a clue where it came from but I rode the crest of the wave and jogged along at a good clip. Reaching the foot of the climb, I put my poles together for the last time and was chuffed to discover I was charging up the hill, even catching and overtaking a few other competitors that were flagging somewhat. Bearing out my highs n lows theory. Summiting the top I broke into another jog, it was a bit uncomfortable by now but manageable, until I tried to run down the other side. I couldn’t run downhill anymore owing to the combination of trashed quads and sore feet. Balls to it though, it was another glorious day and I just plodded along admiring the view, only about two/three miles left now mate. I was glad to finally come off the hill and hit the gradual footpath that took me into Llanberis and the finish line. Jogging into the race HQ where the finish line was, I was greeted by a wall of cheering and clapping from the spectators and race marshals that were milling about, a big smile appearing on my face after crossing the line after twenty nine hours of fantastic mountain running. Knackered but delighted with how it went.
Even managed to get my phone out to take a picture as I crossed the line
What an event that was! I can highly recommend it but do not underestimate how difficult it will be. To complete it you will have to train hard and even then there’s no guarantee you’ll finish. Test out your kit and make sure you get your hydration and nutrition sorted and remember, things will go tits up at some point but it will pass if you just dig in when needed.
My next race will be in Austria, I’ll be having a crack at the KAT100 miles event in August https://kat.utmb.world/ which is also part of the UTMB world series events. It will be probably the toughest event for me to date but I’ve got a lot of experience and I’ve learned some more stuff about myself during the UTS100k. Just need to do more gym work to strengthen my legs up and I’m sure I’ll be fine.
I hope you enjoyed me waffling on about my recent adventure and please check out my previous blogs. If the KAT100 goes well, I suspect my next race report might be a tad longer than this one!
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