A very creditable job being Marshall.
A very creditable job being Marshall.
Arenig Fawr faces similar challenges that did for the Rhinogs race in terms of location, terrain and support.
Arenig and Rhinogs were great races, but never attracted great numbers. I suppose distance and remoteness played a part - but also not races for the feint hearted, especially the Rhinogs .
Don't roll with a pig in poo. You get covered in poo and the pig likes it.
Passed a member of this parish out on a local round whilst I was running the route of a race which should have happened today, but obviously couldn't. He did very well too: 3:49 looks like possibly the fourth quickest time for a Gill Harris Round on the Shropshire Hills.
Well done Travs!
....it's all downhill from here.
Having spent some time walking over the Rhinogs it doesn’t strike you as the fastest running terrain
Poacher turned game-keeper
When I was a hippie on the dole in North Wales in the early 80's I had no money left for drugs or anything else and a week until the next Giro so I decided to go and walk the Rhinnogs. I set off from Bethesda with a loaf of Marmite sandwiches, a thermos of black coffee, a bivvi bag and sleeping bag. Mid December it was and managed to hitch a lift with a Methodist Minister down to Trawsfynnedd. Off I set over Ysfarnogod and headed south. Spent the night by the side of the wall above Llyn Hywell and it snowed, but many lighthouses flashing in the distance. Off again at about 5.30am and eventually made it down to the minor road to Barmouth. Saw the first humans for 24 hrs! Hitched a lift to Caernarvon in a lorry carrying 5 tons of Welsh bibles! No paths on the northern section and dark for most of the southern section - Tricky with no head torch. One of the best walks of my life. Been back to the Rhinnogs loads and love them.
That is the best Rhinog story I have ever heard - hardcore in a hippie fashion!
Wonderful place, have spent many happy times there and in answer to DT comment it is not the fastest terrain, that is the beauty of it. Think hare and tortoises, those hills are a great equalizer.
Don't roll with a pig in poo. You get covered in poo and the pig likes it.
So what was the route of the Rhinogs race?
I have only been into the Rhinogs once. I cycled up to the end of the road in Cwm Bychan, walked up the Roman Steps to the col and then up to Rhinog Fawr, which was not too difficult. Then I attempted to take a fairly direct line to Rhinog Fach. After a while thrashing through the thigh-deep heather and avoiding falling off any crags, I decide this wasn't fun any more, and went back. "Not the fastest running terrain" is a bit of an understatement.
It was a hot Summer's day, and I was cycling back down the valley in the hottest part of the afternoon. Feeling rather lethargic due to the heat, I found myself lying on the grass by the side of the road at one point. The road had gone round a sharp bend, whereas the bicycle and I had gone straight on.
In his lifetime he suffered from unreality, as do so many Englishmen.
Jorge Luis Borges
MattPo thanks for sharing a fantastic story!
Poacher turned game-keeper
there's a thread on the race here:
https://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/show...inog-Horseshoe
(one of the delights of the FRA Forum, when it used to be full of fell runners)
and an account of the race here:
https://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/show...inog-Horseshoe
you should be able to work out the route from that....
Last edited by Dave_Mole; 05-07-2020 at 10:21 PM. Reason: spelling
....it's all downhill from here.