Brecon Beacons Fell Race

[Wheeze]

Glad you liked it Alf. Black Mountains are 26 September and a much better race IMHO.
You are right about the anti-clock direction being better. I retired at the top of Pen Y Fan rather than suffering the mind-numbing tedium of the second half of the course! The fact that my mate Toffer was on marshal duties there with a bottle of Glenlivet had nothing whatsoever with my decision!

[Toffer]

Glad you liked it Alf. Black Mountains are 26 September and a much better race IMHO.
You are right about the anti-clock direction being better. I retired at the top of Pen Y Fan rather than suffering the mind-numbing tedium of the second half of the course! The fact that my mate Toffer was on marshal duties there with a bottle of Glenlivet had nothing whatsoever with my decision!

Actually if he hadn't retired I would have disqualified him on account of the absolutely disgusting pair of skimpy black silk lustered shorts that he was wearing, poor shy sheep having to endure 3 hrs of that
And yes, BB is half a good race, Wheeze did the good half and saw sense after the Glenlivet. Black Mts on the other hand is a cracking afternoon out, thoroughly recommended, if only for the priceless hand-written results published by Puffing Billy afterwards!

[Hanneke]

Actually if he hadn't retired I would have disqualified him on account of the absolutely disgusting pair of skimpy black silk lustered shorts that he was wearing, poor shy sheep having to endure 3 hrs of that
And yes, BB is half a good race, Wheeze did the good half and saw sense after the Glenlivet. Black Mts on the other hand is a cracking afternoon out, thoroughly recommended, if only for the priceless hand-written results published by Puffing Billy afterwards!

I agree with Toff, those shorts were well, erghm... barely acceptable if that

Black Mountains is a super race, may fave race here in South Wales, definitely a good day out! Won't be able to do it this year, as I am doing 3 Peaks Cyclocross the day after But I do recommend it...

[Wheeze]

That wasn't lustre, that was a lethal mix of sweat and viper! Leaky camelbak y'see!

[Hanneke]

Viper, VIPER?

I have to say that I do wonder what is in that Viper stuff you swear by

[Alf]

Glad you liked it Alf. Black Mountains are 26 September and a much better race IMHO.
You are right about the anti-clock direction being better. I retired at the top of Pen Y Fan rather than suffering the mind-numbing tedium of the second half of the course! The fact that my mate Toffer was on marshal duties there with a bottle of Glenlivet had nothing whatsoever with my decision!

If I had known there was a bottle of Glenlivet there I may have stayed a "bit longer" as well

The Black Mountains race is definitely on my list now. I have been looking at the course based on info and maps posted on the forum and it looks a goodun! Not sure yet if I can get down for a recce prior to the race so it may be even more interesting on the day especially if a bit of mist comes down.

The woods section on the home leg looks tricky My track record of entering woods at the correct point is very good but unfortunately exiting them at the right point has always been a bit of a problem with me!

[Wheeze]

The run off Bal mawr to Crug Mawr is definately worth a recce. Its not actually that bad once you've strung it together but it does arrive at a point of knackerdness!

[Hanneke]

If I had known there was a bottle of Glenlivet there I may have stayed a "bit longer" as well

The Black Mountains race is definitely on my list now. I have been looking at the course based on info and maps posted on the forum and it looks a goodun! Not sure yet if I can get down for a recce prior to the race so it may be even more interesting on the day especially if a bit of mist comes down.

The woods section on the home leg looks tricky My track record of entering woods at the correct point is very good but unfortunately exiting them at the right point has always been a bit of a problem with me!

The woods is where a lot of people go wrong... If you do manage to come for a recce, pm me and I will guide you through that bit, as it is hard to find if you don't know it and don't have any studmarks or @rses to follow...

[Alf]

The woods is where a lot of people go wrong... If you do manage to come for a recce, pm me and I will guide you through that bit, as it is hard to find if you don't know it and don't have any studmarks or @rses to follow...

Thanks for the advice Hanneke and Wheeze and offers of help and ChrisU's excellent map of the course I found on a forum search

If I am coming down prior to the race it will probably be the weekend of the Stretton Skyline when I will only be up to navigating a small portion so the last section (Bal Mawr to finish) looks manageable.

[Nayth]

Are there any results around for the race? I'd like to confirm how slowly I did it!