Welsh 1000s Race

[dangilbert]

I found a pretty good line down last time I did this (2019), by luck rather than anything else. I aimed for the westerly point of the llyn and ended up in a shallow, mostly grassy gully. This brought me down to the remains of a stone structure which I assume is a sheepfold. The walls are shown on the OS map but it isn't noted as anything (looks a bit like a tadpole shape!). From memory there was a trod to Pen y Pass from here.
I've checked my split and it was 20mins which seems reasonable compared to others on the day and considering descending isn't my strong point.

[Llani Boy]

With reluctance I am having to withdraw from this years race. My groin strain from Ras Y Gader has not settled down and I think it would be irresponsible to risk it on such a serious encounter. It would probably be OK on the uphill's but downhill would be a different matter.

I'm doubly disappointed due to missing out on the new venue which sounds like it will make it a great weekend but the decision is made.

A bit of rest and hopefully I'll be ready for The Wincle Trout Run on the 10th June and Pen y Fan on 9th July

[Travs]

Shame Llani, it is one of the best races on the calendar, and along with Buttermere and Wasdale, the long race is just about as hard as it gets.

I was all set for another go at the short course this year.... however the changes in the management/structure of the event have put me off sadly (along with my comments in the fell racing ethics thread, i seem to be getting increasingly cynical in my old age!)

I have always sorted my own accommodation, registered the night before, whether that be in Llanberis or Capel Curig, then turned up at the start on saturday morning (whether at the coast or at Ogwen) of my own accord.

This is now not an option and it is mandatory to get yourself to Llanberis and then be coached in to the start. Along with the fact that the entry fee is now £33 (which is about the same as i paid for the Y3P so i'm not against paying for it, but it is also £33 for the short course, which i think is shocking!)

It all seems to me designed to turn it into an event rather than a race. I just want to turn up at the start and give it my all, not become involved in camping, coach travel, etc.

So sadly this year decided it was not for me.

[Llani Boy]

I thought the £33 entry fee was good value considering it included 2 nights camping at Capel Curig, coach transport to the start and then transport back from Pen y Pass.

But can I see that for someone like you Travs who just wants to turn up and go then it can all seem a bit of a faff.

To be fair to the organisers, I do not think they are trying to turn it into a trail type event but with limited manpower and funds are just trying to keep the logistics as manageable as possible.

Hopefully I can do it next year and have a spare tent you can borrow Travs. I'll even pitch it for you

[Wheeze]

Organising a point to point event is always tricky. Back in the day, just turning up and racing it was great fun but required quite a bit of car shuttling and twisting of arms for driving help etc. I'll be interested to hear what people think after this years event.
Anyway, for anyone who wants to do an event just as tough (if not tougher) in the same terrain with no transport issues there is always the fearsome Peris Horseshoe

[Travs]

Organising a point to point event is always tricky. Back in the day, just turning up and racing it was great fun but required quite a bit of car shuttling and twisting of arms for driving help etc. I'll be interested to hear what people think after this years event.
Anyway, for anyone who wants to do an event just as tough (if not tougher) in the same terrain with no transport issues there is always the fearsome Peris Horseshoe

I personally think the W1000 is marginally harder than Peris, and is up there with Buttermere and Wasdale as the hardest race on the calendar. The sheer scale of the climbs sets it apart for me... although overall the terrain is probably more difficult on Peris.

Peris is my favourite race of all.

[Wheeze]

It's easy to go too hard on the early part of the 1000m leaving yourself with nothing in the tank for the assault of Yr Wyddfa. In that respect, Peris is easier to judge......its 'kin ard from the get go!😳

[Travs]

I did the W1000 short course last year and it felt like a mere "sprint" over the Glyders and up Snowdon!

I made a slight hash of the descent to Pen-Y-Pass and absolutely bowled across the road and shot up the first part of the Pyg Track like i was doing a flat race, trying to pull a couple of positions back... when i reach that point on the full course i'm usually considering my foot placement very carefully in order to fend off cramp.

[Travs]

1st at the short race yesterday (well, i was beaten by the leading team from the pairs race, but took the first individual prize).

There were close to 50 on the entry list... however i don't think there were more than 40 on the start line, and number of those were in the pairs race as well. As i like to do, i went off pretty hard to make the most of my ascending.... soon found myself about 30 seconds clear, and it was apparent that there was probably only one guy who was going to give me trouble.... in fact at the first summit, Glyder Fawr, 39mins in, apart from myself, the guy in 2nd and the leading pair, we were already 6-7 minutes clear of the next runner.

Seeing how it was panning out behind me, i changed tactics slightly.... rather than hammering myself up this climb, i started thinking about racing for the win, and just kept ticking over enough to hold my lead, without blowing up myself.... had i been chasing the leader, i'd have probably gone full-pelt, and on a 2hr+ race run the risk of blowing up.

Managed (more by luck than judgement) to get a perfect line up the grade 1 Gribyn scramble, and by the time i reached Glyder Fawr i still had a 30 second lead.

I immediately gave away half that lead as, despite the clear weather, i got my compass out.... i wanted to take the exact line i'd reccied on friday, as i couldn't afford any mistakes down to Pen Y Pass.... this turned out to be a good decision.... i got it bang on, getting to Pen Y Pass in 19 and a half minutes.... its usually said that under 20 minutes is speedy.... i know that the real fast guys can do it in 17, some even 15.... but yesterday the only people to do the descent faster were the guy who came 2nd, and the winner of the long race.

Despite my successful descent, i still dropped to 2nd with 50 seconds to make up. I pulled this back immediately... i'm not sure if the other guy (a local) had stopped to fuel/water, or gone astray (surely impossible on the huge Pyg Track), but next thing i knew he was behind me.

I must have been moving well as i was slicing through the front of the long course field, eventually passing the leader.... i thought i must have this one wrapped up, but on a flatter section got the shock of my life, as the 2nd guy re-appeared on my shoulder. Again had to start thinking about tactics, so i tried not to panic, had a gel and a drink, and settled myself for the final half-hour "sprint finish" (although if he was moving so well after 90minutes of effort, i did think the writing was on the wall)

As we neared the zigzags up the steep pull to the finger-stone, i started to wind the effort up a bit, running everything i could (this was made all the more difficult by the path being absolutely packed with tourists and walkers, and as we were the first through, they weren't expecting runners, so it was even more difficult than usual). Up to the finger-stone, right turn for Carnedd Ugain and try to keep the effort going.

It worked as i had a 50 second lead at Ugain, with only 7 or 8 minutes across to Snowdon.... however i was now cooked, on the couple of minutes descent back to the finger-stone i couldn't lift my legs and fell about 3 times, to the extent that the marshal there enquired if i was ok.... the guy behind me was clearly still full of running on the flats and downs, and was again back to only 10 seconds behind me.

I knew it was only 5 minutes to the finish but my legs weren't co-operating... tried again to run what bits i could.... fortunately the other guy was also about done on the ups, and when i got within 50 yards of the finish and turned round, i could finally relax as i was out of reach.... finally taking 1st by 30 seconds.

2hrs03..... a pb by 4 minutes. I was 90seconds quicker than last time up the first climb to Glyder Fawr.... about 5 minutes quicker down to Pen Y Pass.... i was actually 2 minutes slower on the last hour up to Snowdon... although it was pretty warm, and i was certainly starting to struggle with the race being a bit over-distance for my current training.

Its clearly not the most stellar field if i'm featuring at the front, let alone winning.... but it still meant a lot to me.... i remember being a hill-walker in my 20's on Snowdon and seeing this mad race finishing on the summit, people finishing in some right states, covered in blood etc.... it took me well over a decade after that to get into fellrunning, but that moment on Snowdon in the early 2000's started to sow the seeds for it.

The highlight was receiving a fantastic framed painting of Snowdon/Lliwedd by a local artist, at the presentation (along with other bits and bobs including a slate coaster, voucher for Joe Brown Sports, and some booze). I must say the quality of prizes was superb.... the large slate plaques for the v70 winners looked brilliant.

[Llani Boy]

1st at the short race yesterday (well, i was beaten by the leading team from the pairs race, but took the first individual prize).

There were close to 50 on the entry list... however i don't think there were more than 40 on the start line, and number of those were in the pairs race as well. As i like to do, i went off pretty hard to make the most of my ascending.... soon found myself about 30 seconds clear, and it was apparent that there was probably only one guy who was going to give me trouble.... in fact at the first summit, Glyder Fawr, 39mins in, apart from myself, the guy in 2nd and the leading pair, we were already 6-7 minutes clear of the next runner.

Seeing how it was panning out behind me, i changed tactics slightly.... rather than hammering myself up this climb, i started thinking about racing for the win, and just kept ticking over enough to hold my lead, without blowing up myself.... had i been chasing the leader, i'd have probably gone full-pelt, and on a 2hr+ race run the risk of blowing up.

Managed (more by luck than judgement) to get a perfect line up the grade 1 Gribyn scramble, and by the time i reached Glyder Fawr i still had a 30 second lead.

I immediately gave away half that lead as, despite the clear weather, i got my compass out.... i wanted to take the exact line i'd reccied on friday, as i couldn't afford any mistakes down to Pen Y Pass.... this turned out to be a good decision.... i got it bang on, getting to Pen Y Pass in 19 and a half minutes.... its usually said that under 20 minutes is speedy.... i know that the real fast guys can do it in 17, some even 15.... but yesterday the only people to do the descent faster were the guy who came 2nd, and the winner of the long race.

Despite my successful descent, i still dropped to 2nd with 50 seconds to make up. I pulled this back immediately... i'm not sure if the other guy (a local) had stopped to fuel/water, or gone astray (surely impossible on the huge Pyg Track), but next thing i knew he was behind me.

I must have been moving well as i was slicing through the front of the long course field, eventually passing the leader.... i thought i must have this one wrapped up, but on a flatter section got the shock of my life, as the 2nd guy re-appeared on my shoulder. Again had to start thinking about tactics, so i tried not to panic, had a gel and a drink, and settled myself for the final half-hour "sprint finish" (although if he was moving so well after 90minutes of effort, i did think the writing was on the wall)

As we neared the zigzags up the steep pull to the finger-stone, i started to wind the effort up a bit, running everything i could (this was made all the more difficult by the path being absolutely packed with tourists and walkers, and as we were the first through, they weren't expecting runners, so it was even more difficult than usual). Up to the finger-stone, right turn for Carnedd Ugain and try to keep the effort going.

It worked as i had a 50 second lead at Ugain, with only 7 or 8 minutes across to Snowdon.... however i was now cooked, on the couple of minutes descent back to the finger-stone i couldn't lift my legs and fell about 3 times, to the extent that the marshal there enquired if i was ok.... the guy behind me was clearly still full of running on the flats and downs, and was again back to only 10 seconds behind me.

I knew it was only 5 minutes to the finish but my legs weren't co-operating... tried again to run what bits i could.... fortunately the other guy was also about done on the ups, and when i got within 50 yards of the finish and turned round, i could finally relax as i was out of reach.... finally taking 1st by 30 seconds.

2hrs03..... a pb by 4 minutes. I was 90seconds quicker than last time up the first climb to Glyder Fawr.... about 5 minutes quicker down to Pen Y Pass.... i was actually 2 minutes slower on the last hour up to Snowdon... although it was pretty warm, and i was certainly starting to struggle with the race being a bit over-distance for my current training.

Its clearly not the most stellar field if i'm featuring at the front, let alone winning.... but it still meant a lot to me.... i remember being a hill-walker in my 20's on Snowdon and seeing this mad race finishing on the summit, people finishing in some right states, covered in blood etc.... it took me well over a decade after that to get into fellrunning, but that moment on Snowdon in the early 2000's started to sow the seeds for it.

The highlight was receiving a fantastic framed painting of Snowdon/Lliwedd by a local artist, at the presentation (along with other bits and bobs including a slate coaster, voucher for Joe Brown Sports, and some booze). I must say the quality of prizes was superb.... the large slate plaques for the v70 winners looked brilliant.

Well done Travs. Excellent effort