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By Ally Powell
) During a recent visit to North Wales, friends casually pointed out the route for the forthcoming Snowdonia Marathon and that was it, I was hooked! The route is spectacular and myself, Chris and mate John were extremely lucky. The weather forecast had been for strong winds and rain, however this Sunday morning the skies were clear, the wind had subsided and the sun was out for some of the time. What a great way to appreciate the wonderful autumn colours in the welsh mountains. It was only in the last 2 miles that the torrential rain set in. So I missed the worst of it. The race begins with a long steady climb from Nan Peris up to Pen-y-Pass (1100' above sea level), followed by a lovely, scenic 8.5 mile descent to Beddgelert. This gradual descent from Pen-y-Pass lulls you into a false sense of security and the temptation is to run this bit far too fast. Knowing what was ahead I took it steady. From 13 miles the route is fairly level until you reach around the 20 mile mark at Waunfawr. Luckily Chris' folks were waiting here with flasks of hot sweet tea as a boost for the big hill to come. For the next 2.5 miles there is a climb of 700' up on an old quarry road to Bwlch-y-Groes With legs heavy and sore from the previous 20 miles on the road this was a killer. I gave up running when I realised walking was the faster option. The final couple of miles is a steep and painful descent off-road down into Llamberis which certainly sorts the hill runners from the road runners. What a great event! Probably one of the better marathons for hill runners. Plenty of variety, plenty of climbing and a fast off-road descent to finish.
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