Nant Gwynant to Dolgellau
40 miles/64 k
11,660 ft/3553 metres
06:00am start
Time on feet 14h 16m
I would like to start this with ‘I had loads of sleep and legs felt great’ but as we know I had an error with those painkillers. They kept my mind racing all night, it was hot too, combined with the twitchy legs.
But as I soon as I started moving and started faffing with my feet, I realised I actually didn't feel too bad, I'll take that.
That's one of the weird feelings about this race, you wake up feeling pretty exhausted, feet hurt and your muscles ache, but as soon you start moving everything eases a bit.
I sort my kit and hobble over to the canteen and noticed how everyone is walking a bit funny - It's only the beginning of the second day.
The heat was back. Shane and the team made a good decision with adding 30 minutes to each cut off point. I personally still wanted to come in on the original times but with a bit of hindsight, on certain days I should have taken these heat allowances.
Anyway, out the doors for 6am. Luckily for me I have recced this day a few times, so I knew what the day entailed.
Same again, push in the morning and get to the support points with plenty of time, Steve and I started together just plodding along, he had done some of this day too.
What was good about today was that there was a bit of wind, so even whilst in the sun the breeze helped massively.
This made the long slow climb up Cnicht much more enjoyable, plus there was a bit of shade.
What's nice about this climb is if you turn around you can see Mount Snowdon to the right and the beach to the left.
It’s a shame this picture from a recce doesn't show the whole view.
From Cnicht you get to the point that has been in loads of the DB videos over the years - The bum-slide descent to the reservoir.
If you just push on the track a little bit more there is a much more runnable section to the bottom, and plus I didn't fancy slate up my arse.
Before you know it we are heading for Moelwyn Mawr - a little out and back. This climb was a bit slow too with no shade, but thank god for that wind.
One of the great things about the whole week was that you were on climbs with people. We didn't have the energy to talk, maybe just a ‘hello mate’, but in most cases we all just looked at each other taking in the shared hardship, but also thinking ‘what TF have we signed up for?’.
Before you know it you’re off to Moelwyn Bach - Another out and back; A bit of a bigger one this time.
Looking at the people who have been to the checkpoint, I wished I was them a bit. I think most of us had moments where we wished a teleport machine was invented.
From there, there is a nice descent into the first water point. It was the same again with minimal faff, reload and go. Plus there is a river nearby I wanted to jump in.
The heat is coming now, we are near midday.
The next section isn't too bad, Maentwrog is all uphill roads which is quite nice with plenty of shade. We were making our way to the Llyn Trawsfynydd reservoir.
This was also the point where some of the leaders past us, just floating on the tarmac looking uber efficient with every step.
Something to always remember; the leaders make it look easy, but they are usually in the same hole that you are, just at a higher intensity.
This is another Recce pic of the reservoir, It also shows Claud struggling to swallow a salt tab.
Finally, I feel like were are on the last section to the next support point, Llyn Cwm Bychan reservoir. This part is quite barran, no shade, no nothing.
Guess what I can hear in the distance again? That bloody bell!!
Sam came and said hello again with Jason which was more than welcome. A lot of the runners over the week enjoyed hearing the bell, it brought us all a smile.
It's always nice to bump into people on course who have done the race, they know what you are going through.
To the left is always a nice sight. It’s the mountain just before the first Rhinog, you know the main support point is near at Llyn Cwm Bychan.
As usual, the support points were always in the lower ground, so that meant there was a quad bashing descent to get there.
Yet again, Steve and I are nice and early here, I'm a few minutes ahead of Steve. I had my usual, some crisps and a luke warm rice pudding.
This support point just felt like a sauna in all honesty, all sun and no wind. I also overheard a lad sat next to me asking the procedure on how to pull out. The staff handled this situation really well and managed to get the lad back on the course. I just thought ‘right let's get out of here, I don't need to hear this’. My rule was to never quit, unless I couldn't walk, or I got timed out.
After all, it's a privilege to be here!
I noticed as the week went on that I always felt a bit funny after the main support point. I probably put this down to consuming some real food and the fact it's boiling hot and most support points are in a hot valley.
Steve and I head off up the Roman Steps Valley which leads to Rhinog Fawr, the first Rhinog.
This was a particularly hot section. Yet again it was all sun and no wind, on top of the fact I had just eaten some solid food.
Along the Roman steps path there is a sharp right you can take. I've recced this route before, I'd even say it’s slightly quicker than the usual route but today we opted for the usual route. It was shaded and a more gradual climb, plus there was a lake at the end (one in the Picture from my recce).
I did a quick hat dip and then started to climb the first Rhinog, luckily it was shaded again.
We got to the top Of the first Rhinog, it was blowing so hard I nearly lost my hat. It was lovely. It felt like the first bit of fresh air in the last couple of hours.
Right, the next Rhinog. There are three of these fuckers, it's all slow going too.
We head down the cambrian way, a route I haven't taken before. Its a route that almost feels wrong because it's not direct. The official GPX had recently been updated to this route and it was a much better choice, until you have to try and crawl through a hole in the wall.
(Tip: jump over the wall).
It's a steep climb but Steve and I resort to the Tryfan tactic - Climb, take a break, climb some more.
This is where we catch Haley up. She’s a really strong lady who I had met on a raw recce. We would always bump into each other a few times a day across the week.
We would always crack a couple of jokes and keep moving until she scares me with a camp ETA on day 3.
More on that in the next blog.
The three of us finally get to the top, all slightly relieved. It’s a bit of a flat section at Rhinog Fach(the second Rhinog) and there is a checkpoint here too.
Then we are into a bit of a technical descent. I push on a bit from Steve and Hayley and before I knew it I was climbing up towards Y Llethr. This isn't even a Rhinog, just an extra hill for the shits and giggles.
Once you get the harsh bit out of the way it's quite a nice uphill walk, plus the wind is back. We have a small descent towards a turnstyle where a couple of people overtook me who were moving well.
This is where I knew a little shortcut which saved a lot of time (it's the climb to the last out and back - Diffwys). Most people opt to follow the wall, plus its on the GPX, but that route has a bit of unnecessary elevation and it's technical.
If you take a slight right and stay in the lower ground (granted it's a bit more wet) it’s spongy ground that's really runnable; it's almost bouncy.
(Message me if you want some help with this shortcut).
Remember those people who overtook me by the turnstyle? Well I’m in front of them.
Not that I'm being competitive but they were generally moving faster than me so it was just nice to know the effort of the recces paid off.
There's a Checkpoint at the top of Diffwys. Make sure you stop and just take the surroundings in, it's a fantastic view.
Right let's descend to the checkpoint before the woods. This is a lovely descent; One I got carried away with to be honest. There are certain parts of the day where you know you have the day in the bag. This can go two ways: You either get excited or you slow right down and the time just bloody drags.
Out of the woods and I bump into Emily, another strong girl I met on a Raw recce.
Unfortunately Emily's day one didn't go to plan, that heat was savage!
Despite this, Emily didn't drop down to the hatchling course (half course). She still did full days after day one, which was amazing to see. It takes a certain mindset to do that.
We would bump into each other across the week, it was usually her overtaking me.
A little bit on the Hatchling course - People that got timed out or decided to not carry on the full course had an option to do the Hatchling course. A fantastic edition from Shane and the team. It gave people the option to carry on and get the most from the week.
Even though from the outside eye, the hatchling may be a lesser course, it was still tough. They had the heat, cut off times and a lot of people still got well over a 100 mile week.
Emily and I then find ourselves at an extra support point that Shane had organised which had Pepsi! See, Shane does have a heart.
I mixed some in my water then started moving again onto the last section of the day, a nice flat road section. This is a section that can drag, so I did walk/run intervals just to get back to camp quicker.
That was often something you had to think about. Do you walk it in because you know you have that day in the bag? Or push it and just get to camp asap so you can sort your admin out for the next day?
Into camp I stroll another section that just drags, just before dark. I tried a bit of different routine this time.
Eat straight away, go and do your kit admin, jump in the stream and then eat again (MORE CHIPS). I also did this while reading my Dragon Mail.
Dragon mail is a great idea. It gives people the opportunity to message you. The abuse from the lads in the military was always welcome.
My learning points from day 2:
- Get the salt mix right and the gut felt better for it.
- Drink all of your water before the support points. This lead to a fluid intake of over 10 litres a day. It was obviously needed.
- The recces paid off, the shortcuts helped.
- Putting Moleskin over your blisters and under your Rocktape is a great idea.
- Be careful of being gung ho on the downhills. As much as people talk about the elevation of his event, it's the downhills that trash your feet and legs.
- Don't you dare take those painkillers.
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