I don’t run marathons because I find them easy and I don’t look for easy marathons. I run marathons because I like the challenge. I know I’m quite a statistics person and keep records of all my marathons but one thing I’m not hung up on is my finishing times. I don’t look for courses that will give me faster times. I search for marathons I haven’t run before and return to my favourites. I certainly don’t search out marathon courses simple because they are flat with the potential of a fast time. Trail Marathon Wales is a perfect example of this, as it is one of my favourite courses which I have now run for 4 consecutive years.
If trail running is your thing and especially hilly almost mountainous running then this is the one for you. Set in the heart of the Coed Y Brenin forest in the Snowdonia National Park runners get the opportunity to run for many miles under the canopy of a variety of different gorgeous woodland landscapes. The course is made up of two completely different half marathon loops which works well for the half marathon and also keeps the whole marathon course interesting.
During the first half of the course we got to see plenty of pine forest but also some absolutely wonderful unspoilt deciduous woodland. There was a river weaving its way through the forest exposing and cleaning some bright white rocks which came as a surprise to me as much of the area is famous for grey slate mining and not white stone. For some sections of the course runners weren’t alone, we were sharing the forest with thousands of midges who kept grabbing our attention by nipping, biting and generally aggravating us all. Each year I vow to bring some insect repellent spray and each year I forget. Sun cream does seem to offer some protection. I tried to ignore them and concentrate on my running and the stunning scenery.
At half way we return to the start/finish at the Coed Y Brenin visitors centre before starting our second loop. Much of the forest floor was covered by different plants at different points of the course. At some points it was packed with a fluffy ferns with every inch covered, interspersed with the pink flowers of foxgloves poking through like sky-scrappers in a city scene. Other areas were moss covered like a soft duvet draped neatly over every rock and bump of the forest floor.
At 19 miles amongst the wood we came across a clearing with a beautiful stone cottage complete with quaint out buildings and a well-kept garden, it was lovely and so unexpected to come across. It reminded me of the house in the Hansel and Gretel story except it wasn’t made out of sweets. The course was constantly very tough going, with us either running up or down. I thought I was coping well until we got to mile 21 which took us up a steep hill but there wasn’t much of a path and it was where pine trees had been felled making us have to negotiate, roots, felled branches and rocks. I was reduced to a walk at this point. All my hopes went of me getting a sub 4 hour time. After finally negotiating this evil hurdle I felt completely spent and just concentrated on keeping some kind of pace going to simply finish.
Finally I was running up the last climb back at the Visitor’s centre and the well laid out finish which was so welcome. An incredibly tough race but wonderful. Finishing time today 4 hours 6 minutes precisely. Would you believe me if I say I can’t wait to return again next year?
