Over The Contours

On an incredibly wet and windy Sunday morning in Dolgellau, North Wales, I jogged from our hotel to the Dolgellau Institute to register for the third and final instalment of the Kong Mini Mountain Marathon for 2023. Mini Mountain Marathons are, ostensibly, straightforward events; participants are given a map at the start and the map shows twenty-five 'control points' to be reached in whatever sequence the participant sees fit. Control points furthest away, or highest up, are allocated a higher points value. The aim is for the participant to select their own route, and to 'dib in' to as many of the control points as possible within a four hour time limit. It's basically orienteering on steroids. As I walked to the start, I surveyed the map; there were two control points (1 and 8) close to the start. CP1 was to west, and CP8 was to the east. I'd already decided that I would aim to move broadly in a circle to get to as many of the control points as I could. I opted

What follows is perhaps more of a reminder to myself than a blog per se. The Dragon's Back Race is such a long and intense event, and with my head swirling with so much emotion I want to record my thoughts and memories of this great event before the mundanities of normal life creep back. Registration Day - Sunday 3rd September - Conwy An early start leaving Thanet Parkway heading for Crewe. My first minor heart attack comes when the station board lists my train as 'delayed'. Rail strikes the day previous had disrupted many a travel plan and I was worried this would be the start of my woes. Fortunately, it wasn't; the station board updates - the train is again on time. Relief. The journey turns out to be uneventful except for sharing a table with Giles Brandreth between Euston and Crewe. I get to Crewe and mum and dad are waiting. I'd asked whether they'd drop me off in Conwy, rather than me take the train all the way through. It's lovely seeing them and we h

The Long Mynd Valleys fell race; the first fixture in the English Fell Running Championships 2023. When the fixtures were published in late 2022, my eyes were immediately drawn to this fixture. I've never been to the Shropshire Hills and so there was a certain allure to this 11 mile loop of the Long Mynd.  Organised by Mercia Fell Runners, their website warns of a tough and unrelenting course - not one for the faint hearted. Still, needing to get metres of ascent into my legs ahead of the Dragons Back Race in September, I signed myself up. We used this as an opportunity for a weekend away, staying in Shrewsbury the evening before, followed by two nights in my home county of Cheshire afterwards.   Having collected my race number and dibber from the local school, I made my way up towards the start which was close to the National Trust car park in the Carding Mill Valley. At 11.05am, we were off. Being a championship race it was popular, but the first few 200 metres are on the tarmac