Cake cake cake and no dust. Perfect weather Perfect Race.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011 at 9:45AM The Friday Journey:
Snowdon Group plus two trees.We left Cardiff around 2pm, and started on our way up to Snowdon. (Note to self next time, runners hydrate before marathons, so ask in Brecon does anyone need to stop.) We slowly arrived in Builth Wells, and had our local market and bathroom stop. Many grateful runners! Oh yes and the cake had already started. Countless varieties of cake were produced and great carbo loading the day before. By 4:30 ish, we had stop number 2, and only 70 miles to go. Great, it cannot be long now, and then the roads got narrower and narrower and narrower. Thankfully all roads were leading to Snowdon, or rather there seemed to be a procession of cars going that way, anyone would think there was a big event on rather than an easy Saturday marathon!
I have to say top marks to Dave Williams for driving the difficult last 2 hours to Snowdon. Well done. We arrived in darkness in Llanberis but there was nothing dark about the race registration. All very efficient and speedy. (and it did stay open till midnight if you really wanted to work all the hours and arrive late) If you had done last year's race you could get a t-shirt or hoodie for bargain prices.(Worth considering next year's race.. oh I'm tempted already). We dropped everyone off and arranged to meet for dinner.
A quiet dinner due to a little matter of the race the next day although we all put down our expected race times for the next day in sealed envelope, a pint to the closest to their time. Libby wasn't there so we let Claire Phillips put down Libby's time..(Libby was too busy getting herself ready!)
These were the predicted times and the actual times. Lots of people in the pub running and everyone sharing experiences about the race and what to expect:
Simon 3:59 (3:48)
Clare P 3:15 (from Port Talbot) (3:17)
Dave W 4:07 (4:06)
James 3:55 (3:31)
Libby (predicted by Clare) 3:20 (3:27)
No. 96 or large chilli (Mal) 4:15 (3:59)
Rich 3:58 (DNS, Richie was ill Sat)
Race Day:
The author approaching the finishWe woke early, had time for breakfast at the hotel, a nice race start time (10:30), lots of people in hotels running the races and lots to talk about and I did change my mind about 5 times about what to wear.(Well I have to get my colours coordinated ) Seriously it is important. Well I eventually decided shorts, thermal top and rain shield (a good choice for me, make the right choice for you if you do this race) as I kept all of it on for 23 miles.
On race day there was a bus around Llanberis. We walked the mile from the hotel to the start, left our kits in the tent and walked to the start. Go to the bathroom at the registration area as there are no toilets that near the start. A very relaxed start, lots of people talking, chatting, many Croups runners, and Cardiff clubs. It was very wet and windy but no one really cared. "and, what was that the start?" Oh yes, well better start running then! That was the most relaxed start of a marathon I've ever done.
Started with a big Les Croups first mile talking away, enjoying the on route support as you leave Llanberis. The first mile is flat then you climb and you climb and you climb. I ran with Libby and we started slow, (a very good plan) so did as it seems all Croups (good plan guys). The rain was horizontal on the hill as we climbed towards 4 or 5 miles, a big big big (and big) thanks for Stu's support at the top of the hill as he shivered. It was great to see a friendly face at the top, thanks for the support.
Then the race does downhill for a while and then off-road. It's lovely off-roading with great views and everyone enjoying it chatting away. People are running speedy but still really enjoying, also on the way many bikes supporting the race, cheering on their runners and the other runners too. At about 9-10 miles we met Tom from the North (his first marathon), and he ran with Libby and myself pretty much all the way. "I'm only planning on about 3:45", well he did 3:30 so well done.
We were slowly picking up the pace throughout the race, at 13 miles I looked at my watch. First time in the race (thanks for the advice Richard S well noted!) and perhaps my 10 min/mile pace plan didn't quite happen (1:45 ish) I must say the village around 12/13 miles was lovely and we had really good support. A testing climb out after 13 miles but worth it as you then have a rewarding flat and then downhill/undulating section until around 20 miles. I later checked and my fastest miles were 17 to 21 before the hill at 22 started.
I managed to keep up with Libby until 22 miles as we passed maybe 100 people from 4 miles (maybe more). Very enjoyable starting slow and picking up the pace late. At 22 miles you have a testing hill and you actually turn into the wind so the challenge is tough. I was still passing people but Libby and Tom both picked up the pace and finished strong putting 4 minutes on me (or more i think) in about 3.5 miles. Considering I was still passing people, that is really good running. I enjoyed the climb from 23 to 25, not 24 as some people told me ;-) ,but it's not a time to be out of energy.
If you do this race save energy for the last 6. If you're walking you will be cold and it's not a race to be cold in. Enjoy the views, and it is lovely. Sadly Richie S could was ill and not up to racing, but he was a top notch supporter at 23 miles. Seeing 2 Croups and a friendly face on this race supporting really made a difference to me. The downhill from 25 to 26.2 is very steep, like Castle Coch but part off-road. Not for the faint hearted (and it was hailing at the top). Still enjoyable with enthusiastic support at the top and I realised fell runners taking photos - downloadable for free.. (London Marathon - please take note).
I finished in a 3:31. Very happy. The really moving thing I noted at the finish were runners doing the last 100 or so metres with their kids holding the hands. It was really good to have "this is James the Bruce from Les Croups" a bonus at the time, not that they did say that, but i wouldn't have been surprised if they did as they were very welcoming and called out everyone's name! Really worthy of note is that Libby had negative splits on Snowdon Marathon and a quick time to boot, very good running.
Post-race
The famous Pete's EatsAfter the race: hot tea and biscuits in the reception. NB this the place to meet then shower and warm up with food afterwards. Did I have 8 or maybe 10 cups of hot tea afterwards? All the locals providing it were very friendly. Even with the hard rain at that point it didn't dampen the spirits. I'll be honest I didn't see everyone finish. I do wonder if Dave W was waiting in the pub to get his predicted 4:07 time ;-) but knowing Dave I'm sure he didn't as he is just a very strong runner and a great pacer. I was very lucky to see No. 96 (Mal F).. sprint to the finish to get sub 4. Mr Bolt watch out. Perhaps that tells me you had a bit more left Mal? Anyway well done. As for the others: great runs for everyone, especially Simon H - first marathon 3:45 ish, fantastic running. Just to note the water stops were excellent (big sorry to the one stop lady who I knocked over all the chocolate then was unable to eat it)
We enjoyed the walk back to the hotel despite the driving rain, nothing to dampen the spirits after a hard, really well supported race, and such great spirit between the runners. Then to Pete's Eats for eats and beer. We all met up there, some of us ordered normal size meals, others ordered a meal for a running club, and perhaps it took a bit longer, but then they were cooking a paddy field of rice and enough chilli to feed the whole of Les Croups on a Thursday night. So Mal or John Wayne (per the hat) needed to wait a bit longer for No 96 chilli and rice. Goodness, what that large chilli and rice would look like. Perhaps they knew how hard he ran and gave him a little (or a lot extra!). We had a great evening at the pub(s), talking about the race and talking about doing in next year as people come back year after year.
To sum it up, this is why Snowdon gets 12 out of 10 for me. It's a marathon that is really hard to beat for enjoyment.
1. If it is rainy it's better because you doing a hard marathon and it's part of the challenge.
2. the crowd are great.
3. the views are just fantastic.
4. the atmosphere is great.
5. water stops are really good and regular.(and as its often cold and wet you dont need as many).Water stops were better than the Berlin marathon.
6. a great group of runners from the best club on the planet always run Snowdon.
7. you get great cake on the travel up (usually) with the Club trip.
8. pubs are great in Llanberis.
9. you don't care about your time and you don't need a watch!
10. You can transfer your number up to about 1 month before the race (then they print the bar codes).
11.It's on a Saturday so you can go to the pub Saturday night.
12. The whole area gets behind the race.
A lot of bigger marathons could learn from this one.
Entries open New Year's Day (I think) next year.
James Bruce
Reader Comments (4)
Thanks to James as well for his driving and the shared organisation of the trip.
Well done and thanks James.
Much as I would have enjoyed writing a full race report on this one, James has done a fantastic job and mine would probably repeat a lot of what he said and what I wrote last year. However, there are a few thanks that need to be mentioned and I couldn’t resist adding a small entry of my own as that is the least this marathon and trip deserves.
So thanks to:-
Dave Williams for organising the minibus.
Dave and James Bruce for their driving. Hope the stints behind the wheel did not limit the cake eating too much.
All the providers of cake. If I had been judging the cake competition, I would’ve said the welsh cakes were unbeatable (thanks Ritchie), but it could’ve been a case of saving the best ‘til last with Mal’s no.96 fruit cake. Delicious. Hoping for the same again next year please.
Everyone’s company on the trip and over the weekend. That includes Clare P who was the only non-Croups on the trip, although if we’d had a membership form on the Saturday night, I reckon we would’ve been in with a chance of recruiting.
James’ report reflects the weekend and event very well, his enthusiasm is evident and I can certainly say I’m with him on that one. Did I mention that I like this marathon?!
I ran this for the first time last year and for many reasons, including a very uncertain build-up having had a hernia op 6 weeks before, I loved the event and really didn’t think it would be possible to enjoy it so much the second time round. But I did. Amazing. If my smile during the last mile wasn’t quite as cheesy as last year, it was more to do with the slight concern that I was in fact haring down a grass slide at various points and the risk of mud in an open mouth was quite high and not very appealing. Unlike the man in front of me, I managed to stay upright.
A really bizarre coincidence happened that weekend which also added to the whole experience. The B&B I was staying at was a few miles out of Llanberis. The owner kindly organised a lift for me to the start of the race on the Saturday with someone else staying there. It only turned out that this fellow runner happened to be the man I ended up running my very first marathon with. How weird is that? His support and company that day, back in 2005, made a real impact on me, not only in completing that marathon in under 4 hours, but also in inspiring me to keep going back for more. I’ve not seen him since, so it was great to be able to chat to him and thank him for his help on that day. Small world.
So, this event keeps its magic and much as I always harp on about wanting to do different marathons, see different places, this one, along with London, will be one I will have to re-visit, again and again. The marathons themselves have very little in common, apart from the distance obviously, but London is another one where the trip, the company and the weekend are hard to beat. Seems that’s two trips I’m committed to next year. And then there’s the small matter of killing demons in Berlin, but that’s a story for another time….
Happy running all. Here’s to many more successful Croups jollies.
Libby xx
There were quite a few from the Club running this one. So including the folk mentioned in the race report, in total we had 11 current members compete. Well done all.
A fine race report for a fine race James The Bruce. It seems that Snowdon is now well and truly established as one of the biggies for 'Croups on Tour'. Shame it always clashes with the bl**dy OMM, but so very tempting. How Libby managed a negative split only the mighty Zarqond knows...
I'm also massively impressed that you couldn't even get past Brecon without getting stuck into the cakes. This shows tremendous commitment to the cause. Even I can do Rhayader (=carrot cake), on a good day even Dolgellau (=blueberry cheese cake) before getting the shakes...