It’s a 30km route with 500m elevation (mainly in the first 4 miles) that starts and finishes in Rhayader and goes around the Elan Valley reservoirs and dams.
The morning started really well with a personalised race registration – surely the only time this will ever happen!
I found the run itself tough and I was grateful for the support of fellow runners in keeping my spirits up. Having said that, because it was a small field of 268 runners, I also ran alone for a lot of the time, which is hard when you’re struggling. Fortunately, another runner joined me for the last few hundred metres so my competitive instincts kicked in and I was able to put in a sprint finish that felt good going over the finish line!
The race is billed as ‘challenging running, stunning scenery’ and it’s the perfect description.
It’s definitely the most beautiful run I’ve ever done and it was a glorious sunny day for it. I finished in 3:30:41 and I know there was nothing more I could give on the day, so I’m pretty happy with that.
Overall, I’d recommend this race for the scenery alone. But I’d probably say enter at the last minute or on the day itself when you know the weather forecast – it would have been a completely different experience in the rain and/or wind.
