The Beast fell race

Race: Up the Beast (4.5m/1500ft/AS)
Time/Position: 37:06 (3rd from 78 [1st V40])
Another route tweak for this splendid event this year. We'd already been taken round the new course a couple of times by John, so knew what to expect. Neil and Jez quickly pulled out a big gap, and I found myself in third place quite early during the fast initial mile through the woods above Maeshafn. I pulled out a small gap on Simon E on the climb up the Beast, extending this slightly over the new enjoyable scrambling section over the limestone pavement - which takes a series of chimneys and walls to the top of Bryn Alyn and is particularly well suited to climbers! Fast running over the plateau and down to the valley before the brutal (very humid) climb back up Bryn Alyn via the steepest eastern slopes. On reflection, this race must now be one of the steepest on the calendar with its limestone chimneys and hands-and-knees sections! I began to catch Neil here and tried to pull away from him on the final short climb back through the woods. There ensued an exciting eyeballs-out sprint for second place as we raced each other through the woods, with Neil finally pulling clear in the last 200m - great fun and a good speed session.