Brecon Beacons run

This was supposed to be the Tour of Torpantau fell race, but it turned into a ramble around the Brecon Beacons as a result of a schoolboy error I may never live down! I was in two minds about the long journey, but the promise of cold weather and low cloud encouraged me to join Richie and John for the long drive to the southern side of the Brecon Beacons because I tend to do better in those circumstances. It was obvious that the navigation would be challenging, which is something I usually relish, so I put map and compass in front pocket as a precuation. However, as we emerged from the very steep climb to the plateau and entered the mist, I found myself immediately behind two Mynydd Du runners. As this is the local club, I assumed they knew the shortcuts and just followed: a classic error, but not all that surprising given the pace we were going at. I began to get uneasy after 5 mins or so, got the compass out and saw to my horror that we were heading east. I voiced my concern, but nobody around me seemed particularly interested so I assumed they were taking a further shortcut. But we just continued further and further east - well away from Cribyn and the checkpoints. By now, it was too late, and the featureless, frozen moorland didn't allow for reorientation - and me and a couple of others helped a group of 10 evacuate the hill by heading south on a direct bearing until we were above the final checkpoint.