Chester-Moel Famau run

You might as well make ultra training interesting, so linear runs with an obvious target make sense. I'd hatched a vague plan to run from my office to the top of Moel Famau a few months ago (it is always visible on the horizon from the Chester campus) and conditions were ideal today: cool, dry underfoot, a gentle breeze. I set off at a gentle pace, skirting the Roodee to pop out in Saltney. Then comes the worst section: along the cycle path by the main road to Broughton. Resisting the temptation to jog home, I finally left the main road and continued up the Warren along the edge of the Hawarden woods to cross the A55 by the footbridge. Then comes the Dirty Mile through Dobshill and up to Buckley, and another change of atmosphere. Moel Famau now in front, of course, and another section run hundreds upon hundreds of times before. Fast running for the drop down into Mold, then the gradual climb up to Gwernymynydd. My plan had been to wait for the usual Friday night Collie run, but I reached Cadole in two hours, quicker than anticipated, so continued up after dumping my sac in the Collie toilets. I got it into my head that sub-3 hours would be a good target, and tried to get to the summit without switching the headtorch on. Down to the Alyn, along the Leat, then the 'classic route' to the summit: reaching it in atmospheric conditions just as the last light faded (2.54 from the middle of Chester). The descent was a tad more painful, on tired legs.