Conwy Mountain fell race

Race: Conwy Mountain race (5.5m/1900ft)
Time/Position: 54.34 (20th from 94)
This really was a last minute decision. I had done a hardish run last night and was planning to rest up in advance of Sunday's Village Bakery half. But I heard that it had been cancelled, despite the fact that the wind was scheduled to ease. By contrast, the Conwy Mountain race was scheduled to start at the height of Storm Dennis, and there was no question of it being cancelled - such is the cultural difference between the two branches of the sport. I have always enjoyed both, but sometimes the contrast is stark! The wind howled as we set off for the long climb up the bridleway towards Allt Wen, a path I know very well. It was a crosswind fortunately, although as we emerged from the woods it barrelled into us and made life hard approaching the summit. The steep descent towards the A55 was then very muddy and slippery, and the 62mph tailwind for the next section wasn't all that much help, as it was so fierce that it drove us into the scree and made it hard to stick to the paths. It did help for the ridge across to Mynydd y Dref, though. I was well down on the last time I did the race (2017 - its first running) and this got worse with a very slow, slippery descent all the way down to the road before the brutal final climb below the Notice Board crag in torrential rain. Ended up well over four minutes down on 2017, and 13 places lower, although the weather and the bigger championship field offered some explanation.