Conwy half marathon

Race: Conwy half marathon

Time/Position: 1.20.44 (19th from 1745 [1st V50])

Given that this race starts less than a minute from the front door, it seems remarkable that I last did it the year it launched, in 2009. I was long overdue another appearance, thoroughly enjoyed the outing, and was pleased to win my age category at what is now a pretty big event with close to 2000 runners. My time was rather poor, but it will never be the quickest of courses, rightly emphasising scenery rather than speed. As such, I was quite pleased to finish in exactly the same time (to the second) that I recorded at Chester in September, a far flatter course. The start from the bridge was fairly quick, and the pace was maintained until hitting a brisk headwind on the gentle climb up Church Walks in Llandudno, around four miles in. This was quite sapping, and the course gets a lot harder as it moves up to the very familiar climb around Marine Drive. The wind was swirling around, so it was good to be in a small group of similarly paced runners round the headland. The final kick past the lighthouse is always the crux, even more so on this half, but the wind was a cross tailwind by then (or seemed to be) and not too damaging. From here, the rapid descent to West Shore allows you to get some of the time lost on the climb back, but (as I know from many appearances at the Nick Beer 10k) it never fully compensates. I had a gel after the gatehouse and then began to pull away from the group as we passed Maesdu. This allowed for a memorable finish, as I was miles away from the runner in front, so effectively finished in glorious solitude: with good crowds on the bridge back to the quayside finish. 

Glyder Fawr

Peaks: Glyder Fawr

Area: Glyderau, Eryri

Another of those quick 90 minute outings that this year has lent itself to. After dropping Kate off, I headed to Ogwen and took the 1000m Peaks race route up Glyder Fawr. The first steep steps from the A5 were the scene of my spectacular implosion during the race last July, struggling to even move until I took on a gel. Today was very different, I felt reasonably good and the weather was considerably cooler than it was on that baking day. I kept a decent pace ticking over to Bochlwyd Buttress, then up the steep path to the lake and into the mist on the Gribin. Visibility was very poor on the plateau, always a good nav test especially when moving quickly. I got to the true summit of Glyder Fawr in 47 minutes or so from the road (39 for the segment from Bochlwyd Buttress). I then ploughed down to Llyn y Cwn in even poorer visibility, then down past Twll Du to round the south side of Idwal, down to the Cottage and back along the A5 - 1.28 for the round.

Capenhurst 5m

Race: Capenhurst 5m (Border League race 2)

Time/Position: 28.40 (60th from 269 [2nd V50])

I was reasonably pleased with this time on the very familiar Capenhurst double loop course in perfect conditions: cool and still. I felt fairly good, but was astonished to find I had placed 60th: this is one of the lowest positions I have ever finished in the league, after around 80 appearances. There was a time when I was never outside the top 20 and even occasionally scraped the top 10, and I wasn't all that much quicker back then either. Shoe technology is one explanation for this anomaly, but the field must have been ridiculously stacked too: almost 90 runners went under 30 minutes. I finished in a familiar 2nd position in the category, with Lee Jones well ahead. That said, this time puts me 9th in the UK ranking over the distance in 2021.

Dash in the Dark

Race: Dash in the Dark, Llandegla (Race 1)

Time/Position: 24.10 (3rd from 80 [1st V50])

Another welcome post-Covid return for a race I have done dozens of times over the years. A slightly different format, and a very short course, but just as enjoyable as it always is - feels rather like a very intense parkrun now. I last did this in early 2020, just before the pandemic, and today's route took the same initial climb from the car park up into the woods, long but gentle. It then looped round to the lake before another climb took us back round to the lake before rejoining the ascent route. Within a few minutes, a group of three pulled away - me, Jez and a younger runner. I stuck with them until the second climb, where my unwise lunch choice caught up with me. In truth, I was struggling before then, however, and felt a bit second hand from the start. So I gave up staying with the first two and just concentrated on staying in third place, which I managed to do.

Nosal

Peaks: Nosal (1206m)

Area: Tatra, Poland

The stunning spell of autumnal weather finally broke overnight, and I woke to low cloud and light drizzle, the first time I had seen anything other than flawless blue skies since arriving. This had been well forecast, however, and I was tired after three big days, so the plan had worked well. I was also planning to head back to Krakow at midday so had deliberately saved Nosal as a quick outing. As such, it worked perfectly as a classic little mountain run. I trotted up towards Kusnice then broke off for the steep and sometimes rocky climb which goes up three distinct rises to the limestone summit (15.01 for the segment from the valley bottom). Views down to the valley below and across to Zakopane, cloud-wreathed and dank for the first time. On the high peaks, snow was falling (yesterday's outing had the definite feel of a snatched ascent, the last opportunity before the onset of winter). I pelted down towards the Nosal pass and then further down on a perfect, fast descent to Kusnice (4 mins from the pass). I extended the road section a bit, but the entire outing still only took 51 minutes from the hotel.

Kozi Wierch

Peaks: Kozi Wierch (2291m)

Area: Tatra, Poland

A major Tatra peak and the highest mountain entirely in Poland. I had a few different options today, but the obvious one was to take a bus in the opposite direction to yesterday and head to Lysa Polana on the Slovak border. I have been here twice before: once in 1999 when Kate and I walked up to Morskie Oko, the famed lake which acts as a scenic focal point for the Polish Tatra, and once in 2007 when Pete and I descended to the border from our traverse of the Slovak Tatra. I considered going for Polish highpoint Rysy today, but felt its north-facing slopes would be too high and potentially icy. Indeed, given the time of year I felt I was playing a percentage game throughout - being deliberately unambitious but also more likely to achieve my objectives by the use of some basic mountain nous! As such, I decided to break off from the touristy Morskie Oko path after 4k to head up towards the famous 'five Polish lakes', a collection of beautiful high mountain tarns. The route towards this follows the wooded Roztoki valley, high sided and - as a result - sunless, very cold and frosty. The scenery was excellent, however, and as the treeline is left a short rocky section leads to a waterfall. Above this, after another sharp climb, everything changes as the upper valley is reached. This is entirely different: the five lakes (all different sizes) shimmering in a flat open valley with big peaks rising on both sides. The Roztoki flows from the biggest lake, the Wielka Staw Polski, which glinted and dazzled in the bright sunshine, and the path then hugs its shore heading towards the pass of Zawrat. Half way along, I broke off for Kozi Wierch, which is not that impressive from this side, just a hulking mass of rock and grass. I enjoyed the climb initially, however, although it dragged towards the top (it's a big peak). Higher up, it gets rocky and emerges very suddenly at the small summit, on the 'Orla Perc' ridge itself. Stunning views in more crystal clarity, particularly towards Swinica, which is magnificent from this angle - with the ridge leading all the way there. In the other direction, the ridge led to Granaty, and further south views stretched over to Hruby Stit, Rysy and beyond. Below shone the high lake I'd sat beside on Saturday, and this gave rise to another piece of mountain judgment which I may or may not have got right. I considered following the Orla Perc for a while until an escape route led down to the lake for a full traverse to Zakopane. This would no doubt have been superb but again I felt there was a risk of verglas (in stark contrast to the sun-drenched western slopes I'd just ascended Kozi Wierch by). The percentage game was played again, and I descended back to the Polish lakes, looping up to what may be the most beautifully located refuge in the range, on the shores of the smaller Przedni Staw Polski. This was just wonderful, with the sun dropping over the lake, the sky every shade of blue as it met the mountains, and me dining on the classic Polish style tomato soup. I completed a little loop by taking the high path above to Rostoki valley then dropping steeply down to gain the ascent route. A lovely descent through the increasingly cold woodland, very atmospheric with virtually nobody around (extremely unusual in the Tatra!) until regaining the Morskie Oko track back to the roadhead.