Time/Position: 1.24 (7th from 25)
Fron is a great place, in the remote badlands above Caernarfon: it reminds me of the Caucasus with its bare mountains, tracks going nowhere, and livestock wandering around the unenclosed landscape. It is also a very distinctive Welsh quarrying landscape, but it takes a while to get to. So I had only done this race once before, in 2017 (although I have also been up here to climb on Craig Cwm Du). I must have been going well in 2017, as I was a massive eight minutes slower today, in perfect conditions (but a small field). Around 10 minutes to the low top of Moel Tryfan, and then a very slow climb up Mynydd Mawr, which is where I suspect most of the damage was done. I had no recollection of this: it is longer and steeper than you would expect. Then comes the slightly arbitrary additional sections, down the first spur to Craig Cwmbychan, then the horrible trackless traverse (which I did remember) to gain the spur down to Foel Rhudd. In the spring sunshine, this was delightful despite my less than frisky condition. Back up to the Mynydd Mawr, and then the long descent, again with disappointingly fading energy levels. I was due a really bad race, and the long run on Wednesday may have something to do with it.
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