Green grass fell race

A reasonable performance in my first race back after the various trips abroad, with 18th place (51mins) in the Green grass of home fell race - which is basically a 6 mile figure of 8 based on a double climb up Moel Dywyll on the Clwydian ridge. This was the 3rd and last of the Clwydian summer trots fell race series: I was 14th in the first (Druid) and missed the second. I feel I've lost most of my speed since being away, and tried to pick the running up last week to compensate - managed about 35 miles including a Buckley intervals session, an 11 mile run around Hawarden and Broughton, and a run up and around Hope Mountain. Snowdon race on Saturday.

Tatra traverse

Back home now after a superb traverse of the Slovak Tatra with Pete. After meeting at Krakow airport, we began the traverse from Skalnata Chata, following the popular waymarked trail NE to the secondary peak of Vel'ka Svistovka - superb views over the traverse which was to follow. Descending into the Zelenom Plese valley in worsening weather, we bagged beds in the hut - then I went for a quick trip up the Cervenad Dolina to bag the splendid peak of Jahnaci stit (2230m), sadly in thick mist. But a great little ridge, weaving in and out of rocky towers and short traverses. Met Pete back at the hut. Next day, the crux of the route. We hired a guide to accompany us up Vel'ka Zmrzla dolina - a legal requirement if leaving the waymarked route in the Tatra, sadly. But the day was superb - albeit in slightly dodgy weather. Up a steep ridge on chains to gain the upper valley, then snowfields and another steep ridge to gain the stupendous 'breche' of Baranie Sedlo. The weather began clearing for the descent to lunch at the Teryho hut where we left the guide. Then west over the equally spectacular col of Priecne Sedlo via Pfinnova Kopa, then down SW to Zbojnicka Chata where we spent the night in the loft. Final day saw us continuing wesr to the third spectacular pass - Prielom. Then tortously up via Pol'sky hreben to bag the excellent peak of Vychodna Vysoka (2429m). Then a huge but superb descent north down Bielovodska dolina to the Polish border at Lysa Polana. After a night in Bibiana's hometown of Kropachy in eastern Slovakia, we headed back to Krakow after a really memorable Tatran traverse.

Alpine days, Esterel rock, Provencal walks

Back from a wonderful family holiday in Provence. Enjoyed by all, with lots of walks in the Esterel mountains, swimming, snorkelling and various outings. Managed two Alpine trips, one with a small bivvy in St Martin Vesubie (!) before climbing Cime du Mercantour from Boreon via the Cerise and Mercantour lakes. Descended the remote Erps valley after a brief detour to bag the rocky side peak of Caire Negre du Mercantour. A fabulous day in a remote part of the park. The other Alpine day also started from Boreon, walking up to the Col de Salese then the steep SW ridge of Pointe de Rogue to the very awkward terrain and route finding on the Serre de Rogue over to the main peak of the Cime du Rogue: again, another new and interesting area. Climbed the Cime du Pagari du Salese, before linking this to the Col Fremamorte via a narrow, scrambly ridge (I or I+), finally bagging the easy peak of Cime Fremamorte before descending via the sylvan glades of Camp Soubran. Another tremendous outing. We all went to Haute Provence, walking up Blaque Meyanne for views of Lachens, Brouis etc. And indulged in some family rock climbing. Morgan got up his first route, an F3 at the Gorges du Blavet (La Capelle - a children's venue). Also climbed at Dramont and Theole in the Esterel. Great easy bolted venues, esp enjoyed the 20m long Arc en Ciel at Theole. Lots of nice walks, and good hill runs up Pic de l'ours and Pic du Cap Roux. Morgan and I found some caves above St Baume. Lovely weather and a great time. Off to the Tatra this evening!

Carneddau fell race

Another enjoyable fell race yesterday, and a much more ambitious undertaking: the Carneddau race from Bethesda up Carnedd Dafydd, Carnedd Llewellyn, Yr Elen and Gyrn Wigau. One of my favourite areas, and I really wanted to do a race over multiple peaks to assess how I would cope. Unfortunately, this was another British championship race so a little disheartening in terms of finishing position. But I only ever intended to take it easy, just to see how I would cope. Ran all the way to the Dafydd headwall in torrential rain, then steep walking to gain the summit in just under an hour from Bethesda. Then great running across a very misty and cold (4 or 5c) ridge to Llewellyn, through the gloom to Yr Elen and then the cruel finish over Foel Ganol and down to a very boggy Cwm Caseg before the final climb over Gyrn Wigau - agonising - then down north-west in another deluge to Bethesda. Finished in 2:26:19 for 115th place (from 178). Compare this to last Wednesday in the Clwydians - 14th place from 73 in 41:17! Off to Provence tonight.

Druid fell race

My summer fell race/peak bagging campaign started well here. A great little race and a promising performance. Not sure where I finished but think I might have been top 15 or 20, in around 40 mins. The 5 mile race starts from the Druid pub in Llanferres and heads past Clwyd nursery and a very dark and muddy wood towards the OD path and steep route up Foel Fenlli. Then contours round with superb views down to the Vale of Clwyd, to ascend the steep Penbarras side back to the top of Fenlli (like the old Clwyd Gate-Fenlli race). Then a fast and steep (now sunny) descent to the woods with a little more climbing. Suited me quite well and a good preparation for Sunday's potentially very challenging Carneddau race.

Glyder Fawr

Tim is back from NZ for the first time in 5 years or so, and after a few drinks on Saturday night we met Steve in Ogwen for a sociable outing up Glyder Fawr via Bochlwyd, the False Gribin spur and the crest of the Gribin ridge. The mist cleared on the ridge, but the rock was rather wet: still, it was a shame we didn't have time for anything more ambitious and I left the climbing gear in the car. But it was a day for chatting and nostalgia, reminiscing about former (and planning future!) days in the hills, more than anything else. Running is going quite well, I've got some big fell races next week - then comes our fortnight in Provence followed by a trip to the Tatra with Pete that we've just organised.

Cyffylliog MTB challenge, Famau run

Decided on a whim yesterday morning to do the Cyffylliog MTB challenge (largely because the children woke up very early and the weather was nice). My bike wasn't up to it really, so I had to do the short route (25 miles) and even that was tricky in places with no suspension and no rear brake! But the event was well worth doing, a nice route with some good singletrack and interesting, scenic riding throughout. Particularly enjoyed the riverside (Clywedog) track at the end. I'll come back to do the long one with a functioning bike next year. Running is now almost entirely off road: myself and Shane enjoyed an excellent run up Moel Famau from Loggerheads last Thursday, via the gorge and Ffrith mountain. A great circuit in the evening, feeling quite good.

Hope Mountain

A fairly relaxed week following the marathon disappointment. Managed about 20 miles last week, recovered pleasingly quickly after the marathon and managed a few good paced runs and even some hill reps yesterday. Today, had a trot up Hope Mountain from the village via some overgrown footpaths (rather disappointing) and ferocious dogs (one attacking me on the way down from the trig point). Jogged over to Waun y Llyn, then down to the village. Nice to have it so close, but hardly ideal for the training I need for forthcoming fell races (I intend to concentrate on fell races over summer).

Edinburgh marathon

The final stage of my triple PB attempt ended in undignified fashion in a portaloo near the 24th mile marker of the Edinburgh marathon. A combination of an unwise football match (my first for three years) three days before the marathon, dodgy tummy (again) and strong winds, made the Edinburgh marathon a bit of a disaster. I spent 12 minutes in the water closet and finished half-heartedly in 3:48, half an hour slower than expected. Still, myself, Dave, Neil and Shane had a great weekend in Edinburgh. Some good food and drink, and fine accommodation, too. Adventures in running and gastronomy - the concept is sound.

Chester half marathon

The second stage of the possible 'fortnight PB trilogy'(!) went to plan yesterday, with 1:24:59 at the Chester half marathon. This is more than half a minute inside February's Wrexham half time, and six minutes quicker than my Chester time last year (32 minutes quicker than my 2005 time, but that's another story). Can't help thinking that I may have been unambitious with my recent targets, since I achieved them both to the second (ie sub 38m for 10k, sub 1:25 for half marathon). Or were they just right? Not sure. Ran a reasonably good tactical race at Chester, in good conditions - calm, sunny but not too hot. Went off at a decent pace, then relaxed a bit round Pulford, but managed to keep it going in relative comfort up the Eccleston hill then had enough left in the tank to finish fairly fast. I was 61st from 1,856 finishers. We'll see if I can continue the PB sequence next Sunday at the Edinburgh marathon. At least I recovered enough to cycle to work today.

Market Drayton 10k

Just managed to break 38 minutes for 10k yesterday at the enjoyable Market Drayton 10k. The forecast blustery rain held off nicely for us, and I ran a reasonable race over the course - which has a couple of steep hills in the first two miles but is otherwise pretty fast. My official time was 37:55, but my watch time was a couple of seconds faster. My companions Shane and Tim had good runs too. A good day was rounded off with the Buckley presentation evening, when I picked up a trophy for 6th male in this year's border league: especially nice given that we won the league so comfortably. My 10k time was encouraging, given that I'd done a 16 miler last Thursday, a big figure of 8 from HK to Hawarden and then to Hope and round the lanes. Chester half marathon next weekend, then the Edinburgh marathon in two weeks: if I can PB at all three events and distances I'll be pretty pleased.

Llangynhafal loop fell race, Border League

An interesting weekend of races, with two varied events but similar results in both. On Friday, the last round of the Borders League took place in Wrexham. I ran what I felt to be a good race, 23:40 for the four mile course, probably the fastest I've ever run at 5:50 mile pace. But finished 67th, my worst of the season bar flu-affected Prestatyn. Probably all due to the strength of the field. But I was pleased to complete all seven races this season to finish 14th senior male (339 points), and Buckley won the team prize by a huge margin - over 1000 points. This was even more marked in Sunday's event: the Llangynhafal loop fell race near Ruthin. This cracking AS 4.5m event was this year a counter in the Welsh, North Wales and British champs, so the field was strong: certainly the strongest field I've ever competed in, by a considerable margin. I ran a good race to finish in 44:28, got to the top of Moel Famau via the Nant y Ne gully in 27 mins, well placed, but lost at least 10 places on the very fast descent over Moel Dywyll and back steeply to the village. Finished startlingly low down the field, 113th from 170 (men only, the women ran a seperate race).

Camping with Morgan

Recovery post-marathon has gone pretty well, probably my most comfortable ever recovery apart from the Jungfrau marathon last September. I felt pretty good by Wednesday, and had a constructive and pretty quick eight miler round Shordley and Golly in the sunshine on Saturday. Went camping in a lovely campsite between Llanbedr DC and Rhewl on Saturday evening, with Morgan. Eve a little upset not to be going, but I'm going to have to buy a bigger tent before both of them can go. Beautiful weather again - virtually no rain or even cloud for weeks, months...

London marathon, Eglwyseg climbing, Border League races, Brecon Beacons hill runs

Another very busy week at the end of easter, culminating in the London marathon yesterday. Supposedly 23c at midday, certainly felt very demanding and I suffered badly in the last 10k: although I think lack of long runs in training was as much to blame as the heat. So my 3:39 was disappointing - I'd hoped to get under 3:20 - but not entirely unexpected. Still, a tremendous day for my seventh marathon and second London, six years after my first. Support was superb throughout, really memorable. The week before had been a bit busy. I'd gone climbing at World's End on Thursday 19 April, shunting a few routes I haven't done before including Flakeless Groove (HS), White Crack, Scarface Groove and a few others. Nice to be back at a favourite venue, probably 16 years or so since my prime! Then went for a run along Offa's Dyke to near the summit of Cyrn y Brain. On Sunday 15 April I had a disappointing performance in the 6th and penultimate border league race of the season, on roads I knew well (from Northop College, so the hilly course should have suited me). Finished 66th in 26:59 (4.3m), my second worst of the season, although I am now 14th senior man in the league. Buckley have an unassailable lead at the top of division one. A work trip to Swansea at the weekend saw me off on an opportunistic 2.5 hour run around the Carmarthen Fan peaks on the way down (13 April). Started from Glyntawe after a 3 hr drive from home. Ran up Fan Hir, then over Fan Brycheiniog and Bannau Sir Gaer before the long run south over trackless moorland back to the sinkholes and then the car. Changed into shirt and drove to the conference! Next day, drove back from Swansea via Brynamman in hot sunshine and enjoyed a quick opportunistic walk/jog up the isolated hill of Garreg Lwyd. Hot but rather hazy unfortunately.

Creigiau Gleision scramble

With the beautiful weather continuing, I couldn't resist heading off to Snowdonia yesterday. I wanted to visit the obscure, rather strange crag of Creigiau Gleision which is usually intimidating and wet - but today was bone dry. I did the Mushroom Garden scramble, which was interesting and enjoyable. It leaves the Eastern Gully at a slabby wall, then twists and turns up the left arete of the gully, passing some tottering towers and scree couloirs. Generally good rock, though, with interesting route finding. I then ran up Foel Goch, then over to Elidir Fawr and across Mynydd Perfedd before a hot and sunny descent. About 2:20 for the round, a nice blend of running and scrambling with an exploratory feel.

Chester Spring 5 race, Pandy rock climbing, Berwyn hill runs, Moel Siabod, Llandegla MTB circuit

A busy Easter weekend, characterised by perfect weather. Started badly, with a poor performance at the Chester Spring 5, badly affected by the allergy-induced asthma the new house has induced. After 2 x 6 minute miles, I was on to break 30 minutes, but then slowed to a jog and came in 2 minutes down on target time (around 31:50). Next day dawned blue and sunny. I drove to Pandy Outcrop, a crag I've never been able to find before, and shunted the superb granite slab of Schmutzig - probably the best severe in 'Clwyd'. Two more good routes on this lovely piece of rock, in a wonderful location above the Teirw valley. I then drove to Cwm Maen Gwynedd for a run around the ridge from Mynydd Tarw over Foel Wen, Tomle and Cadair Berwyn, and back down the valley. Got sun burned on a 2:15 outing. Up Moel Siabod next day with Rich and Mike. Then round the Llandegla red MTB circuit with the crowds on Easter Saturday. A 2 hour run around Dodleston, Pulford and Rossett from the house suggested my lungs were clearing on the Sunday, and I had a rest yesterday - with a family walk along the Dee from Eccleston. I'll try some intervals with Buckley tonight - see what my lungs are like.

Maeshafn climbing comeback, Waun y Llyn MTB loop

Managed a couple of shunted routes in lovely spring sunshine at Maeshafn on Monday: the old classic Shattered Crack (HS) among them, 16 or 17 years after I first did it! Followed this by a nice run up and over Moel Findeg. Still having some breathing issues, so yesterday went for a mountain bike ride instead. Explored our new area via a circuitous route from the house up Waun y Llyn via Horeb. Did some bouldering on the excellent sandstone outcrop near the top, then rode over Hope Mountain and down to Cymau, then Hope and back home. It's the Chester Spring 5 mile road race tonight.

Cilcain run, Eve on Moel Famau

Struggled a bit over the past week, possibly due to mild chest infection or mild asthma from the new house carpets! Bit of a concern, with London less than three weeks away. Ran a disappointing 18:33 on the Buckley 5k (training) route on Tuesday. Blew up with 2k to go and had very raspy lungs. A tough long run on Saturday was also not ideal: ran with Shane and James from the club (Mold to Loggerheads, Cilcain, Pantymywn and back). A hilly circuit, but found it a struggle, especially as I tagged the Mold border league 5 miler to the end, over to Nercwys and back. I was out for nearly 2.5 hours but it didn't feel like the big session it needed to be. Did manage a 40 mile week though. Yesterday, Eve and Morgan came up Moel Famau with me from Bwlch Penbarras in perfect spring weather. Eve's been talking about it for a while, and her legs only gave out for the final section!

Higher Kinnerton running

Just starting to enjoy new running routes from our new house in Higher Kinnerton. Not easy to keep up with marathon training in current chaotically busy circumstances, but on Sunday I did manage a fairly long run from the house to Lower Kinnerton, then Bretton, then Saltney, through Curzon Park to Handbridge, then over the bridge and around the Roodee to the Dee path all the way back to Saltney Ferry. Over the bridge, then back to Bretton, then Gorstella, and then home. A great circuit. The individual border league standings are now through: I've climbed to 16th senior male in the league, with 208 points. All quite tight and competitive, with two races left to go.

Border League: round 5

Quite pleased with my performance in the 5th round of the Border League last Sunday. The race was Buckley's home event, a hilly (and windy) 5 mile course from Mold out to Nercwys and back. It suited me quite well, and I came 48th from the usual strong field of 253, in 30:42 to score in 10th place for Buckley. We are now miles in front at the top of division 1. We finally exchanged and completed on our house in Higher Kinnerton yesterday, so are in the process of moving in and ending the itinerant lifestyle we've lived since January 8th!