Cylch Llangollen Round

Peaks: Eglwyseg Mountain, Cyrn y Brain, Moel y Faen, Moel y Gamelin, Moel Morfydd, Moel Fferna, Vivod Mountain, Y Foel (33m/53k/5300ft)
Area: Berwyn/Eglwyseg
This is one of the best outings in North-East Wales. It is occasionally organised as a challenge walk but would work well as a long race hovering somewhere between short ultra and very long fell race - similar to the Haworth Hobble or Long Tour of Bradwell. It would have been more sensible to get a final long road run in today, with the Chester marathon imminent, but the weather was absolutely perfect - a wonderful late summer day - so I couldn't resist a solo outing over something I've wanted to do for a while. I did half of it with Peter and Steve on Christmas Eve - but that first half from Pontcysyllte to the Ponderosa is the easy bit. A gentle run up through Trevor woods to gain the Panorama and superb early morning views of the crags, Dinas Bran and the vale. From here, it gains the escarpment above Trevor Quarry with the usual expansive views in crystal clear air. Great running along the edge of the crags; there is a more direct route here, which I missed, thereby adding a little more to the day's total! Over the top of World's End, then up the Offa's Dyke path towards Cyrn y Brain. Fantastic views to Snowdonia from the top, unusual clarity. A pepsi and a bakewell tart at the Ponderosa, hardly a balanced brunch, but some fortification for the long but always fun haul over the very familiar hills of Moel y Faen, Gamelin and Morfydd. From here, the Round diverges from the Gamelin race route to head north of Bwlch y Groes towards Bryneglwys (a small navigation error lost me time here), before curving round the northern edge of the hills to Bwlch Coch. From here, a small path through woodland eventually gains wonderful views of the Dee Valley with Carrog nestling below - this section was new to me, amazingly. Another pit stop at the excellent Grouse pub, ham sandwich this time, and then it was over the river to Llidiart y Parc and the very long haul up Moel Fferna from the north. I remember trying to do this many years ago and finding the paths blocked in several places. Now, it is all clear. The conifer forests gave some shade, although it never got uncomfortably hot, just glorious running conditions. It is at least 5k uphill to Fferna, the day's highpoint - which always gives a nice sense of space and remoteness - I have never seen anybody else on this hill. The route then joins the North Berwyn Way, which we have done twice already this year, so it was a familiar plod along the excellent tracks east above the Ceiriog Forest to Vivod Mountain. I was beginning to tire by now, and dehydrated despite a pint of water and a coke in the Grouse (I only carried a map and jacket all day). The final leg was tougher than expected: a tiny path through bracken below Y Foel (taken by the Ceiriog Canter if memory serves), before a horribly long road section from Finger Farm above Glyn Ceiriog. Apart from the wonderful views of the Ceiriog Valley, this was dire: tiring and dehydrated. But it is at least direct, heading directly east with a couple of welcome off-road diversions before dropping steeply to Froncysyllte, and a finish over the aqueduct. Not the fastest of times, 6.5 hours of running, but given that I was alone and didn't want to empty the tank before the marathon, not too bad.

Wirral Multi-Terrain Series, Arrowe Park

Race: Wirral MT Series (Race 4: Arrowe Park)
Time/Position: 28.22 (44th from 197)
In this year of ultras, anything short and fast is a humiliating experience. Three years ago I came 9th at this race, but was 35 places down on that today, the fourth time I've done this enjoyable race around Arrowe Park on the edge of Birkenhead. It felt like a useful session in advance of the marathon.

D'Aguilar loop, Brisbane

Not really a run, as this was too good to hurry, and more to the point I was busy familiarising myself with an entirely unfamiliar avifauna. I was staying in Woolowin, my second night in Brisbane (after an earlier layover on the outbound leg), and took a combination of train and bus out towards 'The Gap'. From here, a jog uphill gains the edge of D'Aguilar national park. Obviously, this was a mouth-watering prospect, but I'm afraid it will have to wait until we are in a position to visit Australia properly! Instead, I contented myself with the Walkabout Creek visitor centre and a walk round the lovely Araucaria Track. This skirts the Enoggera reservoir for a while and takes a big loop through hoop pine and eucalyptus forest. Dozens of bird species - superb fairy wren, bell bird, brush turkey, comb crested jacana and many, many more. In addition, two huge lace monitors (goanna - giant 6ft lizards), water dragons and short-necked turtles.

Vanuatu run

My last day in the South Pacific, and a beautiful clear dawn. I'd already done a bit of walking to the Mele Cascades, round part of Lelepa Island and a few other delightful locations. Today, I jogged from my lodgings on the Erakor Lagoon past a huge Chinese building down towards the Bay of Erakor itself. The usual issues running in developing countries - uneven surfaces, discontinuous pavements, holes in the ground. I then took a circuitous route through villages back to the middle of Port Vila, where I had Tuluk and Laplap for breakfast, sitting on the seafront in warm sunshine.

Bukit Timah, Singapore

The mighty highpoint of Singapore, all 164 metres of it. As a layover outing, it's an ideal little leg stretcher (and an area that I missed when I was last in Singapore six years ago). After an early arrival at Changi, I entered the reserve early, around 8.30am in typical weather - bruised sky, humid, threat of rain. The rainforest is actually well preserved here, although the route up is typically Singaporean, manicured and immaculate. After walking up the steep steps to the summit (very jet lagged having not got much sleep on the flight from Heathrow) I jogged down and had a nap in one of the open shelters: very relaxing, listening to the soft tropical rain and the breeze through the ferns. Then it was down to begin the dining tour: roti prata for breakfast, then satay bee hoon for an early lunch.

Pot Hole climbing

Crag: Pot Hole Quarry
Routes: The Dog (HVS 5b:sec), Right Wall (E1 5c:sec), The Watzmann (VS 4b:sec), Tre-Ffynnon (VS 4b:sec)
A very brief workout on these old, polished routes: all done dozens of times before. Rather warm, and my finger remains problematic. We then did a shortened version of the Collie run up Findeg in beautiful evening sunshine with clear views to Arenig.

Tal y Fan run

Peaks: Tal y Fan
Area: Carneddau, Eryri
A gentle recovery jog after yesterday's race and a night out in Conwy. I parked at Sychnant and jogged along the paths to take the curving track up the front of the hill, exploring a few hidden corners as I did so, including the old quarry and some excellent potential campsites. A relaxing 10 minute break at the top, watching the mist roll over Carnedd Llewellyn: but on Tal y Fan, all was clear and calm.

Cilcain mountain race

Race: Cilcain Mountain Race (Moel Famau)
Time/Position: 38.17 (14th from 159)
This is probably the race I've done most often - maybe 12 or 13 times since my debut in 2003. As such, this wasn't too bad in the circumstances albeit considerably slower than I used to be capable of. Conditions were good - cool, cloudy but still dry underfoot. I climbed badly, losing places, but had a reasonably quick descent (helps when you know every inch of it) and picked up a few places.

Criffel

Peak: Criffel (570)
Area: Dumfries, Southern Uplands
A well-known Dumfries landmark, Criffel towers above the Solway Firth and famously looks much bigger than its modest height would imply. It is somewhat reminiscent of Slieve Donard or Yr Eifl in the way it rises from sea level, and it offered an ideal leg stretcher on the way home - involving an interesting detour through unfamiliar terrain around Dalbettie and Beeswing. The route up Criffel leaves from near Loch Kindar, south of the lovely village of New Abbey. It is very direct, but also very boggy. The first section was eminently runnable, even for Peter and myself (both rather tired), as it takes a good track alongside the attractive Craigrockall burn. Above, the open hill, which was very wet indeed, comparable to the worst parts of the Pennines. Usually, I'm told the views over the Solway Firth and Lake District compensate. Today, just more thick mist all the way up (although it had finally stopped raining, at least). We were on the summit in 35 minutes or so, and took another 20 to get down.

Galloway hills

Peaks: Benyellary (719), The Merrick (843)
Area: Galloway, Southern Uplands
It seems strange that circumstances have never brought me to Galloway. It ticks lots of my boxes: a quirky and unusual area, a distinctive genius loci, interesting cultural snippets, wild mountain landscapes. There's nothing bland about Galloway, and today we left Creetown fairly early to drive into a deserted Glen Trool. If anything, the weather was worse than yesterday evening: steady, driving rain, and a cloudbase virtually down to the car park. Our initial plan had been the hugely ambitious Ring of Fire, which takes a giant loop round the range. In the conditions, that seemed unlikely, but the start - up Merrick from Glen Trool - seemed a sensible use of time, as it's the highest peak (in the whole Southern Uplands, actually) and by far the most popular objective with a well-trodden path. This skirts the Buchan Burn initially, an atmospheric tumbling river in these conditions. Good running through the mist and rain - very wet underfoot - to the Culsharg bothy. Then up steeply through a plantation to gain the open moor above. A steady haul gains the top of Benyellary, rather bleak in these circumstances with a distinct chill in the wet and windy air. We were now in the Range of the Awful Hand, running along the well-defined ridge ('the Neive of the Spit') which eventually heads up broad moorland to the Merrick. It was very grim up here, which was a real shame as it meant that a massive downgrading of plans was necessary. We ran back to Glen Trool via a food break in the recently re-roofed bothy, and then extended the day the way the conditions dictated: along the clearly defined and relatively sheltered Southern Uplands way. This did at least allow us to penetrate the Galloway interior, albeit in a sanitised way. Atmospheric native woodland with rushing torrents gives way to open moorland (and a goshawk sighting) with views up to the Rig of the Jarkness and other superbly named features (Galloway has perhaps the most evocative names in the UK with its historic blend of languages presumably a contributory factor). The route climbs gradually to a pass, after which Loch Dee is revealed, powerfully gloomy in these conditions, with the cloudbase just above and tree-covered islands just emerging from the mist. We ran all the way to the White Laggan bothy after which I began to feel the pace (perhaps still recovering from last week's ultra) so we went our separate ways back to Glen Trool. Peter went over the hills, I contented myself with a jog back along the lower route: still a good 17-18 mile day.

Cairnsmore of Fleet

Peak: Cairnsmore of Fleet (711m)
Area: Galloway, Southern Uplands
Evening arrival in Creetown. Abysmal weather of low cloud and driving rain, glowering skies, empty farmhouses, daylight limited, the full foreboding Galloway atmosphere and a memorable run. Cairnsmore of Fleet is a huge whaleback of a hill, the most southerly 2000ft mountain in Scotland. This was right at the start of an impromptu trip with Peter, and my first ever visit to Galloway (although I'd been to the nearby Lowther Hills in the 2007 OMM). From the start, north of Creetown, we set a good pace (necessarily given the lateness and the conditions) through dank woods and open fields to gain the extensive Bardrochwood. The path is excellent throughout, even when the open moor is gained, although torrents of water cascaded down it along its entire length. The wind picked up and the temperatures dropped as we ran across the exposed summit, which is enormous, more like a plateau. An exhilarating descent into the teeth of the gale, which we both thoroughly enjoyed and therefore kept the decent pace ticking over: we got back to the car around 90 minutes after leaving it. An evening spent in the time-warped Ellangowan hotel, eating steak pie in the deserted dining room with fizzy lager (the only option), was an appropriate coda.

Letterbarrow run

A micro-break in the Lakes to introduce the children to the concept of budget hosteling (family camping trips expired in Pembrokeshire in 2011 - Kate said she would never camp again and she was true to her word). It had rained all day, so after soggy trips to Sizergh and Hill Top we settled in to the Hawkshead YHA on the shores of Esthwaite Water (the 7th English YHA I've visited in the last few years). I stretched my legs with a brisk run up the miniature local fell, Letterbarrow, which was an excellent 37 minute up-and-down blast through the village and out on the High Wray road. The last few hundred metres joins the open fell with minimal visibility, thick mist and constant light rain. At the summit, famed for its views over Windermere, thick clag. Next day, a lovely morning walk round an uncharacteristically empty Tarn Hows with a tiny glimpse of sunshine towards the end: the cloud base just failed to clear Coniston Old Man and Wetherlam.

Long Tour of Bradwell

Race: Long Tour of Bradwell (54k/7000ft)
Time/Position: 6.43.12 (14th from 87)
This race feels like a 17 mile fell race followed by a 17 mile trail race: it gave a brilliant day out, my fourth ultra of the year, possibly the hardest and probably the best. It helped that the day dawned superbly clear, yet fairly cool, after a pleasant night at Hardhurst Farm and the Traveller's Rest near Hope. The route is supremely varied, taking a giant loop around the Hope Valley including most of the highest points in every corner (hence the large amount of climbing). It is a bit like a giant extension of the classic Edale Skyline fell race, which I did in 2009. Tracks lead south-west from Bradwell past the quarry and a long, steady climb gains the Limestone Way quite high up, from the first checkpoint brilliant grassy running leads down to the very pretty limestone valley of Cave Dale - awkward rocky descent - to Castleton. The lengthy 'softening up' process continues with another long haul over the next ridge, to Hollins Cross near Mam Tor, then down to Edale before another long climb up Grindsbrook. This temporarily echoes the Edale Skyline race, heading round the Nab and steeply up trackless ground towards the Druid Stone on the edge of the Kinder plateau. A steep and direct descent back to the valley at Woodhouse Farm then up towards Backtor. At this point, I followed a confident looking runner up the wrong bridleway - an annoying mistake, after which I got the detailed directions out and followed them religiously for the rest of the day, along with the map which remained in my hands throughout. Some complex but satisfying route-finding, which continued for almost the entire route with very little marked. Then it was a scenic highlight, over Lose Hill in perfect clear conditions, then south-west to Hope and along lanes above our campsite to Aston and a long climb along the slopes of Win Hill to the forest above the reservoir. After checkpoint six, this joins the Thornhill Trail, which gave very quick running south to branch off for Bamford village. I felt good here, half way through the race. Little lanes then climb up to reveal a great view of the whole of Stanage - somewhere I first visited to climb almost 30 years ago. It was a real highlight to take the gradually climbing track to the top of the escarpment, then run along it all the way to Burbage Bridge. I've climbed here as well, and also did the Burbage Skyline fell race a few years ago, so I knew the wonderful sweeping descent down a track to the edge of Sheffield where a road leads to a delightful stream and, eventually, the deciduous woodland of Padley Gorge. This was all entirely new to me, and was very pretty. Upper Padley is the next village, before more delightful riverside running leads upstream to the edge of Hathersage, and through Leadmill to Hazelford. More woods eventually gain the tiny village of Abney, before a final long climb back onto the moors and a steep descent to Bradwell. A memorable day out, taking in some unfamiliar (to me) terrain, and wonderfully varied throughout - with White Peak and Dark Peak equally represented.

Craig y Forwyn

Crag: Craig y Forwyn, Llanddulas
Routes: Route 66 (VS 4c:sec), Sunset Strip (HVS 5a:sec)
We are gradually ticking a few more routes here, despite the fact that the central and best section remains banned after all these years despite the change of ownership. Today was sadly rain affected and was particularly unlucky - a deluge in the middle of a dry day. My finger injury persists, so I was happy to remain a passenger as we did the trade VS Route 66 for the third time, with its steep wall, delicate traverse and easy corner. Vic then led Sunset Strip, which is in the mould of the neighbouring Duchess which we did early this summer, but is more sustained. It starts up Route 66 before a delicate traverse left gains a steep wall before an excellent positive crack. This leads to a steep slab, with a fairly hard crux which requires a precise combination of moves using two perfect pockets. It began to rain just before I reached the crux and got gradually heavier as I grabbed the edge of the flake - not much for the feet and quite powerful for a short time. The rain began in earnest for the easier finish: a great, varied pitch. Sheltered for a while under the roof below the groove, then bailed out to do the Nick Beer 10k route round the Orme, inevitably drenched in glorious sunshine.

Tegg's Nose fell race

Race: Tegg's Nose (8m/1600ft/BM)
Time/Position: 1.06.18 (21st from 129)
An enjoyable fell race attached to a sheepdog trial on the edge of the Peak, at the point that the Macclesfield suburbs meet the open countryside. It is quite runnable, and a pleasantly accessible 'away day' for Simon and myself, but with little speedwork recently I suffered on the return leg. The race heads out along roads and fields towards Tegg's Nose itself, a little country park with the feel of a small gritstone edge further east, and good views over Macclesfield and the Cheshire plain. A loop round the nose, then a surprisingly steep descent down the valley and a hot climb back through woodland to regain the hill. Eventually, the route joins the outward leg which is where I began to struggle with some climbing remaining. A good few runners went past as I plodded along the fields leading back to the road.

Snowdon run

Peaks: Yr Wyddfa, Moel Cynghorion
Area: Snowdon, Eryri
It's been a while since I ran the tourist path from Llanberis, and seven years since I last did the Snowdon race (I 'retired' after running 1.22 in 2011, which I felt was the quickest I would ever do it). After dropping Kate off at work I parked at the far end of Padarn and ran through the town. Even though the weather was claggy and the hour early, the usual crowds dotted the path in a virtually continuous line. A squally shower hit below Hebron, and then cold mist and strong wind marked the rest of the climb. I ran down the same way until finding the crowds unbearable above Llyn du'r Arddu. To avoid them, I ran across the lip of the cwm, great views of both buttresses (I was last here for Longland's Route four years ago), then across steep grass to the Ranger path to join the Pedol Peris route up Moel Cynghorion where the weather finally began to clear. Brilliant running down the ridge to the col at the top of Maesgwm, leaving the perfect long run back to Llanberis along the Maesgwm path.

Sawyer Mountain run

Peak: Sawyer Mountain (2618ft)
Area: Adirondacks, New York
After the morning run up Prospect Mountain, we drove to Indian Lake and had a wonderful few hours exploring the glorious environs in perfect weather. The upper sections of the Hudson river, near its source, give way to picturesque lakes, one of which (Bullhead Pond) we walked to via pristine woodland. After a picnic outside Indian Lake, we drove to Sawyer Mountain, which I ran up - more pristine woodland and a brilliant leg stretcher and Adirondack sampler. A short way beyond the summit, I got the view I wanted, north over the unspoiled wilderness to Snowy Mountain and Wakely Mountain: quintessentially North American. Then it was back to Warrensburg for Elk Sliders, chicken wings and Space IPA.

Prospect Mountain run

Peaks: Prospect Mountain (2030ft)
Area: Adirondacks, New York
This little hill essentially marks the start of the Adirondacks, a vast mountain wilderness in upstate New York. It is the first landmark after the endless Hudson plains stretching inland from New York through Albany, and as such has considerable significance, with a road to the top and the remnants of an old cableway. I didn't know any of this, however, and just used it as a brief early morning training run as the closest trail to our motel in Warrensburg (although Kate and I had walked up the even closer Hackensack Mountain the evening before). A strange start from the edge of the resort town of St George, using a covered pedestrian bridge over the freeway, then an intense uphill blast on a big trail through woodland. Very direct initially, until a few rocky twists and turns gain the top of the summit road (29 minutes of running). At the top, lots of picnic tables, car parks, chipmunks, and huge views over Lake George, New York state and the Adirondacks. Very obvious that this marks a transition zone between populated NY state and the near-wilderness of the Adirondacks. I pelted down, back to the car, and back to the hotel for breakfast at 8am and a trip north into the Adirondacks proper.

Mount Randolph run

Peaks: Mount Randolph (3081ft)
Area: White Mountains, New Hampshire
Storms across New Hampshire yesterday, so my planned assault on the northern Whites had to be curtailed at the tree line after I stretched my legs up the famous Air Line trail, which starts from the road near our motel. We did some excellent family walks in between torrential showers: the Lost Pond from Pinkham notch, and two short trails from Crawford Notch. Today, I left the motel at 6am and ran through atmospheric woodland along the trail to Lookout Ledge. This took far longer than I'd expected, but when I arrived the conditions were fabulous. The night's mist and cloud was burning away and the sun lit the granite ledge as I arrived. Thick cloud remained over the northern Presidentials, but huge views over unbroken forested hills to the east - the Carter Range and Mount Moriah - emerged from light mist. Wonderful ambience with the low morning sun lighting the trees. I then switched to the Crescent Ridge trail up to Mount Randolph, named after our 'home' village. This remains wooded, all rather alien to one accustomed to continual mountain views, but very atmospheric and very North American. As I got higher, I re-entered the mist and could see nothing from the wooded summit. The path wasn't particularly clear, especially when compared to the Air Line, although the markings were adequate and it was all very runnable. I rejoined the Lowe trail and thoroughly enjoyed pelting down it to the Durand road, where I extended the run by another three miles (boreal chickadee, american redstart and other interesting birds). Then it was back to check out of the motel, enjoy a stupendous breakfast at the Water Wheel in Jefferson, and drive to Vermont.

Mount Jefferson traverse

Peaks: Mount Jefferson (5712ft), Mount Clay (5532ft), Mount Washington (6288ft)

Area: White Mountains, New Hampshire

Rather shameful, the first time in three decades of mountain activity that I've used mechanical assistance! But, I did at least run up Washington from the north, and the day's particular circumstances at the start of our US road trip provide three excuses. Storms were forecast tomorrow, there was no way the children would walk up Washington, and we'd driven over from the Maine coast in the morning. The drive up Washington's Auto Road is enjoyable, not particularly stressful by Alpine standards, although in a $50,000 Chrysler the mind was still focused! The tree line is left, reminding me very much of Mont Ventoux, as the open hill is gained: dwarf shrubs and granite boulders. On top, wonderful blue skies although distant views were a tad hazy. Close at hand, however, the Presidential range was very clear, particularly to the north where the more shapely peaks are. We had a picnic away from the hordes on the top, but I had a strong desire to get further away from the crowds, so ran over to Mount Jefferson. This was wonderful, a brief taster of the range. The terrain is rather awkward underfoot, so progress is slower than might be expected: rocky almost throughout. The path contours the sub-peak of Mount Clay to gain low trees and a rocky section at the col below Jefferson. I wasn't even sure what mountain I was on, having made a snap decision based on the appearance of the ridge. I felt quite good though, having just run a gentle acclimatising 5k round Lake Quannapowitt yesterday, and got to the bouldery top of Jefferson in around 50 minutes from Washington. Good views north to Adams and Madison, and down to Randolph - where our motel (called 'Jefferson View') was located. I varied the return, over the deserted top of Mount Clay, just a subpeak of Washington but with good views down into the pronounced Jefferson ravine. Took an unwise direct route back up Washington, which allowed me to partially regain the moral high ground.