Beinn Eighe

Peaks: Ruadh-stac Mor (1010m), Coinneach Mhor (976m), Spidean Coire nan Clach (977m), Sgurr Ban (970m), Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe (963m), Creag Dhubh (909m)
Area: Beinn Eighe, Torridon
This is one of the great Scottish mountain days. Beinn Eighe is an entire massif rather than a single mountain and the standard munro bagging approach doesn't do it justice: I wanted the whole ridge, particularly the less frequented eastern end that we could see from our cottage. It would have been nice to have taken my time, such was the quality and variety of scenery and ridge walking, but as usual a lightweight running approach was more suitable and Kate dropped me off at the Coire Dubh at 7.30am. My aim was to get back to the cottage in Kinlochewe before midday via every peak on the Beinn Eighe ridge without touching a road or seeing another person! I didn't quite achieve this, as I missed Sail Mhor and saw one person on Coire nan Clach, but I did reach our cottage from the nature reserve path direct from Creag Dubh before midday. A superb path through Coire Dubh Mor leads between the steep slopes of Liathach and Sail Mhor to the remote northern corries and great views out over the peaks of Beinn Dearg and Bhaosbeinn. Crystal clear skies and cool breezes as I continued the long run curving east towards the famous Coire Mhic Fhearchair, arguably the most impressive in Scotland. It was indeed superb, although a little frustrating as I would have loved to have done one of the long climbs up the Triple Buttress. Instead, I had to settle for taking a scrambling line left of the main scree couloiur to the col below Ruadh-stac Mor. This was very reminiscent of the Maritime Alps and gave good sustained scrambling by weaving around. I finally gained the main ridge, well over 90 mins after starting out: an indication of the distance. From here back to Kinlochewe was just stunning: one massive gentle run along the huge ridge. I dumped the sac and ran up to the highpoint of Ruadh-stac Mor, then followed the ridge south to mild scrambling up to Coinneach Mhor. The ridge then begins, finally, to head east towards the cottage. It narrows too, giving superb and spectacular running along the crest. Liathach looks spectacular from here. A few little walls give a scrambly approach to the second munro, Spidean Coire nan Clach, where I surprised the only other person seen all day. Then the sun came out for a descent down a large snowfield to the less frequented, but even better, eastern end of the ridge. Good easy scrambling up shattered quartzite led quickly to Sgurr Ban, an Alpine fang from some angles. Then came the fine climax, very steep and quite exposed scree to a deep col with great views to the wild cwm and lake of Tuill Bhain. Above, Sgurr nan Fhir Duibhe gives good scrambling up to an along its shattered crest: the 'black men' of the name are a series of gendarmes, quite loose in places and tricky to negotiate with numerous snow patches. One was very reminiscent of Tower Gap on Glyder Fach. A great finish along the crest, which led to Creag Dubh and a large cornice. From here, I could see Kinlochewe far below and pelted down the screes, flat out, only slowing to negotiate an unexpected and potentially dangerous rock band. Below this, the path flattens out in a little valley with ancient pines. This gave excellent fast running for several km before a kink west allowed me to avoid the village and emerge from the pine woods, as planned, directly opposite our cottage at 11.50am.

Beinn Damh

Peaks: Spidean Coire an Laoigh (903m)
Area: Beinn Damh, Torridon
This hill benefits from an isolated position south of Torridon, well away from the more high profile peaks north of the Glen. The day started dry, with a high cloud base, so we'd all walked along the shores of Loch Clair for superb views of Liathach followed by a magical moment as a golden eagle wheeled above Beinn Eighe lit by a sudden shaft of sun. After this, we drove to Shieldaig for coffee and cake in a prolonged heavy shower: all rather unsettled and very different to yesterday's sunshine. For lunch, we walked up the Beinn Damh path from the Torridon hotel through lovely pine woods. A waterfall on the Allt Coire Rhoill made a fine backdrop for our slightly damp picnic. I then continued upwards for another quick hill run. The weather really closed in as soon as I left the woods: heavy rain, brisk winds, and all rather unpleasant as I followed the path up Toll Ban to the obvious broad col below Meall Ghorm. The mist closed in as I ran up the broad NW ridge, skirting the 868m forepeak and following a tenuous path through scree slopes to emerge on another sub-peak. As soon as I gained this top, the mist miraculously cleared giving views over Loch Damh to the west, and down to Shieldaig. For a while, the mist shifted in and out, then dramatically cleared again to the west as the ridge narrowed slightly at a small col: views as far as Applecross this time, but still misty to the east giving photogenic views of the main peak. I got to the summit in 50 mins or so, and the wind then tore all the cloud away leaving brilliant views east to Sgurr Ruadh and the Achnashallech peaks. Finally, I could appreciate what a fine peak Beinn Damh is, typical Torridonian structure, and I decided to give it due respect by making a traverse by descending the steep NE ridge (Stuc Toll nam Biast) to the Drochaid Coire Roill. This goes down rocks to gentle grass, then becomes very steep and hard to read from above. After a few cautious forays too far west, I spied a cairn and located a little path through a series of rocky buttresses which gave an interesting and intricate route down to the Coire Roill. Stupidly, however, in my haste to get back to the family in the hotel I didn't bother to check the map for the location of the stalker's path and just stumbled blindly through the boggy wilderness west of the river. So the subsequent nightmarish aquatic flounder back to the woods was entirely my fault and richly deserved. It didn't take long though, and the family had only just returned to the car when I got back to the hotel.

Liathach

Peaks: Stob a'Coire Liath Mhor (983m), Spidean a'Choire Leith (1055m), Am Fasarinen (927m), Mullach an Rathain (1025m)

Area: Liathach, Torridon
The finest mountain in the British Isles in my opinion, but although I'd driven past it a couple of times in the past, I'd never actually done the full Liathach ridge. It made an obvious early target as it was only 15 minutes drive from the cottage in Kinlochewe, but as ever on these holidays I didn't want to cut into family time, so took an ultra-lightweight running approach (as far as that's possible on a peak like this) while they had lunch. There's certainly no tedious walk-in, as the steep ascent begins immediately from Glen Torridon. A well-constructed path up the side of the Allt an Doire Gharbh leads to a broader upper amphitheatre, the Coire Liath Mhor. The angle eases for a while before steepening as the path curves east to weave up through a series of sandstone walls: nice scrambling, and I enjoyed selecting the most interesting lines up several chimneys to gain the ridge below the sub-peak of Stob a'Coire Liath Mhor. Superb views across the deep trough of the Coire Dubh Mhor to the superb massif of Beinn Eighe (the eastern end of which dominated the view from our cottage window). Beinn Dearg also impressed: for me, this is the best landscape in the UK and, as I had so little previous experience in Torridon (just Alligin and Slioch in 2005) it was a mouth-watering prospect to get to grips with the hills this week. The ridge narrowed immediately, giving exciting jogging to gain the sub-peak. Then the mist rolled away from the main summit of Spidean as I scrambled up snow fields and steep scree to the summit in just over an hour from the road after a 1000m climb. An impressive dominant peak, with superb views over the rest of the ridge. Exposed rubble slopes then led down to a little col and grassy traverse before the famous scrambling section over the Am Fasarinen pinnacles. The sun came out as I began the traverse, warming my hands to perfection at exactly the right time. I stuck to the crest, which gives excellent solid scrambling in a great position above two deep glens: fairly exposed in a few places initially. Some interesting down-climbing led to a gentler section then superb easy scrambling to the top of the highest pinnacle. A little more rock work on the crest leads to a small col then grassy slopes to the top of the second munro, Mullach an Rathain. Superb views from this peak, as the sun broke through even more impressively. Alligin, Dearg, Bhaosbeinn, Ben Damh all sunlit to perfection, as was beautiful Loch Torridon a vertical kilometre below. It had taken two hours to this point, so I had a quick banana and pelted down the screes above Tuill Bhan. This gives a very steep initial descent to good running with numerous tiring twists and turns down to the road: 2:45 road to road, so plenty of time left that afternoon to walk the upper ridge trail from the cottage with K and E. A great start to the holiday.

Drumochter Hills

Peaks: Geal Charn (917m), A'Mharconaich (975m)
Area: Drumochter Hills
These peaks rise to the west of the main A9 thoroughfare near the Drumochter Pass. But unlike most of the moorland puddings in these parts, A'Mharconaich is a shapely and eye-catching peak which seemed worth a quick run up to break the long journey to our holiday cottage in Torridon. The day dawned clear and sunny after a night in Stirling, so I ran up Geal Charn from Balsporran while the family had a drink in Dalwhinnie. Good running led to a boggier track up the front of Geal Charn, a dull whaleback summit: I reached the top in 40 minutes or so. Not as much snow as expected (after big falls last week) but still some big fields (melting rapidly). Great views over to remote Ben Alder and superb running down to the broad snowy col above Coire Fhar. From here, another steep pull gains the long flat summit of A'Mharconaich, which fails to fulfil its promise from the road. The summit is at the North-East end, and great running led to this before a wonderful, memorable descent down the perfectly angled NE ridge. Bogs lower down slowed progress back to Balsporran, and Kate had arrived back by the time I arrived - around 90 minutes for the round.

Montenegro mountain run

After a few days in Bosnia-Herzegovina, found myself with a couple of hours spare time in Kotor. This is a famous and rather stunning spot, on the far side of the large fjord which makes this corner of the Balkans seem like a Mediterranean version of Norway. I jogged through the old town, heading for the hills, and surprisingly quickly located the start of the path up Lovcen. This is the second highest peak in Montenegro (a very mountainous country) and therefore a long day from sea level. I just concentrated on seeing how high up I could get in the time available, and passed a wonderful wild tortoise low on the path (seemed appropriate). Superb, sunny views over the Bay of Kotor - lucky, given that this is supposedly one of the wettest places in Europe due to the unusual topography, up there with Iceland. Subalpine warblers were present in the bushes, and it was with some regret that I ran back down to the old town from my high point.

Burbage Skyline

Race: Burbage Skyline fell race (9k/400m)
Time/Position: 47:54 (71st from 357)
Always nice to have an away day race in an alien region, and having spent the afternoon climbing on the gritstone edges fringing the race route from the Fox House pub above Sheffield I was really looking forward to a relaxed blast round this circuit, albeit nursing my injured knee. I always enjoy a 'skyline' race, as the nature of the challenge is so compelling, and have particularly fond memories of Edale and Stretton: which are both a bit longer! It was also nice to be able to relax and start at the back of the field in warm evening sunshine, although such was the amazing size of that field (compared to Welsh races) that I realised I'd been a bit too relaxed as soon as the race started. I was stuck towards the middle of the pack and didn't get a clear run for 20 minutes, by which time I was miles off the pace! The race went up an absurdly narrow path, just walking, then dipped down towards a stream, and up a boggy path to heathery running up to Over Owler then Winyard's Nick. Then came two short climbs, the second quite steep, to gain the highpoint at Higgar Tor: another famous crag. Finally, I had clear ground in front of me, although the knee pain kicked in quite badly for the steep 'plummet' descent down to Burbage Brook and a tight, scenic little valley. We then crossed the river at the road near Burbage North, where I'd just been climbing, before a superb and long gradual (hobbling with knee pain) descent along the bouldery path fringing Burbage Rocks back to the finish as the sun set beautifully over Higgar Tor. Quality of the field was amazing, although perhaps not surprising given proximity to Sheffield. I ran back to the pub then hopped into the car to get to Jon's house in Matlock before 9pm, ready for a 6am drive back to Chester.

Stanage/Burbage climbing

Crag: Stanage Edge, Peak
Routes: Fire Curtain (VD:sol), Square Buttress Wall (VS 4b:sol), Square Buttress Corner (D:sol), Square Chimney (M:sol), Velcro Arete (HS 4c:sol), Zip Crack (M:sol), Mantelpiece Crack (D:sol), Mantelpiece Buttress (D:sol), Small Crack (VD:sol), Grotto Slab (D:sol), Eeny (HVD:sol), Meeny (HS 4b:sol), Miny Arete (HS 4b:sol), Easy Jamming (HVD:sol)
Crag: Burbage North, Peak
Routes: Little Plumb (D:sol), Cranberry Wall (VD:sol), Cranberry Crack (VD:sol), Steptoe (M:sol)
My old pal Jon, a lifelong Peak resident, had recently been in touch. So I took the opportunity to head across for an evening fell race before meeting him in Matlock. I arrived a bit early, and the sun was shining, so it seemed rude not to take advantage of the fact that my climbing gear was still in the boot from yesterday! Admittedly, getting a few routes in before the race had always been in the back of my mind, but the weather made it even more attractive, so I headed up to the little walls that run to the north of Stanage Popular, and enjoyed myself on some short easy climbs. The corner of Fire Curtain was followed by the more technical Square Buttress Wall up little 4b edges. As ever, my lack of grit schooling shows itself whenever I come here - which hasn't been very often over the years. Still, it was all very enjoyable. I liked Velcro Arete with its 4c start, and the ultra-easy Mantelpiece routes. I went up and down Small Crack from the easy top section, and took in the longer climb of Grotto Slab, which I've done before. Although this section of cliff is less busy than the rest of Stanage, however, it's still far too busy for my taste so I wandered over to the isolated Apparent North section, which immediately appealed to me, if only because you can get a bit of peace. A few short routes concluded with the delightful short crack of Easy Jamming, which does what it says on the tin. I then drove down to Hathersage, got wireless access in a cafe, marked some dissertations over a pint of tea, and then drove back up to Burbage North to do some more short routes (and because the fell race was going to head this way later in the evening and it seemed appropriate). The weather was even better, the warm sun perfectly lighting the crag. I curtailed the visit, however, wanting to preserve at least a bit of energy for the race after a tiring few days, and headed for pre-race coffee and cake at the Millstone pub.

Cwm Lloer climbing

Crag: Craig Lloer, Ogwen
Routes: The Rib (S 4a:led p.1,3), Kirkus's Route (VS 4a,5a,4a:led p.1,3)
I've spent a lot of time up in this wonderful cwm over the years: indeed Kate and I were here on the first day of the 21st century. I've done all the snow climbs, and walked/run the ridge dozens of times: in short, I like the place, but surprisingly I'd only ticked a couple of the rock climbs and had never done the famous Kirkus route, which takes the most obvious line on the crag. It seemed a perfect choice for Vic and I today, and so it proved: an early start, absolutely stunning spring weather, and an ideal way to avoid the Bank Holiday crowds. The crag is east-facing, and as we rounded the corner after a relaxed and very enjoyable walk-in, our choice was vindicated. Apart from one party on the easy North Ridge, which I did with Steve many years ago, the crag was deserted - but sun-drenched. The clarity of light was superb, and there wasn't a breath of wind as I led up the first pitch of The Rib (selected as a gentle re-introduction to trad mountain routes after an even longer than usual winter lay-off). A tricky move gains the top of a short pinnacle, then another tricky move up a mossy slab to an unfortunate vegetated section. As soon as I saw the next pitch, a beautiful clean 120ft rib snaking upwards, I selfishly regretted the fact that it was Vic's lead! It gave a superb pitch with wonderful gentle climbing in the sunshine: completely unheralded, and therefore unpopular and unpolished. A couple of steeper sections gave pause for thought, but it was generally a romp up positive little holds, neatly sustained at the lowly grade. I led a shorter third up a groove to a step left to the continuation of the rib line. A nice descent down the Y gully and a sunny lunch. It was then time for Kirkus's Route, which takes an easy chimney to an steep little groove which leads to some pleasant slabs. The meat of the route is provided by the second pitch, a seemingly vicious off-width crack which actually goes a little easier than expected. Vic made slow but steady progress up the pitch. It is a little too wide for decent jams, but some small ledges on the walls provide the odd foothold to ease progress. That said, the move to gain the chockstone is still a tricky thrutch, but above this a long reach gains an arete hold left of the crack, which then gives access to the big holds on the top of the right wall. The wind picked up for my enjoyable final pitch, which was still sun-drenched. It traverses right to gain the edge of the arete: up this, to moves left to gain the top of an obvious square groove, then easy slabby climbing in a nice position to the top. A delightful descent back into the sunny cwm, then gently down following the stream to Ogwen - wheatears singing all the way.

Llangynhafal Loop

Race: Llangynhafal Loop fell race (7.6km/533m)
Time/Position: 45:17 (20th from 140)
Still tired after the marathons, with a damaged right knee, and no fell races since November: I thought it prudent to start well back! Although I struggled greatly on the descents with my knee, however, this could have been worse and my time was less than a minute slower than last year. I picked up a few places on the fast, flat valley running up to Nant y Ne, and continued the slow plod up the valley towards the gully. Felt reasonably good on the climbs, which was surprising given the road focus of the last few months. But suffered on the descent from Moel Famau, and continued to suffer on the peaks and troughs of the ridge over Dywyll. If memory serves, I went over the top of the final climb last year in second or third place: this year, with a much stronger field and me a minute down, was a different story. A painful and very slow final descent - after which I carried on jogging back to the village to meet Kate at the pub.

Penmaenhead climbing

Crag: Penmaenhead, Colwyn Bay
Routes: Intruder (f5+:led), Go with the Flow (f6a:led), Dead Moggy Syndrome (f6b:sec), The Double Helix (f6a+:sec), Tan y Lan Kids (f5:sec), Big up the Lizard (f5+:sec), Broken Blackbird (f5:sec), Steak Slice (f5:led)
An ideal evening venue, especially in this week's beautiful spring weather. West-facing, so the climbing was in the warm evening sunshine throughout, a nice contrast to previous visits to this crag which have almost all been freezing and sunless. I kicked off by leading the steep line of Intruder at f5+, which looks pretty unpleasant and dirty from below but which is actually a good route. It is steep, though, and not an ideal warm-up given my lack of recent climbing. It goes up blocky rock to a horizontal break, then gets even steeper up a series of small shelves on big holds: all quite pumpy for the grade. Mick and I then moved further left, where I led the excellent Go with the Flow - theoretically a grade harder, but quite slabby and technical (and very low in the grade). I've done it before, it's one of the best climbs here, up delicate flowstone features involving little pinched stalactites and fingery climbing up small pockets - delightful in the warm sunshine. The 6b to its left was tough and bouldery initially, quite sustained, and I finished rightwards. Likewise the 6a+ to its right is also much harder with a puzzling crux which is easy to get wrong. The sun began to drop a little, but continued to light up the face as we finished off with some easier routes, most of which I've done before.

Clwydian Mountain Biking

MTB Route: Cilcain Short Loop
The usual consensus is that 48 hours post-marathon is the low point, so it seemed a good idea to loosen my legs by cycling to and from work today. Due to numerous roadworks, this ended up being much longer than the usual 20 mile round trip - but certainly relaxed the limbs. A beautiful evening seemed in prospect, so I managed to continue the cycling theme by persuading gaming enthusiast M to turn off the Xbox and do the short Cilcain mountain bike loop from the viewpoint car park. Superb spring weather, at last. No wind, blue skies and a nice gentle climb up the drover's road to the ridge: good views of Aran and Arenig. M found it a little tough, but the hills are wonderfully dry underfoot at present, perfect MTB conditions, and he loved the fast grassy descent down the bridleway and track to the Pump House. He wasn't so keen on the climb back up, so I had to get the car and pick him up!

Manchester Marathon

Race: Manchester Marathon
Time/Position: 2:54:01 (78th from 7000)
Some way outside my 2:49 target time, but still a PB by almost four minutes - so it would seem churlish to be too disappointed. Boston was perhaps a little too close, less than 13 days, despite holding back so much with a view to a serious PB attempt today. But the main problem was the same as ever, the sticking point that that has afflicted every one of the 17 marathons I've done: not enough 18-20 milers in training. The event was a lot better than I'd expected, however, even if it was rather distasteful to have to park underneath the Fergie statue at Old Trafford (and pay £9 for the privilege). Perhaps not the most scenic or atmospheric of courses, but the crowds were friendly and supportive, and the whole event had a nice local feel - and could perhaps become a decent northern alternative to London. For me, it was a huge advantage to sleep in my own bed and, even more importantly, to be in my own bath by 1pm! I started out at target 6:30 per mile pace, keeping this churning over quite precisely and comfortably. Went through 10k in 39:59, got in with a decent group through the leafy streets of Sale, which sadly started breaking up at 9 miles. The halfway point comes in Altrincham, and I went through bang on target in 1:24:30. After a gel, I felt even better on the return leg (at least initially!) and enjoyed watching the waves of runners coming through on the other side of the road. But at around 19 miles I began to suffer, the inevitable result of my lack of training, and really hit a low point as we entered bleak open fields near Flixton. The headwind, which I'd worried about all day, became a problem here and I couldn't stay with any other runners. My situation was semi-desperate for a while, but at least I'm no stranger to this kind of pain, so managed to steady my pace and luckily grabbed a gel in Urmston at 21 miles. This allowed me to just about resume my sluggish progress back towards Stretford. Chip times were a little dodgy: my watch had me at 2:53:56 or so, whilst my chip time came out initially as 2:52:30, which was definitely wrong!

Wrexham Border League

Race: Wrexham 4m+ (Border League race 7)
Time/Position: 22:05 (10th from 274 [3rd V40])
The climax of another league season, and it was as tight as ever: just a few points separating 2nd from 4th in my category. The final race of the season is usually the most competitive of all, so it was a big surprise to record my first ever top 10 finish (after over 40 BL races) given that my target was just to maintain this season's run of top 20 finishes. I did feel good for some reason, around this very familiar one lap circuit of the lanes east of Wrexham: the best I've felt at a race for months and months, come to think of it. Felt comfortable at around 5:25 per mile, and kept a reasonable pace churning over, picking up numerous places right through to the line. The results were unfortunately wrong at the presentation afterwards, as this final performance hadn't been recorded for the male vets! But eventually I ended up 2nd V40 for the season, same as last year, and 6th overall. Finished with 91 points, which is my lowest total in seven or so years of competing in the league.

Boston Marathon

Race: Boston Marathon
Time/Position: 3:15:16 (4783 from 23000)
The oldest marathon in the world by a considerable margin, and the only one that requires a qualifying time. It has always been the US marathon that most interested me, so I thought I would use last year's sub-3 run at London to get a place last September. I had no intention of racing today, but wanted to use it as a final (rather extravagant) long brisk run before going flat-out for a sub 2.50 PB in Manchester at the end of this month. As a result, I could enjoy myself the day before, walking around Boston and soaking up the ambience despite continuing jet lag. It's a unique and historic point-to-point course through a series of lovely New England towns, with a fantastic atmosphere which started the moment I got off the train from New York on Sunday (I particularly liked the fact that the race was so closely linked with local Massachusetts identity). A one-hour bus journey takes all the runners from Boston to the start at Hopkinton, where we all relaxed in the early morning sunshine. The race itself was fantastically enjoyable - freed from any pressure to go for a time, I just jogged gently along the classic course and soaked it up as a 'tourist': the only problem was that my qualifying time put me near the front in Wave 1, so I had to concentrate on not holding up the other runners. From Hopkinton it goes very gently downhill through Ashland and Framingham to the famous 'scream tunnel' of college girls in Wellesley, which you can hear almost a mile away. I went through half in 1:33 or so, which was a tad quicker than I'd intended. The crowds built throughout, and all the towns were delightful typical New England settlements. After Newton, a series of hills build up to the infamous 'Heartbreak Hill' at the 20 mile point. If I'd been going for a time, this would have been extremely unpleasant. As it was, it just made for a bit of variety with superb crowd support. My Welsh flags got lots of attention from the crowd, and the support got even better as we entered Brookline and saw Central Boston getting closer. Then it was through the suburbs, past the Red Sox stadium at Fenway Park - with a match in progress, as is traditional on Patriot's Day - then down Beacon Street to the finish on Boylston. It all reminded me a bit of when I did London in 2010, again consciously taking it easy before going for a later PB: marathons are so much more fun when you're not eyeballs out! I carried on jogging through the finish and back to the hostel on Stuart Street, and was enjoying a reuben and some craft ale in the wonderful Jakob Wirth bar next door when I heard the dreadful news about the explosions.

Central Park run

I've always fancied running around Central Park first thing in the morning, so after flying into NYC midday yesterday, I had a 6am breakfast at a classic diner then jogged up Lexington/Park avenue as the sun lit the tops of the skyscrapers. A big relief after the cold, wet and windy weather I'd arrived in yesterday. I jogged through the park, enjoying the contrast of the towers rising above the verdant greenery, then stopped for a few hours birding in the Ramble. Peak spring migration: highlights included purple finch, pine siskin, carolina wren, northern cardinal and many more. Then jogged through the park past hundreds of other runners to the Upper West side, to get the subway to South Ferry and Staten Island.

Deeside Border League

Race: Deeside 5.5m (Border League race 6)
Time/Position: 32:14 (20th from 291 [4th V40])
Slightly longer than previous BL races around these tracks and roads, which made it a bit more enjoyable. I set off quite slowly and felt a bit better than I had on the Spring 5 last week, although this was still my worst finishing position of the entire season. I concentrated on catching up with Jez during the first half of the race, and we worked quite well together, gaining a few places before he sprinted away from me in the last 200m. I just about maintained my record of top 20 finishes in every race this season, although there is no doubt that I've got progressively slower!

Kinnerton-Llangollen run

A family pub lunch booked in Llangollen, and me needing to get one last long run in before the forthcoming Boston and Manchester marathons: serendipity! The obvious response was to run there from home in a reversal of the route I'd done with Dave in preparation for the Icelandic ultra marathon back in 2008. It was a lovely outing, in cold but refreshingly still conditions of milky sunshine. Left Kinnerton for the gentle climb up to Hope followed by the savage triple kick climb from Abermorddu to Cymau. From here, Minera moor loomed ahead: clearly under a great deal of snow, and I began to suspect that the road might be closed! I descended to Ffrith, then up the bridleway towards Bwlchgwyn. This was blocked in 15-20 places by trees that had fallen over under the weight of snow. A mixture of slush, ice, running water and snow underfoot - much branch vaulting and limboing to make progress. With some relief, I gained the little lanes leading to a snowy Bwlchgwyn: several feet of snow have been lying in places here for over a fortnight now. Down towards Coedpoeth then up to Gegin and Minera and finally the start of the climb up to the moor on the World's End road. As I suspected, the road was closed, and after a mile or two of tarmac I realised why: it was choked with snow. Cue an interesting 4 or 5k section across the moor, unable to see the path of the road, forced to locate myself by the masts on Cyrn y Brain and other landmarks. Mercifully, the snow was still relatively solid at this time in the morning, although deep drifts and some surface breaking made the going pretty tough at times - good for the tan, though, with warm sunshine giving the moor an Alpine feel. The deep snow continued across the entire moor and down to World's End: it will surely be some time before this road is open. As soon as I gained the Eglwyseg valley floor, however, the road had been cleared. Superb running along this towards Dinas Bran and the final long descent to Llangollen: glorious views of the valley below. Met the family in town in good time for lunch (by strange coincidence, I'd also run from home to the Grosvenor Arms in Aldford last Thursday).

Idwal ice climbing/Y Garn mountaineering/Famau run

Crag/Peak: Cwm Idwal/Y Garn, Glyderau
Routes: Central Route (wIII 3,3,2:led p.2), Banana Gully (wI:descent)
The truly extraordinary winter conditions continue in Eryri, so it was great to have another opportunity to briefly get out there during my Easter break - shame I was a little restricted by various embarrassing injuries. Mick was free too, but only for the morning, so we started early from Ogwen and ploughed up to the crags in superb conditions of gradually rising cloud and relatively light easterly winds by recent standards. Central Route is one of the few remaining gaps for me in terms of the accessible ice climbs in Idwal, so Mick led up the long shallow ice groove which gives the climb its identity (my arm and neck still aching after 'whiplash'). This is a good pitch, more open than neighbouring climbs South Gully and Chicane Gully, albeit not as memorable as either of these. In contrast to Face Route on Monday, however, progress was eased by the amount of traffic this climb has had over recent days: hooks possible, and some precise little steps kicked out in places. A steepish initial section of water ice leads to an easing on good neve, before another steep but excellent section of quite brittle ice goes up to a ledge and screw belay. I led off up the second pitch, which takes in a few more steps of enjoyable water ice before easing into a snowy gangway. This gently spirals off to the left, above South Gully, and I ran the rope out to belay on screws on another water ice step. Mick led up a final slabby section of ice and we split up above the drifts on top of South Gully: Mick descended and I ploughed up to the ridge of Y Garn in the familiar strong easterlies (back again!) but also some hints of sunshine: the line of Monday's outing, Face Route on Cyrn Las, is particularly notable from here. At the summit, I got out of the wind for lunch, and enjoyed a superb show as the cloud lifted from every peak and the sun started to peek through. As I descended the NE (Banana) ridge, two chaps emerged from Banana Gully. They reported nice neve conditions, so I traversed across to the gully from the ridge. This was pseudo-Alpine in the sunshine: deep, crisp neve, and absorbing movement across to the gully. This gave an excellent descent, and was particularly enjoyable as Banana Gully was the first winter route I ever did - with Tim in 1989 perhaps? The snow wasn't particularly consolidated at first, but wasn't too bad, and got better as the gully narrows a bit as it curves. Cwm Clyd is beautiful in these conditions, under metres of snow with the lake frozen solid. After a quick bite I descended quickly to Llyn Idwal, removed crampons and jogged to the car. After the long drive to Cadole via a coffee in Mold, I joined the Friday night run up Famau: a mixture of drifts and slush, but it was nice to look across to a sunlit Ogwen (and Y Garn!) from the summit in the same day, and the descent remains snow-covered and very good fun. As usual after this kind of day, I bonked on the steps above Loggerheads and was virtually walking by the time I got back to the pub.

Chester Spring 5

Race: Chester Spring 5m
Time/Position: 28:46 (23rd from 295)
A little tired going into this race, still suffering after Sunday's long run and Monday's full day of winter climbing. Worse, I'd sustained whiplash injuries in an absurd sledging accident! This was always going to be a bit of a struggle as a result, but it was still a very disappointing outing. I went through 2 miles in 10:50, the quickest part of the course, feeling quite good and aiming for sub 28m. I know every inch of this course, as it is a few hundred metres away from my office and a regular lunchtime training run for me, but despite this I still blew completely after the hill at 3 miles. The last two miles were a real struggle as a result and I lost a lot of time and places.

Cyrn Las winter climbing

Crag: Cyrn Las, Llanberis

Routes: Gwter Fawr (II:sol), Face Route (IV 4,3,3,3,3,2:led p.3,5,6), Cyrn Las Ridge (I/II:sol)

Unprecedented ice climbing conditions for the time of year, so it was good to finally get the chance to take advantage on April Fool's Day. The Pass was almost deserted as we started the walk-in under disappointingly leaden skies - the ferocious easterly still blowing hard - perhaps some explanation for the lack of crowds on Easter Monday. We were both tired, me after yesterday's 21 mile run, Vic after a triathlon, so took almost an hour to reach the crag. All very atmospheric, though, with huge drifts in places and the ice-streaked cliffs of Cyrn Las towering above. Indeed, apart from the winter trade route of Sergeants Gully, I'd only previously visited this crag for the ultra classic rock climb of Main Wall, 20 years ago. Our chosen line of Face Route is immediately obvious, even from the road, a series of linked icefalls leading to a snowfield and exit gully. It looked good and lengthy, and we moved up easy slopes to gain the start of Gwter Fawr, a simple but spectacular grade I climb that traverses the face via a narrow gangway - rather like a more exposed version of Jack's Rake. It was very icy today, and we enjoyed good sport taking a few steeper variants until we arrived higher up Gwter Fawr at a belay. I then followed Vic up the superb first pitch of Face Route: solid water ice up to a steep bulge, which was solid grade IV throughout but went a little more easily than it looked, even with my archaic tools! It eased a little after an exposed move round the bulge, and led to a more delicate traverse on frozen turf and snow-ice. The second pitch, conversely, was harder than it looked and remained more Vic's territory than mine: slabby water ice, a little more fragile, and quite sustained, frontpointing made harder by fierce gusts of wind, and very little evidence of previous ascents. From here I led a short third up to a niche before Vic led through up another steep little pitch to an easing. The route wasn't over, however, and I led a long pitch up a series of easy slabby little walls, just an inclined snowfield really, to gain the bottom of the long exit gully. This was a very nice contrast to the climbing below: a classic gully, much easier, but atmospheric with great rock architecture and tremendous views across the valley. An icy chockstone was fun, and a couple of other short bulges led to a final easy angled exit funnel. After descending to free a jammed rope, we continued up the top section of the fine Cyrn Las ridge: a superbly contrasting finale, making this long route even more varied, a splendid 1000ft blend of steep technical water ice, easy snow climbing, exposed gangways, atmospheric gullies, and a narrow Alpine ridge. And it had seen very little traffic, which added to the pleasure. Surprisingly good snow conditions on the ridge (in comparison to last Tuesday, for instance!) but quite challenging: as was the walk along to Cwm Glas in a very strong and very cold wind. It was hard to make progress in places, and we took some time to locate the complex descent, which weaves through troublesome ground right of Parsley Fern gully to gain the base of Cwm Glas: a glacial bowl of deep snow, completely deserted. From here, a mixture of glissading and jogging got us down to the Pass in half an hour or so.