Ras yr Aran

Race: Ras yr Aran (16k+/3100ft)
Time/Position: 1.47.22 (16th from 81)
I was amazed to find that it has been six years since I last did this race. With fairly strong winds forecast, it seemed possible that it would be shortened to Aran Benllyn, as I remember happening in the past, but in the event the full race (quite rightly) went ahead with just the final scree cone to the summit of Fawddwy removed. The weather was not great, but nothing particularly unusual: gusts to 60mph, heavy rain and a notable windchill as might be expected at this time of year. As ever, it is the combination of rain and wind that causes the problems! I had expected to struggle on the long five mile climb, given my usual winter on the roads, and I did indeed. I fell way behind on the initial gradual climb over Moel Ffenigl and only began to make up some ground as the slopes steepen up to Aran Benllyn. This gave some welcome shelter from the worst of the windchill too. Excellent running along the ridge, past the little lakes and the rocky bluffs: low temperatures, poor visibility and strong crosswinds throughout. Navigation is easy on this race though, and I made up some ground and places on the wet and slippery descent, which went a little better than I'd expected it to and was very enjoyable. Buckley won the male team prize, with me counting in third place but only seconds ahead of Steve.

Northern Carneddau run

Peak: Tal y Fan
Area: Carneddau, Eryri
One of those rare early spring days when the mountain air is like champagne: the clarity of light, birdsong and blue skies all combine to make for perfect conditions on the hill. The Northern Carneddau would always be my choice of running terrain in this kind of March weather, so after a night in Conwy John and I headed up to Sychnant in the early morning and set off to the south along the ancient track towards the stone circle. We set a decent pace throughout and reached the top of Tal y Fan in less than 45 minutes. Great views over to the central Carneddau, with a reasonable amount of snow in the gullies of Ffynnon Llyfnant and deep blue skies above. After a lengthy stay on the summit, we pelted down for an equally brisk descent to begin the working day.

Castle Inn climbing

Crag: Castle Inn Quarry
Routes: Nain (f4:led), Cariad (f5:led), Hidden Gem (f4a:led), Wilderness Wall (f5a:led), Butterfly Blue (f4:led)
Although this very short session was squeezed into the last 90 minutes of daylight, surprisingly warm sunshine lit the crag and it was very nice to reacquaint myself with real rock after the usual months of winter inactivity. John was making a short trip to the UK, and as I had introduced him to climbing a few years ago, I thought it would be nice to take him again. After a refresher tutorial, we did a couple of easy routes, finding the mantelshelf on Cariad surprisingly tricky, although a pleasant sun-drenched arete lies above. John enjoyed the longer easy 'ridge' taken by Hidden Gem, and the slightly more technical routes on the slab to the right: delightfully lit by the setting sun. The plan had then been to run to the Cwm Dulyn bothy, but we'd run out of time so opted instead for a five mile blast along the estuary, using the Parkrun route to Deganwy with an extension around the bird reserve.

Conwy mountain race

Race: Conwy fell race (5.5m/2000ft)
Time/Position: 50.09 (7th from 46 [2nd V40])
Knowing Conwy as intimately as I do, I have often pondered the feasibility of a notional mountain race along the three peaks that rise above the town. This inaugural race (the first over Conwy Mountain) was originally scheduled to take in the neat ridge that I have always known as Penmaen Ridge or Pen Pyra, a short 150m grade 2 scramble that is visible from the A55. As such, it was a novel and exciting race prospect, but having done the ridge before I wasn't particularly surprised to find that it had been ditched for safety reasons. That seemed a shame, but the alternative route still gave a challenging race. Quite mild and mainly dry as we set off up the long bridleway which climbs the shoulder over to Allt Wen above the Sychnant Pass. The first three runners went clear during this section and continued to pull away throughout. From Allt Wen, we descended steeply towards the coast, right down to the edge of the caravan site before starting the long reascent. Steve and myself were together for this section, and ploughed foolishly through a mixture of thick gorse and boulders to fashion a direct route up to the middle peak. From here, the main ridge gives superb running along to Conwy Mountain, a very familiar route indeed! I lost two places here, and couldn't make them up as a final section of arbitrary punishment saw us head back down to the road near the Old White House then very steeply back over the ridge near the little slabby crag. A short but intense start to the hill running season.

Manley Mere border league

Race: Manley Mere 5.15m (Border League race 5)
Time/Position: 29.43 (27th from 318 [4th V45])
Unpleasant conditions at the start, with heavy rain, plenty of standing water and chilly temperatures. A new course for the league, although it took in some familiar lanes from various training runs and the Helsby half marathon. I set off at a decent pace, perhaps a tad too quick, and made my way up the field as the route embarked on a long but gentle climb. Lots of runners were nearby, however, even more than the usual intense league competition. My lack of finishing kick means this has an inevitable conclusion: and I finished at the back of a very big group of runners, at least 10 of whom passed me in the final half mile back to the lakeside.

Two Lakes run

An extended training version of the Two Lakes half marathon which I had enjoyed last May. Over the years, I've done various routes and races here: from the complete 20 mile figure of eight round both lakes, to the various shorter races that loop the Brenig and Alwen. A group of four of us started from the Brenig car park, along the dam to pick up the race route. A lovely tailwind eased progress along the far shore of Brenig, waves so high you could almost surf in the lake! As we turned west along the muddy paths and steep tracks that lead to the far side of the lake, the run became gruelling as we battled the fierce headwind. A sheltered bridleway then leads over the road to the superb long track that makes directly for the bridge at the far end of Llyn Alwen. This was tough underfoot and into a headwind the whole way: some rain too. The steep climb beyond the lake is always tough, but we kept a reasonable pace going and stuck to the half marathon route throughout. Almost 15 miles in total, including the extension.

Conwy Parkrun

"Race": Conwy Parkrun (5k)
Time/Position: 18.10 (1st from 180)
A windy week, and today was no exception: my second foray into the world of the Park Run along tracks I know very well. After celebrating our anniversary last night, Kate and I jogged to the start from Rose Hill Street in heavy rain and strong winds. So easy and convenient. These events are not races, but as 'timed runs' they do feel a bit competitive! I was in second place for a while, then took the lead after about 500m, and managed to stay there. My time was slow, but quicker than on the very hilly Wepre course. This Conwy course is excellent and scenic: along the riverbank then towards the castle, before heading up to Deganwy. Strong winds made the return leg tricky and hard going for a while.

Venetian run

Not as glamorous as it sounds, but still an interesting brisk run with at least a small aquatic element! After two days of walking round Venice and trips around the lagoon, I left our hotel on the borders of Favaro and Mestre at 7am. A drizzly, foggy morning: I followed the tram tracks at tempo pace into Mestre Centro, then down Marco Polo road to follow a good canal side path for a while. I took a diversion on the way back through a pleasant misty park and some side roads, back in time for breakfast and what turned out to be an eventful journey home.

Glyder traverse

Peaks: Carnedd y Filiast, Mynydd Perfedd, Foel Goch, Y Garn, Glyder Fawr, Glyder Fach, Foel Goch, Gallt yr Ogof
Area: Glyderau, Eryri
The full traverse of the Glyder ridge from Bethesda to Capel Curig: a very enjoyable outing despite the claggy and drizzly conditions. With two cars at our disposal, some kind of point-to-point run became a possibility. I have done versions of this route before, not least on the second day of the Rab Mountain Marathon a couple of years ago, and once when we did a kind of long Nant Francon horseshoe. But I can't remember doing the full Glyder ridge in its entirety: it is a fine and very varied route in terms of terrain. From the bridge over the Ogwen, we (me, Peter, Steve and Hayley) ran along the road to Tai Newyddion then straight up the steep hillside right of the crags. This is relentlessly steep, and uncomfortable underfoot with thick heather, but gains height rapidly. Above, boulder fields allow for much more enjoyable progress as we entered the mist. No more views until we were just above the car park in Capel Curig! We reached the top of Filiast in around 50 minutes, then enjoyed the easy grassy running over Perfedd and along to Foel Goch: the same route as I took with M and the scouts last month. Good progress, despite a strong cross/headwind, through the mist to a rather cold Y Garn. After a quick snack we pelted down to Llyn y Cwn before one of my least favourite climbs: the Pedol Peris route up Glyder Fawr. Because our pace was that bit slower than on the race, this went far more easily, and we scrambled to the top of Glyder Fawr before the careful nav across the often confusing Glyder ridge: slippery in the drizzle. We scrambled to the main summit of Glyder Fach, then tried to locate Vic: who had run up to join us from Ogwen. Easier said than done in visibility of a few metres! But a bearing took us right up to the Cantilever where we met up with Vic: very satisfying. So now we were five, for the very long descent back to Capel down the empty ridge in the gloom of gathering dusk, the mist even thicker. Good compass work throughout with no mistakes, always good practice to run on a bearing down a featureless whaleback ridge! Past lonely Llyn Caseg Fraith, over Foel Goch, then Gallt yr Ogof, before the fast but boggy descent to Capel Curig: dropping out of the clag at around 200m for the first time since the lowest slopes of Filiast. Steak pie and real ale in Conwy aided recovery.

Nick Beer 10k

Race: Nick Beer 10k, Llandudno (Welsh 10k Championships)
Time/Position: 37.14 (32nd from 675 [2nd V45])
The first time the Welsh 10k championships have been staged in the north since Caernarfon in 2012. As such, this was a good opportunity to try to get a decent finish in my category (I won the silver V40 medal in Caernarfon, but was outside the medals both times I've done the championships amidst strong fields in the south). Conditions were trying today: a stiff and bitterly cold easterly, exactly the same as Twin Piers last month. Some big waves crashed into the Orme as we rounded it on this most scenic of 10k routes. The tailwind was some help for the steeper slopes up to the lighthouse, but this has never been a quick course for me. The long descent down to West Shore, always enjoyable with great scenery, helps regain some time but it was then back into the headwind for the crucial 7-8k section. This was hard work as a result, and the final sprint down the prom wasn't much better: so the slow time was hardly a surprise! I came second V45 in the race, but was first Welsh qualifier so got the gold medal to go alongside the 10 mile championships last March.

Oswestry XC

Race: Oswestry XC (North Wales Cross Country League, race 5)
Time/Position: 40.50 (31st from 141 [3rd V45])
The first time I have ever completed a full season in the cross country league. All three previous races this season had been pedestrian and this was no exception: indeed, I struggled even more than usual on this route, which takes two big laps of a long and challenging course from the Marches School in Oswestry, with two sharp climbs and a couple of boggy sections. A headwind in places didn't help matters, with lots of changes of pace of the kind I always find hard to handle! All good fun, though, and satisfying to complete the season after well over 10 years of just doing one or two league races. I ended up 3rd V45 overall, with Buckley third team and second veterans team.

Rhug Cross Country

Race: North Wales XC Championships, Rhug, Corwen (6.2m)
Time/Position: 38.34 (14th from 55 [1st V45])
Conditions were relatively benign for the championships this year, with icy rain falling before the start but the ground reasonably firm for most of the route. This may be some explanation for the fact that my time was a couple of minutes quicker than my three or four previous races at Rhug (or maybe the course had been tweeked slightly). Although this was my worst ever finishing position at the cross country championships, it was also my first category win. It was quite a fast start, and my inability to handle changes of pace saw me starting to struggle even earlier than is usual. By the last lap, I just tried to hang on as Eric passed me. Still my favourite XC course: great location for the race and the prize giving. Buckley won the team prize overall again, and the veteran's team prize.

Deeside Border League

Race: Deeside/Kelsterton, Border League round 4 (4.5m)
Time/Position: 25.21 (33rd from 371 [3rd V45])
After yesterday's exertions into a headwind at the Twin Piers 10k, this was another damage limitation exercise. But, having missed two league races already this season, it was just an attempt to try to help out as best I could. It is, mercifully, a short circuit, which hasn't featured in the league since 2014. The only problem is that it incorporates the sharp climb up Kelsterton hill after a manic new start on the Deeside track with almost 400 runners squeezed in! The climb went OK in the circumstances. I made up some places on the long descent back to the stadium, but still finished in my worst league position for many years (possibly since 2008).

Twin Piers 10k

Race: Twin Piers 10k (Llandudno to Colwyn Bay)
Time/Position: 37.33 (6th from 420 [1st V45])
Having done this event many times over the years, with the coastal wind blowing from a variety of directions, it was pretty obvious that times would be adversely affected as we arrived in Llandudno to find a bitterly cold, and surprisingly strong, easterly wind. On this point-to-point race (my favourite local road race) this means a headwind the entire way, so a slow start was inevitable. A large group formed at the front, at least 10 runners, before it began to break up as we climbed over the Little Orme. This sharp climb does at least give some shelter from the wind. A route change then saw us doing two laps of the estate in Penrhyn Bay before reacquaintance with the headwind as we rejoined the coast down to Rhos on Sea. I managed to establish myself in fifth place, then pulled away from the group behind, until a young lad sped past with 500 metres to go. A very slow time, two minutes down on my expected finish, and well over three minutes down on my best time for this course (also my PB) recorded in 2011. I then enacted part two of the plan, running down the beach to immerse myself in the Irish Sea (up to thigh level) by way of impromptu ice bath recovery before tomorrow's Border League race.

Shrewsbury XC

Race: Baschurch, Shrewsbury XC (North Wales Cross Country league, race 4)
Time/Position: 35.41 (30th from 141 [3rd V45])
An amusing river crossing had been incorporated into this new circuit, the fourth and penultimate race of the season. It attracted a couple of dozen spectators and led to some fun and games as we plunged in to its icy, thigh deep murk. A steady climb followed immediately: hard work indeed to sustain any kind of pace after the soaking in the river. It all made for an excellent, though challenging cross-country race: classic stuff. I felt the need for spikes as it was very muddy underfoot, slippery and insecure in many places.

Glyderau walk

Peaks: Carnedd y Filiast, Mynydd Perfedd, Elidir Fawr
Area: Glyderau, Eryri
A sharp contrast with Monday: the snow and clear skies gone, to be replaced by standard issue clag and drizzle. This was a shame, as M had been persuaded to join the scouts winter walking weekend for the third time. I joined in (also for the third time) and was therefore able to observe him outside his natural habitat again! The cloud base was just above sea level as I approached Deiniolen at first light around 8am: very dank and gloomy. As the scouts had breakfast, it began to lift a bit, and was much higher when we set out from the HQ at the old school house on the edge of the village. The long haul up to Llyn Marchlyn Bach gives an unusual start to a mountain day: tarmac the whole way, gently climbing for several miles. Two of the scouts dropped behind and eventually five of us continued upwards into the mist. The path up Carnedd y Filiast is steep but comfortable, and conditions weren't too bad apart from the poor visibility. A bearing across the plateau gained the shelter on Mynydd Perfedd, then the always enjoyable ridge towards Elidir Fawr which gave a very brief clearance at Bwlch y Brechan for views of Llyn Marchlyn below. M seemed to enjoy the occasional bits of scrambling leading to the summit of Elidir. Last time I was here was the very memorable Elidir Fawr race one evening last September. After lunch, steady rain and a brisk wind added to the fun. I took a bearing after deliberately continuing along the ridge for a bit. The lower slopes of Elidir are featureless, and the visibility was very poor, but the bearing landed us above the broken crags and by skirting west for a few minutes we picked up the faint path which leads down to the lower Marchlyn lake. At this point, just a few metres above the lake and tarmac road, we broke through the persistent clag for the first time on the entire circuit, which M admitted was 'very satisfying'. A long descent ensued, back down the road to Deiniolen.

Carneddau run

Peaks: Carnedd Dafydd, Carnedd Llewellyn, Yr Elen
Area: Carneddau, Eryri
A great way to start the year, reviving the route of the defunct Carneddau race from Gerlan above Bethesda. By pure luck, conditions were superb with a good covering of snow and a cold northerly wind which blew most of the cloud over into Ogwen as we climbed up from Cwm Llafar. I did the old race in 2007 and 2011, but Jez and Hayley hadn't done this particular circuit before. The first steepening was tough with cold limbs in the early morning, but the Mynydd Du spur is soon reached with the usual cracking views over Llech Ddu and Ysgolion Duon. From here, surprisingly thick snow cover gave interesting route finding through the boulder fields to a spectacular summit view, with sunshine through the tendrils of mist wreathing Ogwen. The ridge across to Llewellyn is always magnificent in these kinds of semi-Alpine conditions: I would estimate at least 30 trips along it since the 1980s, possibly many more than that. The snow was perfect for running: not too soft, not too crusty. It allowed for very rapid progress and I got some great pictures on the crest of the ridge. The mist came down on Llewellyn, which was predictably bitter, and I took a brief bearing towards Yr Elen before we enjoyed the superb climax of the route. Wonderful views down into wild and remote Cwm Caseg and across the northern Carneddau: one of my favourite spots. I suggested not to bother with the traditional race climax (which indulges in some brutal arbitrary punishment by taking runners up Gyrn Wigau). Instead, we enjoyed the superb continuation of the horseshoe over Foel Gron, which remained snowy until we got to Cwm Llafar itself. A cold river crossing then quick running back to sunny Gerlan before lunchtime.

Bowstones fell race

Race: Bowstones fell race, Poynton (11k/1063ft)
Time/Position: 47.47 (23rd from 389)
We all really enjoyed this fine coda to the running year in 2015, so went back again. But whereas last year I felt quite good on this fast and runnable race, which is almost closer to a trail or multi-terrain event, I struggled from an early stage this year. I still had hamstring damage from the Jubilee Plunge although can't really blame that for my travails which were more fundamental in nature! The route is eyeballs out throughout, with no really steep climbs: it goes gently up into Lyme Park, then embarks on a steady climb interspersed with a wooded descent that eventually leads to a short ridge on the edge of the Peak. I lost around 10 places on the climb, struggling to run, but gained a few on the descent back to the Cage Tower and Lyme Park: eventually finishing around a minute (and 10 places) down on last year.

Y Garn walk

Peak: Y Garn
Area: Glyderau, Eryri
The traditional post-Christmas walk with Rich. Just a short one this year, although conditions were superb with a hard frost in the valleys and perfect clarity from the summits. The East Face of Tryfan would have been wonderful, sheltered from the cold (but fairly gentle) westerly. Rich fancied Y Garn though, so we walked along the valley to Ogwen Cottage then up the very familiar steps towards Twll Du. Emerging into the sunlight at Llyn y Cwn was very welcome: memories of my solo summer wild camp in this wonderful spot. Delightful winter sunshine for the plod to the summit, and lunch with a raven for company. Excellent views over Llyn, in particular. We completed the mini loop in familiar fashion, down Banana ridge and back to Idwal. An ideal gentle outing to stretch the legs after all the festive races.

Jubilee Plunge

Race: Jubilee Plunge (2.2m/-1361ft)
Time/Position: 12.39 (8th from 81)
The shortest and physically easiest race of the year, yet always the most damaging in terms of recovery! I'd avoided it in favour of the 5k handicap last year, conscious that my poor descending and overstriding leaves my legs in shreds for a week even if I hold back. It is one of the most enjoyable outings of the year though, and I have always liked the village pub. A convivial trot to the top of Moel Famau for this most eccentric of race starts in front of the usual crowd of curious onlookers on the Jubilee Tower: nice weather with low sunshine and milky high cloud. I started mid-pack, the intention being to take it easy and save my legs. This backfired in a fairly obvious way as I found myself way behind on the first steep drop then felt obliged to push on the ridge to try to gain some places. By the time you reach the narrow track branching off towards the Vale it is all too late. I could see Steve, Andy and Chris below me and knew I was unlikely to catch up! It is a fantastic grassy descent back to the road but I avoided the 'shortcut' as nobody else seemed to be taking it. The flatter fields back to the pub suit me a bit better and I ended up half a minute down on my best time. My fourth time at the Plunge, and the third short enjoyable race in four festive days.