2020 has been a funny year so far! After an awesome January running the Spine Race (you can read about it here, but make a panad first, it’s a long one), we packed up, sold our house, and moved to North Wales, ready to start my new job as a consultant in A&E. Disruptive at the best of times, COVID and lockdown certainly made the next few months more challenging than I had expected! But, we have money in the bank, and we are fit and healthy, so I can’t complain.
The Snowdonia National Park has been almost completely shut (except for the Carneddi) due to COVID lockdown restrictions, so the spring of running I had planned just hasn’t materialised. That’s not to say I haven’t been out running, but the long days in the mountains I’d been dreaming of definitely haven’t happened! Like most other UK runners, my race diary has been getting emptier as more races have (understandably) been cancelled. It’s hard to keep up the motivation without a goal. I’m still waiting to hear if GB Ultras Race Across Scotland will happen or not in August, but I’m not hopeful.
So, I needed a new goal! After following acorn-markers north on the Pennine Way, it seemed like a long distance trail might be the way to go. And the circular, local nature of the Snowdonia Slate Trail meant it fitted the bill perfectly as lockdown has begun to ease here in North Wales. I’m on seven days of annual leave and wanted to do something productive with my time, so I committed to running the Snowdonia Slate Trail. The forecast wasn’t perfect (even on the ‘better weather day’), so I made the decision to run supported rather than unsupported/ self-supported. Initially I had planned to start on Friday, so I had extra time to recover from a long weekend on-call at work, but worsening weather meant I swapped this to the slightly drier Thursday.
The route is 83 miles / 134 km long with approximately 4500m of ascent. It starts with a linear stretch from Bangor to Bethesda, then it completes a large circuit through Snowdonia, back to Bethesda. It is way-marked, but there aren’t many way-markers. It’s easy to miss a sign and be off-route; you definitely need a map to navigate. There is a route book that you can buy, and a website that details the route.
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| 03:01 a.m. Setting off from Bangor |
At 03:01am on Thursday 2nd July (after an unsurprisingly bad night's sleep) I left Porth Penrhyn in Bangor on the cycle path and headed for Bethesda. The route follows a series of small footpaths up to Llanllechid, before dropping into Bethesda. Within 2 km I turned off the tarmac cycle path onto overgrown footpaths and my feet were soaking wet. The undergrowth was full of moisture as it had been raining for days. It continued to rain for the next six hours which was challenging.
I’d run the first section from Bangor to Llanberis before, and the route passed uneventfully. Dawn came slowly in Bethesda and it was a relief to turn my torch off. By the time I reached Llanberis, I had wet pants! Emma had agreed to run with me from here until Nantlle, so I had dropped some resupply bits off in her garage the night before. I dried my shorts and pants with a towel (thanks!), then was ready to go again. If she hadn’t been running with me, I think I might have run home and gone to bed!
Llanberis to Nantlle passed quickly, and I was now on new terrain, passing through slate quarries and quaint slate villages. Tom turned up in Nantlle to retrieve Emma and allow me to resupply again.
Frustratingly there was an illegal footpath closure through Ffridd Farm in Nantlle. I had contacted the farm owners to ask if I could pass through but they had said no. I contacted the council who confirmed that it was an illegal closure and that I could use the footpath, but I don’t want to jeopardise access for the Slate Trail in the future, so I diverted around on the road. Hopefully this will be rectified in the near future; there is understandably a lot of tension and anxiety in some communities due to COVID.
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| It's stopped raining enough to get my sunnies out! |
After a short diversion I was back on route and on my way to Rhyd Ddu and then Beddgelert, ahead of schedule. By the time I’d made it to Beddgelert, the sun was out and I finally took off my waterproof jacket! I was moving well, faster than expected, and was back to enjoying things (now that my pants were dry again). The footpath from Nantmor to Croesor was mostly like a stream, but fortunately the surroundings are picturesque. I was starting to worry about my very wet feet. Its a long slog uphill after Croesor, but with a steady pace, I was at the top of hill quicker than planned; probably too quick in retrospect! I trotted down into Tanygrisau, feeling really happy, and an hour up on my schedule. I shared a joyous phone call with some good friends, singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and cheering at the fact that I was now half-way there.
The ensuing 8.6km from Tanygrisiau to Llan Ffestiniog were tough and the wheels really fell off! I clearly hadn’t fuelled enough. My feet were sore. And the faster pace I’d been maintaining didn’t seem possible now. I reached Tom and my spare kit, and really could have stopped there! I took the opportunity to check out my feet (macerated!), re-tape them, and put on dry socks and shoes. A cup of tea, a mug of full fat coke, and it was time to get moving again, with 2 slices of pizza in my hand. In retrospect, I actually completed this leg in the time that I had predicted on my schedule, but at the time I felt I’d lost a lot of extra time.
The next section from Llan Ffestiniog to Penmachno is both the longest and the most remote. At 21.3km long, it also involves 880m of ascent, and is renowned for its bogginess and lack of signage. Great! Just what I needed when tired. Cwm Cynfal gorge really was a hidden gem, and I passed many stunning waterfalls as I made my way up the impressive valley. The remote Migneint moors were as boggy as I’d expected; my dry shoes didn’t last long! But before too long, it was back downhill towards Cwm Penmachno.
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| Must obey speed limits into Cwm Penmachno... |
Another frustrating diversion on the forestry tracks between Cwm Penmachno and Penmachno due to forestry works meant I had to go off-piste through the forest and back onto the road. It would have been useful if this had been signed in the village before I’d slogged uphill on tired legs. At least it made sure I didn’t miss out any ascent from the route! I made it into Penmachno at 20:30 and was pleased to see Siobhan, who had decided to join me for the final 36 km back to Bethesda (after a full day at work; what a star!).
The trail from Penmachno to Betws-y-coed was steady and easy going. My legs were feeling quite good, but my feet were the limiting factor. Good company, and lots of chatter helped the miles pass. Siobhan even let me sing the Spice Girls to cheer me up (her music taste is way cooler than mine). Our head torches came out as we left Betws and plodded on towards Capel Curig. I was starting to feel tired, but the much-desired cup of tea in Capel didn’t materialise because Tom had been fast asleep. Instead a cup of coke, and on to the final leg.
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| Time for a resupply (when your support crew is asleep and hasn't made you a brew!) |
Capel to Bethesda is mostly downhill, and mostly very straightforward, except for an excruciating 2.6km along the backside of Llyn Ogwen. Dodging bogs and jumping between dry rocks, this took me a very slow 50 minutes in the dark! Fortunately the final 9 km are much more straight forward. With gritted teeth (yes, my feet were still sore… in case I haven’t told you enough!), we marched the final stretch down into Bethesda. Dawn arrived just as I finished; 04:33am on Friday 3rd July. Time for bed!
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| Happy smiles at the end! |
Big thanks to Tom for being my support man, to Emma for joining me when I had wet pants and wanted to quit, and finally to Siobhan for coming for a slow plod through the night and putting up with my moaning when tired and sore!
Stats:
- 136.4km
- 4674m ascent
- 25 hr 32 minutes
As far as I know, this is a female FKT; previously run in 30 hr 59 min 42 sec by Seda Nur Celik, during the Snowdonia Slate Trail Ultra in February 2020, and in 34 hr 51 min 45 sec by Belinda Southwall in September 2019.
Hopefully this will motivate more women to get out on the trail and have a go! I’m sure there are many faster, more talented runners than me who can beat my time! It’s been a good opportunity to get outside and try hard.
If I was to run this again; I’d either try to do it when the trails are drier, or rethink my footwear strategy, and perhaps go with waterproof socks. I wasn’t expecting my feet to be such a problem. I’m not sure if it’s because the latest model of the Hoka Speedgoat doesn’t drain as well as previous models (but is more durable as a result), or if I’d have had the same problem regardless due to the sheer volume of rain in the last week. Things to consider for any future long runs anyway!
