In November 2012, on my way to get the registration pack for the Athens marathon, I bumped into a group of other runners from the UK sharing the excitement about Athens and mentioning the Snowdonia Marathon in Wales they had done the week before and how great it was. That left me with the following thoughts: What freaks, how can you run marathons on two consecutive weekends? And: I want to do the Snowdonia one next year! Well, it took me several attempts to secure a place for this race. The ballot used to open on New Year’s day at midnight with all places taken by the early morning hours. I simply underestimated how popular this event is, which means you have to wait another year to try again. Last year the ballot opened earlier, 1st of December I think, which almost caused me to miss the entry again. But by this time I had some fellow running friends who were also keen and in a joined effort we secured three places that night. What a victory to start with.
Now, in October 2018 I finally did it (plus I now belong to this group of freaks, who do marathons on consecutive weekends). And the event was worth waiting for, no wonder every year the places are snapped up in no time. When, the night before, running buddy Phil and I picked up our numbers, it was dark and after the over five hours car journey from London, I felt tired, irritated, hungry and really not in the mood. Once back at the B&B’s all restaurants had already closed and we were left getting some Chinese take-away (rice is also carbs, right?) and wolfed it down in our small (but very nice!) single bed bedrooms. I had a bit of a cough and did not feel 100%. On Monday I had sprained my ankle, something that had not happened to me for the last decade or so. The ankle was still a bit swollen, there were still body memories of a light head cold and when I woke up in the morning I felt sweaty and exhausted. Maybe it was the heating, maybe not. You get the picture.
It all started to turn around with breakfast, which was very nice (same as everything else at that B&B place, I can very much recommend it). There was a fellow marathoner sitting at the other table, enlightening me that this is rather a road race and maybe I should rethink wearing trail shoes. Only the last two miles down-hill can get slippery when wet. Good advise, I wore my road trainers. Even though the search for a parking space caused a bit of unnecessary stress, it all worked out well in the end and we made it to the start line, well in time, but also a bit wondering how many layers you need at temperatures around 6 degree Celsius and a rather windy outlook. But the view was stunning and the low morning sun was virtually inviting us to run into it. The course has three major hills and a total climb of 838 meters, but the scenic backdrop of this glorious Snowdonian autumn day let you forget any technicalities about the route. It was like running through a Turner painting, created by the sunlight around us. Absolutely stunning.
After the first hill followed a downhill bit over gravel that might have added a bit of a challenge if you expectet only tarmac. But by this point all previous discomforts and worries were forgotten and I felt like a kid on huge playground. I am not sure why my engery levels did not really drop during the race, even after hill two and three, but it felt that running in an environment like this gives you more than just an extra boost.
Initially I estimated my finish time with someting around 4:30, considering the lack of running and races I had this year. But when I was still able to jog up the third hill I thought I might be able to do an under 4 hours time. But then there were the last two downhill miles. Running downhill is not my strength. I am always overtaken by many on downhills, while I usually overtake others uphill. But psychologically I just thought about letting myself go and gravity do its work. Which did not happen, because the last two miles were indeed very traily, steep and a bit slippery and with my road shoes and wobbely legs it did not feel safe to just go for it. So I was surrounded by runners who somehow did make this setting work for them and passed me in high numbers with grace and speed. I have no clue how they did that. But eventually I also made it to the bottom and finished in 4:04:29, which is still better than I could have hoped for. And when an awesome running event and a good time come together, it makes a really great day!
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