Snowdonia Marathon 2018

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Comments

  • ChimneyChimney ✭✭✭
    Cheers FooW. 

    I had my jacket on for large parts. One of me at PYP, and one at the finish. Need to search through to find the rest.
    If reality matched intention I'd know I was dreaming
  • panadpanad ✭✭✭
    Mr panad has just been looking through this years race splits, and started looking at the various splits he’s done over the years...apparently this year was his fastest mile 22...
     
  • Well done everyone.. Some great results! Great weekend and enjoyed the race as much as ever. 
     I was going ok until I got three quarters of the way up the final hill and a groin injury I'd been battling reared it's ugly head.. I had to walk up the remaining hill and most of the way back down into llanberis which was extremely frustrating... Managed to hobble in on the 3hour 4 mark. Definitely will be back next year, hopefully injury free this time! 
  • Super running into the gusty north wind everybody (especially TRex, just crazy given the weather on Friday!).  Lovely to catch up with Pete Thomas 6, Brer Rabbit, TRex and Mrs TRex, McHilly, Snowdonia Snail and Fish out of Water (thanks for the hugs FooW - I really needed it at the end!), and to reacquaint myself with the best event in the world...

    Fabulous views, friendly & chatty runners, amazing supporters, unpleasant northerly wind, brutally runnable course - it has everything I love but it pretty much broke me this time.  I was fine (or at least going as usual) getting to mile 15, but after that my left calf decided it had had enough and tried to cramp every few minutes from there to Waunfawr, after which it left me in a permanent state of discomfort and having to walk up the hill, grinding to a halt several times between mile 23 & 24; I basically bullied myself down to the end to rescue a sub-4 that I thought had gone - 3:58:47 (my second slowest) but 11th SNOD sub-4 in a row so I'm pleased, given that I appear to have finished with a small tear in that left calf I can't really complain too much.  Lots of rest for the next two weeks - before the next marathon...

    Can't wait until 1st December to enter my 13th SNOD - see you all there next year!
  • Wow brilliant Chimney!! I'm sure people will be pouring over them and comparing them to their one times and pace. Makes for very interesting reading. Most telling number for me was the 14m-23m avg pace of 7.35 for the 1-100 runners. I felt like I lost far too much time on this section and I did slow down quite a bit and got passed by many runners. And the avg pace confirms it. I ran 8.22 avg for that sextion. However my avg pace on the last section was 8.21!! Faster on the last hill and descent than the flat roads. And 20 secs faster than the avg pace for 1-100 runners. So I kinda pulled it back a little but the damage was done losing 50 seconds per mile between 14-23. So more endurance training required!! 
  • ChimneyChimney ✭✭✭
    Cheers UDS. I do love a bit of Stats!

    Same for me. It was the 14-23m section that lost me all the time. Reletive to those finishing around the same time I was quicker on both the first and last hills.

    Historically, if a course has undulation (Normal type, not SNOD type undulations!) I tend to be quicker than if it's flat. 

    I put this down to, even when I lived down south, spending more time running up/down than along. Guess the different muscle groups got trained that they could put the effort in, then recover before the next. 

    With constant flat, there's not really that same recovery possibility. 

    I got given a place for Manchester, thanks to Asics, on April 7th. As that's billed as one of the flattest mara's I guess I need to concentrate my long runs on the canal & old railway lines we have round here. Just do the hills on the rest.
    If reality matched intention I'd know I was dreaming
  • ChimneyChimney ✭✭✭
    Yes, that means I'm intending (Note the sentance under my postings!) to train over the winter....gulp.....Train - A five letter swear word!
    If reality matched intention I'd know I was dreaming
  • Argh TR22 so gutted for you mate!!  You've worked so hard in training for this one and were definitely on for sub3! You were targeting even better than that I know. Sorry it didn't happen for you this time around. But to stumble up and down final climb and still run a 3.05 is staggeringly fast. I need to get myself in that sort of shape. Hope the injury mends well and soon. Taking the rest of 2018 off or got some races planned? 
  • Thanks FOOW! Have to wait until home as photos aren't downloading fast on mobile device. Train WiFi awful! 
  • Small mercies that the groin injury flared up so later on in the course TR22 - still a cracking time & you know that if it wasn't for the injury (and the broken build up to the race) you'd have "comfortably" gone sub 3. I'm hoping to be in shape to go sub 3 again next year - hoping to train/be pulled along on long runs on the course with my clubmate who finished 2nd on Saturday (role reversal as I pulled up on the hills when we trained together for the 2014 race) 
  • Great to read all your comments. Hips were my problem which I need to get sorted.  Got some good photos to remember the event!  Did anyone see the clock at registration, my wife took a liking to it but not sure I want such a slow time to confront me every timen
  • Hey, great to see everyone finished safely at the best marathon in the world! Awesome day, yet again. Brilliant to see some old friends/usual suspects and great to get the hug at the end from FOOW. Slowest Snod time in the 10 times I have done it-4.30 but it was better than I thought it would be given that it was the 60th marathon of the year. Off to do 8 marathons in 8 days on Sunday :)
  • That's the link for anyone looking for the SNOD. Perfect for counting down the days to Dec 1st :-) 


  • Great SNOD photos as always! Nice to look back one week on :-) today will be a different type of 'endurance test' for myself and Brickhill Runner as we fit a new kitchen!! What Brickhill Runner didn't count on was needing his Poncho... Mains water burst yesterday gave Brickhill Runner a SNOD style soaking! 🤣 Have to laugh otherwise you 😢 All dried out now!! 
  • I see they’ve decided on 7am for entries opening, which sounds good, at least if it doesn’t take more than an hour to do the entry I should be able to get to parkrun!
  • Hope T-Rex has recovered? Looking forward to reading his story.
  • <p>Hello all! </p><p>A couple of weeks ago I watched a few family members cross the line of the Snowdonia Marathon and felt really inspired! I’ve decided I would absolutely love to give it a go next year however, I am a complete beginner to running long distances! I can run a 5k but never attempted anything more.</p>
    <p><span>Firstly, I just wanted to get opinions on whether it’s realistic to do next year (Oct 2019)? I wouldn’t be fussed at all about time etc just to be able to complete it would be the goal!</span></p><p>Secondly, has anyone got any recommended training plans/advice? </p><p>Thanks! </p>
  • T RexT Rex ✭✭✭
    No 2019 thread yet??  That won't do.

    Been busy with stuff and sorry not to post.  Glad to meet so many of you.  More folks needed at The Heights to make it a good gig though.

    jess_wig - the correct order is enter first and train later!  A year is more than enough to train from 5K to 42K.  I wouldn't rush into doing 168K though.

    On the subject of which ...
  • T RexT Rex ✭✭✭

    Quad SNOD, part I

    Arrived in the Llanberis area on the Thursday evening and spent most of the evening and the next morning sorting out kit and drop bags.  Left digs about midday on Friday to register and leave a drop bag in the hedge on the right hand side of the road near the start.  Didn’t want this bag found so I hid it high up the bank and covered it with bracken.  “No-one will find that,” I thought.

    Then down into Llanberis to cache another bag in a secret, indoor location, including a flask of soup which I hoped would still be reasonably warm in 13 hours’ time.

    And then into Pantri for excellent hospitality, food, and rest for an hour or so.

    At 1417, two minutes behind schedule I set out in the reverse direction with a good send off from SNOD forumites and photos, etc.

    It was very windy, cold, and damp as I set off up the steep side of the mountain towards Waun Fawr.  Colder than I was expecting and far colder than down in the valley.  A buff had to go over my mouth.

  • T RexT Rex ✭✭✭

    Lovely descent into Waun Fawr and a very helpful tailwind all the way to Beddgelert.  I had to slow down by deliberately walking.

    About mile 20 a well-dressed runner was heading towards me and I rightly guessed this was Andy, from Newport, also aiming to do the Quad SNOD, and well into his first lap.  We exchanged notes and he said he had got to mile 18 comfortably in 3h10.  “A bit fast,” I thought, but he looked in great shape.  He told me Duane, aiming for six laps (?!), was on the course but not feeling too comfortable.

    Got to mile 13 six minutes ahead of schedule and had a great meet-up with The Lazy Greyhound with food and we had a discussion as to where he could leave me a drop bag.  We opted for under a tree outside a semi-derelict building.  Thanks, buddy!

    Every half an hour or so it kept coming over very dark with brief hailstorms.  Coming out of Beddgelert up the long and gradual climb there was a particularly nasty one.  It was just about nightfall and I was getting cold, especially my hands.  I took a long break in someone’s garden sheltering under a tree while I re-organised my kit and food.  On went windproof beanie, new OMM Kamleika jacket, high-vis tabard, gloves, and headtorch.  That felt better!

  • T RexT Rex ✭✭✭

    Still running well within myself I jogged up the track, quite a serious climb between miles 7 and 6.

    A lot of problems once back on the road and going up and over Pen-y-Pass.  It was nasty weather with continuous dampness and light rain in the air and a brutal headwind now.  Oncoming cars couldn’t seem to see me and frequently swerved around me at the last minute.  Pesky runners who had just been to register and were rushing to their warm beds.

    No such luxury for me.  Got to about the race start area in 6h10, five minutes ahead of schedule, and started looking for my bag.  Where was it?  In the dark the long stretch of hedge was featureless and offered no clue as to where I had headed into it eight hours before.  And why did I cover it in bracken??  After not a little bit of concern, managed to locate it, had some food and topped up water and energy drink.  It was raining steadily by now and it was a bit miserable in there so I set off as quickly as possible after only 13 minutes of ‘recovery’.  2041.  Nineteen minutes ahead of schedule!

    One lap done and all good so far.

  • JW - go for it!!! You will love every second. Feel inspired and get your entry in on Dec 1. And as its your first Marathon i can guarantee that you will train harder than anyone on this forum!!!
  • T RexT Rex ✭✭✭

    There was less traffic coming down the Llanberis Pass this time so I reached Pen-y-Pass unscathed but more tired than I should be.  Lost some time and was now only 13 minutes ahead of schedule.  Soon it was time to run down the off road section, a great experience in the dark.

  • T RexT Rex ✭✭✭

    Just after mile 6 two headtorches were approaching, moving at a good speed towards me.  These were Andy nearly finishing his second lap (anti-clockwise) and Duane nearly finishing his third.  After his second lap Duane had earlier decided to wait in Llanberis until Andy had finished his first lap and then they had set out together.  They looked in great shape and commented that despite difficult conditions with the wind there hadn’t been any heavy rain.  I was rather pleased to note that since the last time I had seen Andy we had both covered 26 miles, but then I suspect he had had far longer than 13 minutes’ rest between his marathons!

    Soon after leaving them the heavens opened and the next two miles were in very heavy rain and poor visibility.

  • T RexT Rex ✭✭✭

    Somewhere about mile 9 when back on the road I became aware I was limping.  Stiffness on the top of the left ankle and pain at the bottom of the shin were starting.  This was an injury that I had picked up in my last long training run two weeks previously, and that I had sort of hoped had cleared up, but clearly was coming back again.  Inflammation of the superior extensor retinaculum. I still had 69 miles to go and this wasn’t a good sign at all.

    Nothing for it but to keep plodding on.  Pleased to get to my feed station at Beddgelert, mile 13, if now only four minutes ahead of schedule, where I found under the tree a large black sack of goodies!  It was like a lucky dip, or Santa’s grotto!  The LG, you’re a star.  Here I topped up my water and grabbed two packets of crisps and a pasty. And then it was the long drag up to Waunfawr.  It’s 9 miles but seemed to take an eternity.  It was 0215 as I started to tackle the hill at mile 22 and I was now 15 minutes behind schedule.  Things were unravelling a little.  It was cold on the top again but what a great view looking down on Llanberis at night.  During the dark hours I had hardly been using the headtorch, so bright was the moon (in between the hailstorms).

  • T RexT Rex ✭✭✭

    Eventually down to my indoor bag drop and, yes, the soup was still quite warm.  I downed quite a lot of food here, dealt with just the one blister that had formed, dried my feet, and put on clean socks.  Doing this makes a lot of difference.  If your feet feel good it makes you feel good all over.  After a 27-minute break here (shaving three minutes off my schedule) it was back off out into the darkness again and up the mountain to Waunfawr.  0400.  Still 15 minutes behind schedule overall.  Two laps done, two to go. 

    Down but not out!

  • TR.you are a star.
    If reality matched intention I'd know I was dreaming
  • I'm loving this report, T Rex. I can't wait for the next instalment. Perhaps now is a good time to intersperse it with my photo album of the weekend? Feel free to nick any photos or even THE SEND-OFF VIDEO for your publicity campaign. ;-)
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickham100/albums/72157703415122564

    I'll wait until you've finished your instalments before I post my much shorter and less worthy missive.
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