International Snowdon Race

It was quite a daunting feeling knowing that I would be lining up alongside some of the best mountain runners in Europe for the annual International Snowdon race. Whilst the best climbers in Europe are the Italians and French, they struggle (as I do) on the descent's and this is best left to the UK athletes who are in a different league. That said, the atmosphere on the start line was simply electric, with live band, funfair and a camaraderie between the athletes that I have seldom previously witnessed. In true Snowdon race tradition, the peak was obscured from view by a cloud base sitting at about 1500' and the rain was very, light but wet. The plan for the day was to attempt to beat the hour to the summit and in doing so secure a top 10 placing overall. (To the top).  I was joined in the Welsh contingent by members of the Welsh team. Anna Bartlett, Andrea Rolwands and of course Jenny Heming. 

At the gun, I giggled as I saw them disappear into the distance but was very pleased when I managed to claw back Andrea's lead by the two mile point. I was also excited to see that Anna was only slightly ahead with Jenny a little further ahead of her. I managed to maintain a very, very comfortable pace which saw me catch and pass the girls....in doing so my confidence was boosted considerably.   At the summit I relaxed and Anna recovered her place.  I had managed a 58 minute ascent and in doing so 9th to the top..I was overjoyed! 

After that the expected happened, Jenny disappeared on the decent like a frightened rabbit so I decided to consolidate my position and focus on staying close to Anna...The result was a comfortable, fun time, 2nd Vet 40, a 1.34 overall time and a sense of achievement like no other....A stunning race, stunning scenery and fantastic fellow athletes!