This weekend will see yet another running of the world famous Snowdon Race....For those of you who are not familiar with the race it has been held annually for over 25years and takes place in north Wales starting at the foot of the 2nd highest peak in the United Kingdom (sorry England and Wales thanks Ady!).....Snowdon. At almost 3500 feet it represents a tough challenge to the athletes from all over the world who travel religiously to tackle the slopes. Making use of the 'tourist' path up from the centre of the village of Llanberis, the race is regularly over-subscribed ten fold and entries for elite athletes this year were full after a matter of days of the entry being opened. The race is approximately 10 miles, five miles up and then back down again...whilst I feel the ascent is tough, I do not find it that difficult...indeed, I could name any number of alternative summits in the Snowdon massif to offer a more challenging ascent. I am not trying to take away the fact that it is tough and it has even claimed competitor's lives, I do think that the hype that surrounds the challenge is somewhat over stated. The organising team put on a fabulous race and the facilities are fantastic with side shows, treatments area's for the athletes and extensive television coverage by the Welsh language channel S4C. The shame of it is, that we don't seem to replicate the occasion on other races in the UK....The Snowdon Race is on it's own and is just fantastic for the image of Wales. Last year, I was fortunate enough to be part of the support team for the Salomon racing team on the trans Alps race. This race too is very well supported by 100's of athletes and again, it see's the sense of occasion surrounding a race taken to the extreme. Local villages come out and cheer and the athletes competing in the race are treated with adulation by the thousands of supporters who
regularly climb to the summits of 10,000 foot mountains to offer their appreciation of the runners. I suppose what I am trying to say, is that here in the UK without exception, we have the ability to stage fantastic events. The only problem is that we don't save for the experts running the Snowdon race. With health and well being hyped as it is at the moment, why is it that the media choose to ignore events other than the Snowdon race....The live coverage that this race enjoys is beyond reproach, with helicopters (weather permitting) being deployed to get the best shots for the spectators and giving a real feel to the challenge the athletes are experiencing on the race. So, come on Mr Media, get out there on them thar hills and bring the sport of mountain running to the fore and give it the coverage it deserves......
This weekend will see yet another running of the world famous Snowdon Race....For those of you who are not familiar with the race it has been held annually for over 25years and takes place in north Wales starting at the foot of the 2nd highest peak in the United Kingdom (sorry England and Wales thanks Ady!).....Snowdon. At almost 3500 feet it represents a tough challenge to the athletes from all over the world who travel religiously to tackle the slopes. Making use of the 'tourist' path up from the centre of the village of Llanberis, the race is regularly over-subscribed ten fold and entries for elite athletes this year were full after a matter of days of the entry being opened. The race is approximately 10 miles, five miles up and then back down again...whilst I feel the ascent is tough, I do not find it that difficult...indeed, I could name any number of alternative summits in the Snowdon massif to offer a more challenging ascent. I am not trying to take away the fact that it is tough and it has even claimed competitor's lives, I do think that the hype that surrounds the challenge is somewhat over stated. The organising team put on a fabulous race and the facilities are fantastic with side shows, treatments area's for the athletes and extensive television coverage by the Welsh language channel S4C. The shame of it is, that we don't seem to replicate the occasion on other races in the UK....The Snowdon Race is on it's own and is just fantastic for the image of Wales. Last year, I was fortunate enough to be part of the support team for the Salomon racing team on the trans Alps race. This race too is very well supported by 100's of athletes and again, it see's the sense of occasion surrounding a race taken to the extreme. Local villages come out and cheer and the athletes competing in the race are treated with adulation by the thousands of supporters who 
3 comments:
Hi Tammy, I don't think Snowdon is the UK's second highest peak i think that's Beinn Macdui.
Ady, you are definately correct! I have edited accordingly!!! Thanks for your comment......Tamster
No probs, good luck with Snowdon, I'm not running this year after operations to both feet 3 weeks ago!
I remember passing you on the descent last year, hope you do well this year and try to disengage your brain for the descent!
Post a Comment