Lanbedr to Blaenafon fell race 10.4.10 Posted by Charlie Click here to return to race reports

Race Route: Start from Llanbedr Village, up over Crug Mawr, then climb up the back of the Sugar Loaf, down into Abergavenny, out to Llanfoist and then up and over the KILLER - The Blorenge! Finish in Blaenafon. Sounds simple I thought when discussing the race with John and Carl in the relaxed environment of the Blue Boar! Being relatively new to the area (and fell running) I didn’t have a clear understanding of what I was letting myself in for until we drove in convoy to Blaenafon.


Having committed to running as much as possible this year, I set about convincing myself that it would be great training for the forthcoming Welsh 3000 and it certainly didn’t disappoint. After registering and sizing up the formidable looking competeion, the race began in beautiful warm sunny weather. A bit of bunching at the first style set the positions for the race (or at least I knew that I was near the back!). As the runners began to spread out, a snake formed which allowed for less map reading and more time to enjoy the amazing scenery and atmosphere.

Each of the three Fells had a different ‘pain’ or ‘torture’ to tease out of the runners,whether it be a rocky downhill section or lung bursting up hill climb, but without doubt and in agreement of all Hot Footers the most challenging section of the race was the climb up to the top of the Blorenge. As the last major peak of the race, the route leads straight up and resembles a never ending staircase. John had advised me at the beginning to ‘hold something in reserve for the Blorenge’ and he was absolutely right.

The attached pictures paint a thousand words as to the feeling on reaching the top! New to the sport of fell running, I was extremely encouraged by the amount of ‘banter’ on the slopes. It was a welcome relief to what I can only describe as 16 miles of pain and provided respite, if only for what seemed like a few seconds. Set in my mind from the beginning was the requirement to finish within the top 60 runners. This would allow me to covert a much sought after ‘Special Anniversary T-Shirt’, unfortunately despite my best efforts, this wasn’t to be.

On the positive side both Carl and John had done enough to get well inside the top 60 spots. It certainly was an amazing experience and a testing route which had us all talking about it for several hours afterwards. I look forward to the next one!