10 Peaks - Brecon Beacons
A race with a difference. The event is listed 58km with 3000m of ascent, though the route is suggested, yet unmarked requiring and allowing competitors to navigate, and alter the route where desired.
A race with a difference. The event is listed 58km with 3000m of ascent, though the route is suggested, yet unmarked requiring and allowing competitors to navigate, and alter the route where desired.
I was always planning to race, though wanted to make sure that I pulled up ok after OCC. I was unsure how I would fare given the residual fatigue of the event a week earlier.
Competitors start one after the other a few seconds apart. I started towards the back in order to get a good look at who was up ahead, and in the hope of having plenty of people to pass, and navigate off.
By the first peak I had caught and passed the rest of the field, and was starting to pick off the long course competitors (who started an hour earlier). This made the navigation non-existent as there was a stream of folk marking my route.
I passed four long course runners on the climb to peak #3 and then I was on my own, with nobody ahead of me to navigate off.
En route to peak #4 (Fan Lila) In my haste I ended up off the main track, and on a sheep track following the hillside around rather than on the main track. I was conscious that I was not high enough for where I was meant to be, and at this same point realised that the needle of my compass was pointing somewhere other than North. Fog bound I felt like I was now running around in circles. The demons started to creep in, telling me that I was an idiot, and that I should just follow the lake to next check point and pull the pin. I back tracked to a point where I could make out the lake in the distance, allowing me to orientate my map and work my way up the contours to find Fan Lila.
I was bracing myself for the bad news at check point #2 as to many minutes I was going to have to chase down. To my amazement I was still leading. This gave me confidence that I must have been moving significantly quicker than the guys behind, I just had to stay on course.
From CP2 I settled back into the process with a little more navigational caution, and it was pretty much smooth sailing. There were a few possible 'racing lines' available, though I opted to stick to the longer, yet more obvious suggested route.
With nobody in sight, I took the final 10km reasonably easy, crossing the line in 6:52, taking ten minutes off the record in the process.
Competitors start one after the other a few seconds apart. I started towards the back in order to get a good look at who was up ahead, and in the hope of having plenty of people to pass, and navigate off.
By the first peak I had caught and passed the rest of the field, and was starting to pick off the long course competitors (who started an hour earlier). This made the navigation non-existent as there was a stream of folk marking my route.
I passed four long course runners on the climb to peak #3 and then I was on my own, with nobody ahead of me to navigate off.
En route to peak #4 (Fan Lila) In my haste I ended up off the main track, and on a sheep track following the hillside around rather than on the main track. I was conscious that I was not high enough for where I was meant to be, and at this same point realised that the needle of my compass was pointing somewhere other than North. Fog bound I felt like I was now running around in circles. The demons started to creep in, telling me that I was an idiot, and that I should just follow the lake to next check point and pull the pin. I back tracked to a point where I could make out the lake in the distance, allowing me to orientate my map and work my way up the contours to find Fan Lila.
I was bracing myself for the bad news at check point #2 as to many minutes I was going to have to chase down. To my amazement I was still leading. This gave me confidence that I must have been moving significantly quicker than the guys behind, I just had to stay on course.
From CP2 I settled back into the process with a little more navigational caution, and it was pretty much smooth sailing. There were a few possible 'racing lines' available, though I opted to stick to the longer, yet more obvious suggested route.
With nobody in sight, I took the final 10km reasonably easy, crossing the line in 6:52, taking ten minutes off the record in the process.
