What a memorable 24 hours for all sorts of reasons!
First off, after a mad 140-mile drive I reached Pen-y-Pass hostel five minutes before they locked the main door. Then it was off to the sweltering but awesome Pen-y-Grwyd Hotel for a swift pint. Back at the hostel I scoffed yet more pasta on me tod in the dining room at midnight. Finally, I retired to the benighted dorm, quietly stashed my stuff and was about to climb into my bunk (which I'd previously chosen and made up) only to discover some other bugger was sleeping in it!
The next morning the weather was pretty grim at the top of the pass but not too windy, and even the mountain forecast in the hostel was predicting better weather from late morning. After a large bowl of porridge, I headed down to Llanberis at 9am, where the wind and rain was worse than higher up the mountains!
I finally pegged it to the Electric Mountain centre at about 9.45, getting drenched in the process, and spent five minutes wondering why so many people - myself included - were daft enough to undertake such things! Out I went into the breach and spent 45 minutes in the horrendous weather waiting for the bus. I've never been to cold and wet in my life! I couldn't stop shivering until the race actually started - it was so wet that my waterproof Polar watch gave up the ghost and I couldn't set the timer going!
The marathon itself was great! I've done four others, all of them scenically attractive in their own right, and this was right up there with them. The run up Llanberis Pass was really good; thunderous rivers, howling winds and needle-like rain whipping around - it was almost elemental!
I enjoyed the long drop and wonderful autumnal scenery down past Bryn Gwynant to Beddgelert. At the halfway point I was on around 1h 47m. Climbing back up and over toward Rhyd Ddu, the surrounding landscape took on a more desolate nature. I was steadily plodding away and expecting the hill at Waunfawr to kick in at 20 miles, but it stayed fairly level to about the 21m marker.
I was really pleased with the my last five miles. I managed to keep running - albeit at a reduced pace - all the way up Waunfawr and, once the slippery upper section of the descent was out of the way, I went almost full tilt down the hill to Llanberis. I must have passed around 40-50 people in the last few miles!
I crossed the line in just over 3h 43m and got a marathon PB in the process, by less than two minutes!
I think I may well be back for SNOD 2010
