No 108 signing in.
Running for Eryri Harriers i entered my first Snowdon in 1995 and way back then it was organised by the National Trust whose main office is in my home town of Llandudno.
It was my first marathon and i was given number 108.
This year will be my 16th consecutive Snowdon and i have worn number 108 every single year including 2001 where around fifty of us braved the wind and rain. That year they cancelled the race but i remember 1996 being just as nasty but they ran it that time so i suppose health&safety has become an issue since then.
Last year i finished in a slow time of just under 5.27 and removed my chip half way around not wanting to post such a miserable time.
The reason for my walk was to assist Iorwerth Roberts the Eryri runner who has run every single Snowdon. He was wearing ill fitting shoes way past their sell by date and was suffering from severe blisters from a previous race he had run. We walked up to Pen Y Pass and as far as the post office just after 9.3miles.
His race was far more important than mine even though i had trained well. He had wanted to pull out of the race near 8miles but i thankfully talked him out of it.
I have never felt so fresh after 26.2miles and was running the day after mainly because i had never really taken part.
Our split time for half way i remember was 2hrs 46min almost the same time as the winner back in Llanberis but as long as i had my slate coaster who cares.
I remember back in 1997 i reached half way in a decent 1hr 27min having run the race properly but i was younger then and times meant a lot.
This is the only marathon i now run being a local race and more than a challenge than most other marathons.
I turned down a club entry to this years London and thank goodness i did with all the extream weather we have been having and i didnot fancy training through all those cold damp nights.
My best time for Snowdon is a decent 3.21 back in the days when decent runners were breaking 2hr 30 for the course. I remember then i didnot feature in the top 100 with a time like that.
Today with finishing times as slow as 2hr 45 i would almost be in the top 50 runners with a time like that.
The worst weather i can remember was not 2001 but 1996 when the race started on the opposite side of the road In the Quarry.
It was so bad the tansit vans holding peoples kit had to be supported by several mrshalls because they were being blown around so much.
This year i am having a special running shirt made with number 108 printed on it.
I wonder how many other runners have had the same race number for the last fifteen years
Edited: 15/02/2010 at 11:36
