The Trail Marathon Wales Blog

Well, after a period which saw us having to route, re-route and then re-route again, we have finally agreed the full and half marathon routes for the 2012 Trail Marathon Wales.

The event is organised by runners – trail runners, so every detail of the route has been devised and planned with the interests of the runners at heart and with a view to the whole event being memorable as an exciting occasion, but most memorable for a classic trail running route.

When we sat down and looked at the possibilities for these routes the task was both exciting and daunting. Firstly, this is Forestry Commission Wales land and we had to be sympathetic to the constraints of access in getting 700 runners on the day safely round the paths and roads of this famous forest. Additionally, due to winter felling operations many parts of the forest that we wanted to visit were unavailable and some remain so. We also had a huge amount of options when it came to routes (Coed y Brenin spans about 9,500 acres), which sometimes can be a negative as opposed to a positive as the choice is vast!

Secondly, putting on a trail marathon (and half) in the purist sense (i.e getting as close to 42.2 km) has been a challenge. As we are using to CyB overflow areas and car park and have the start finish area on the top access road from the centre (close to Go Ape), we also had to make sure that paths and roads used were pretty accurate. That meant that we would find a great first few miles only to find that by the end of the route the overall distance would be 27 or 25 miles.

Though the routes have been agreed visually and verbally by the Forestry Commission, they remain ‘provisional’ until all of the permission forms have been submitted, however we all are all confident that these routes will be the final ones once the t’s have been crossed and i’s dotted.

Thirdly, Coed y Brenin is most notably a mountain biking venue, no, mecca, and one thing we could not (and did not want to) do was run on the MTB trails. So, major junctions and MTB trail crossings also had to be adhered to and there will be pinch-points on the day that will need good marshalling.

Finally, we have received a great number of first-timer entries and people relatively new to trail running, seasoned marathoners, fell runners, ultra-trail runners and international standard trail and mountain runners wanting to run the event. So, balancing an event that meets the needs of all of these groups has been a tough task. We could have routed the race at low levels, along valley floors, upside being that the elevation of the races would have bee reduced, however the big downside on this is that the amazing views and vistas of this amazing landscape would have been lost.

We could have also routed the race via some very big climbs and taken the runners over some brutal paths that, quite frankly, would have only suited the hardcore fell runner. The upside here would be that you take in those amazing vistas and make the race brutal, the downside is that you deter those looking for a challenge but not a miserable day out and have a race with 3000m / 10000ft of ascent.

As has been noted from the launch of Trail Marathon Wales, this race will be challenging (we are in the mountains of the Snowdonia National Park after all), but achievable, visiting some classic areas of Coed y Brenin, and some that people will have never visited. So, the 4500ft (approx.) and 2300ft overall gains on the full and half respectively are reasonable for this type of terrain and far less than some long distance trail events of comparative nature, and much less than your average mountain race.

GPX files have been uploaded to Map My Run for the routes. However, we are not confident that the elevation data is correct on this site having loaded and reloaded (we will sort this out), hence the reason for adding the bikehike.co.uk elevation jpeg images here. Equally we are aware that GPS units these days vary from brand to brand and from one runner to another, so please remember that all data is approximate. Also we will be adding more data in terms of aid stations and so on over the next week or two to the routes.

We also hope to do some photo and video recces over the next month too and post them up online well ahead of race day. And we will be heading out onto the routes in the next two weeks with spray cans in hand to start indicates the two routes with arrows and wording on the ground, meaning that those wishing to come up and check out some of the route can do so.

Hopefully the intro here explains the process. The Trail Marathon Wales team is a small one in this first year and we realise that not everything will be perfect in year one. Still, we wanted to get this right, we wanted to keep all parties (landowners, local farm residents, runners and the Forestry Commission) happy and most of all we wanted to produce a route that would challenge, inspire and livelong in the memory – befitting of what we hope will be the first of many Trail Marathon Wales events.

Full Marathon

Map My Run
Marathon Overview
Marathon Mapping Detail

Showing as 26.1 miles we are confident that final measurement will produce a route of a little over 26.2 miles. We were sure that as no one will be setting a PB (and indeed the time is incidental to most trail runners) a few extra yards / metres would not bother runners too much.

The race takes in classic locations in the Forest such as the Tyddyn Mawr hills, the Gain waterfalls, parts of the Volcano trail, Afon Eden, Hermon, THE trees of Coed y Brenin (the King and the Champion) near Ty’n y Groes before returning towards to Visitor Centre and taking in some of the Sarn Helen running trail, then descending to the finish for the last 2km! We have even remembered to route you past a few wood ant mounds, something which Coed y Brenin is renowned for.

Terrain
The thought process of the marathon route was that we needed to have a wide and open start for the first 3 km to enable runners to sort themselves out before we hit any singletrack. Also, much of the first half of the race is on fire roads that are generally rolling areas, with the high-point of the race reached in the first 7-8 miles. The views on these high paths (especially over to the Rhinog range) are breathtaking.

After a long descent the race then has a couple of short tarmac (on unclassified roads) sections through Hermon and onto the Volcano trail, amounting to no more than a kilometre or so. This tarmac was unavoidable in some parts of the route if we were to transit from one part of the forest to another.

The second half of the race contains a fair amount of single track paths, and two particularly sharp climbs, which though steep are not too long. This goes for much of the route, as we have tried to avoid endless climbs and offer the short-sharp alternatives. Equally there are some classic trail descents to keep you on your toes, especially the Volcano trail which is classic trail running and guaranteed to please with its lush green glades and enclosed exciting ascents and descents.

After returning alongside Afon Eden you will then have the ascent to the Visitor Centre, but we have cruelly added a final 4km loop at the end which ensures you take in the Sarn Helen sprint route and get rewarded with a final 2km that gradually descends to the finish.

Fuel stations
There will be a mixture of water and fuel stations. These will alternate, and full details on their exact locations will be issued in the coming weeks and via the online route.

Essentially, water stations will be just that. A chance to hydrate and have a drink, refill your bottle or pack if you have one. Fuel stations will have water, electrolyte drink, gels and probably chopped energy bars and bananas.

Half Marathon

Map My Run
Half Marathon Overview
Half Marathon Mapping Detail

Though shorter, the Half marathon will be equally as challenging and breathtaking.

The race takes in classic locations in the Forest such as the Gain waterfall, parts of the Volcano trail, Afon Eden, THE trees of Coed y Brenin (the King and the Champion) near Ty’n y Groes before returning towards to Visitor Centre and a final sting in the tail climb that will certainly be memorable! Similar to the full we have also included to route you past a few wood ant mounds, something which Coed y Brenin is renowned for.

Terrain
The thought process of the Half marathon route was that we needed to have a wide and open start for the first 3 km to enable runners to sort themselves out before we hit any singletrack. Again the first 6km is a steady mix of short elevation and gradual downhill.

The race then enters the Volcano trail which is classic trail running and guaranteed to please with its lush green glades and enclosed exciting ascents and descents.

After returning towards Penrhos and Ty’n y Groes, you will head along the Eden and cross the bailey bridge, to then have a very sharp climb to the lookout point and the last 1.5km to the finish.

Fuel stations
There will be a mixture of water and fuel stations. These will alternate, and full details on their exact locations will be issued in the coming weeks and via the online route.

Essentially, water stations will be just that. A chance to hydrate and have a drink, refill your bottle or pack if you have one. Fuel stations will have water, electrolyte drink, gels and probably chopped energy bars and bananas.

Appropriate PDF files and maps will be available for download on the Trail Marathon Wales webpage later this week.

Matt Ward, Organiser
Trail Marathon Wales