Sbrint ‘Stiniog

In the second week of January, Tom (of Tom, Siobhan and Pwd fame) put a link to a race on WhatsApp, and suggested it might be something for me. It was a race I had never heard of: Sbrint ‘Stiniog, which starts on the outskirts of Tanygrisiau (in Greater Blaenau Ffestiniog) to the Stwlan Dam, and back. That's asphalt all the way. And it's only 5K. So I figured I could do that! My ankle had dealt with worse. So I registered.

I had let Miles know, as he has to be in that area for work very often anyway. Maybe he could be there to cheer me on? And he said there was approximately a 50-50 chance he would make it.

On the day I got ready and set off. I knew I would want to go to the loo before the start of the race. I had a cunning plan; in Dolwyddelan there are public toilets, and that's most of the way there. But when I got there I noticed they had been changed, and now you need to insert coins to use them. I didn't have any coins on me!

I went on. I decided I would have to have a leak somewhere in the bushes. And I decided to park where one parks for going into the mine. Plenty of bushes there! And it wasn't busy at all. So I did what I needed to do, got my bag, and went to registration. And there I got my number.

I also saw a few familiar faces again. One other Eryri Harriers lady (who had also marshalled the day before), and Cybi Strider Richard, and some bloke whose name I had forgot about who had been running on Thursday.

I wanted to know how my ankle would feel, given that the day before it had been quite unhappy, so I decided to go for a little warmup. And to my pleasant surprise, it was fine! Maybe that was just because it wasn't particularly steep yet? 

Warm-up jog up the road

I went back to the start. And soon the race started. I was at the front, next to a lady in a salmon pink top. And she got ahead of me quite quickly! She looked like a really strong runner.

At the start; the keen beans at the front. The bloke with the dog would be 1st man (although letting a dog pull you uphill would count as cheating in some races), the lad next to him 1st youngster, and the lady next to that1st woman.

Soon I heard female-sounding breathing behind me. And indeed, another woman appeared. We ran up together for quite a distance. We didn't speak; we needed our breath! And luckily, my ankle still wasn't complaining.

I was also admiring the scenery. It's a beautiful area! I hadn't been on that road for many years. I could actually imagine going there one day with my bike. Bike to the top, do a nice hike, and then zip back to civilisation. But it would be a tough ride up! 

When it got a bit deeper higher up I gained a few meters on the woman next to me, so I came to the top a second woman. I knew it wouldn't last! I was so going to be overtaken on the downhill by the lady right behind me. And that indeed happened. I wished her all the best. But I figured I might be able to keep all other women behind me.

Almost at the top!

And on the way down

All was going well until I got quite close to the finish. There were steps behind me, and when I looked back I saw they were a woman’s. She was coming down like the clappers! No way I could outsprint her on the final stretch. That's not how I roll. On the flat or uphill I would have given it everything I had! But not here.

I was still processing that when I heard a voice saying "Hi Margot". It was Miles! He had shown up after all! I stopped to give him a hug, which he thought was a stupid idea, but whether I did or did not, I was going to be fourth woman anyway. So then I crossed the line, and got my position number.

I first went to congratulate the woman who came second. I had enjoyed running up with her. And she was so fast on the downhill! And then I saw the woman who had beaten me to third position. She was quite apologetic, saying that had been a dirty trick of hers! I said it wasn't; it was a race, and she was just faster than me. So her third position was well-deserved.

Miles came with me to registration where they combined my race number and my position, and gave me a (wooden) medal. And they reminded me of the fact that running the race entitled you to a cup of tea and a mug of soup in the nearby café. Miles had some time, so he went with me. That was nice! He had to pay for his tea, but it was nice to catch up. 

The next days the results came in: I had done it in 25:16. Not bad I think! And 17th person overall, out of 84. The fastest woman came fourth all round, with 21:31. That's so strong! It was a really nice race and if they do it again next year I want to do it again…