Ras Rhostryfan

I was in the car with some other Eryri Harriers, on the way to a Borders League, when I heard of Ras Rhostryfan. It sounded really good! I really love that area, and it would just be early in the evening, and it would be 10k which is a nice distance. So I immediately put it in my diary. You couldn't register beforehand.

Things changed before the race, of course! I hadn't done much running for a few weeks after doing my knee in during a Fell Race, although I had already run to the top of Penrhyn Quarry twice, without issues. So I was confident this was going to be alright. It was all on the road, and nothing was ridiculously steep.

On the day I drove down, and found a parking spot in the village. I had mentally prepared for parking chaos! But I found none. And I went to registration where I already spotted some familiar faces. Mostly Eryri Harriers. And when I had registered, I did a little warmup with fellow Harrier Nia-Meleri. And then it was pretty much most time to lineup at the start.

I did feel a bit vulnerable in the beginning, but I quickly got into the swing of things. It went well! I wasn't having a runner's high at all, but my knee felt strong enough and I was happily plodding along through the scenic countryside and villages. I did try to keep up with fellow harrier Arwel; I know I can beat him on a good day. But I suppose I can’t when I’m thinking of my knee too much. 

Along the way

After a few kilometres I sort of felt like I had eaten too recently. It really had been quite a while ago! Sometimes it's difficult to predict what time you should eat how much in order to not be burdened by your stomach content, but also not by low sugar levels. Arwel was nowhere to be seen. But the kilometres kept ticking by, and the last 2 km I felt I could ramp it up a bit. There wasn't much downhill anymore, and my stomach felt okay.

Somewhere close to the school where the start had been I saw a large concentration of runners. Was this the finish? Or just a good location for spectators? I just kept running until some Harriers shouted "stop!" at me. It was indeed the finish. It turned out I wasn't the only one who wasn't sure, and who would have run straight back to the school if no one would have stopped me. 

Just before the finish 

There was some nice finish socialising going on, but quite soon I wanted to go and put an extra layer on and drink my recovery drink, so I headed back to the school (where my bag was) with fellow Harrier Mary. We found out we were both racing again on Sunday, so we made plans for sharing cars. I look forward to that!

Then I saw people involved in the organisation approaching the school; I supposed the last person had finished, and it was time for the ceremony. That was true! And many of the winners were Eryri Harriers, such as 1st woman, 2nd man, and fastest female junior (in a shorter race). Hooray! And was fastest woman over 40, and Arwel the fastest man over 60. We both picked a bottle of wine as prize. 

I also took the opportunity of asking Rhian and Dyfed, who are deeply involved in the Thursday Night Hill runs, what sort of terrain I could expect the next day.  Would I chance it with my knee? And it sounded doable so I decided to give it a go. I think I'm back in business! I hope I can pull this off, even off the road!

I drove home quite happily with my bottle of wine. And a day or two later, the results appeared. I had been quite slow! 47:52. Slower than the Nick Beer races. But in spite of how it feels, these have less ascent. And my focus had been staying in one piece anyway. Next year again! And then faster…

I didn’t take any pics until the way back. It was such a gorgeous sunset I stopped for it