Race Route

The route will be marked from the car park field by the church in Cwm Du, to the Start/Finish

With the exception of the Compulsory flagged section on/through the boulders after CP4, the course is NOT marked. You MUST have sound experience of self-navigation.

From the start, a succession of paths and sheep trods work their way through bilberry and up the side of a vague ridge, before popping out at the rocky first Checkpoint on the edge of the ‘Calch’ plateaux. This is Pen Gloch y pibwr, and the runner will also visit this as the last Checkpoint before descending to the Finish. This section is NOT marked this year A runnable, peaty path then works its way eventually north, to the summit of Allt Mawr. The second Checkpoint.

Going around the Trig point at Allt Mawr and heading SSE, the runner has a choice of route to get to CP3 on the southern slopes of Cerrig Calch. He/she can follow the path up and over Cerrig Calch, or skirt either way around its flanks. Care is required, if contouring around either side, not to miss the checkpoint by being too low or too high.

Going sharp right at checkpoint three, and by being observant, it is possible to link a succession of sheep trods and make your way towards Checkpoint five. You will need to look both left and right to find them.

At Checkpoint four, clearly visible (on the day) above and to the east of a line of crags, the runner picks up the Compulsory flagged section on the course. It is at this point that southern softies may well wish to turn on their heels. The runner is presented with a marvellous boulder field of ‘in yer face’ proportions. There is a taped route across it. This will be the ‘line of least resistance’ as I perceive it to be. How you cross this is down to you. However, you must stay within 4m of the flags. This sort of technical challenge is not unusual up north but is not to be seen in our steep, grassy ‘Beacons’. This will afford an excellent opportunity for some. However, please take care. The A + E dept at Neville Hall Hospital won’t take kindly to you interrupting them watching afternoon TV. The flagged route brings the runner out at the bottom of a short, last climb which eases off, on its way to the final Checkpoint, which you also visited first. A dash down through the Bilberry ends the race. Prize giving at the Farmers Arms, just past the Car Park.

Be warned, if the visibility is poor you will need to keep a good eye on the map and on your direction of travel.

There was confusion last year, as there were two versions of the course map available. The map here, is exactly the same one that will be available on the day, so the Checkpoint Marshals will be where indicated

Now ‘man up’, . . . . and lets not hear any bleating about those boulders after the race.

Just take care . . . but do it quickly.