Snowdonia Marathon
Danny Painter felt the full force of the cold spell whilst competing in the Snowdonia Marathon on Saturday the 27th of October. This was a tough marathon to compete in but it has outstanding countryside to distract you.
The first five miles over the Pen-y-pass, all 1,100ft of it was uphill and was just taste of how tough this event would be. The route then drops down to the Pen Y Cwyryd junction, then follows the old road along to the campsite until it joins the A498. The next 2km is farm track and downhill. A short section uphill and back up to the main road at the campsite. It continues to the village of Beddgelert and along the A4085 to Waunfawr. A rapid climb to 1,200ft at Bwlch y Groes and downhill to the finish in Llanberis. Danny has been nursing a leg injury for quite while now, so his expectations on performance were to be a finisher. By the 14th mile he realised there was a need to adapt his running to a slower pace, which helped ease the pain.
With the 26.1 miles covered and a total of 2,684ft of elevation gain, Danny crossed the line in 3h:55m:52s, giving him a fantastic position of 461st overall out of 2223 competitors.