Dragon’s Back Race 2023 – Race Report

Date: Monday 4th September – Saturday 9th September 2023

Official miles: 236 miles / 380 km

Elevation: 57,087 ft /  17,400 m

Weather: Heat wave

Start: Conwy Castle, North Wales

Finish: Cardiff Castle, South Wales

Route type: Point to point, multi day

Conditions: varied

Website link: Dragon’s Back Race (Ras Cefn Y Ddraig)

Describe the route in three words: kicked my arse

Day 1 | 15 hours 2 minutes 37 s | 30.5 miles | 3,800m | Conwy Castle to Nant Gwynant

Day 1 Dragon’s Back Race dawned. Alarm was set for 4am, surprisingly I had slept relatively well. It felt strange saying goodbye to my stunning hotel room at The Castle Hotel full of luxuries (including a rubber duckie!) as the next 5 nights would see me camping. I’m not a camper and I felt as though the camping could be one of my biggest challenges of the event after Crib Goch.

We gathered in the grounds of Conwy Castle and the Welsh male voice choir sung to us as the sun started to rise, flags representing all the runners’ nationalities waved in the breeze. I cried. All that I have been through in this past year to get me fit enough to stand on this start line suddenly felt a bit overwhelming, this was a dream years in the making, this was a race I never thought I would be good enough to attempt. I knew my chances of completion were still slim but I also knew I had put everything into being here.

The route up until the bag drop just before Tryfan is a joy, it is almost an easy trail run, lulling Dragon’s into a false sense of security. I’d passed checkpoints, ran briefly with my club mate Sarah Francis and chatted to a Welsh Allan as well as a lady who used to go out with a Welsh Allan. I’d run out of the castle at the start with Jess who I later found out was my tent mate. I made friends with Sean and Paul and we chatted a lot as we descended down to Tryfan. I had an enjoyable lunch, the sun was beating hard now, it was around 30 degrees. It felt like a grand day out rather than ‘the world’s toughest mountain footrace’, it was a fantastic start to the event.

The climb up Tryfan surprised me, my training had clearly paid off, I was passing countless people, relentlessly moving forwards and upwards, never stopping and breathing easily whilst others bent over double in sought out patches of shade. It gave me confidence and courage as to what lay ahead.

The true scramble then began, the scrambles have been the things I have lost sleep over, feared the most and tried desperately to switch my mind from “I don’t want to do them” to “I want to do them in order to complete Day 1”.  It started ok, I was doing it. I kept my breathing in check, I think for me fear is a feeling of emptiness, I just felt nothing and I knew I’d started so now I just had to complete it. There was one section that was so insanely stupid, I felt cross that what with all the health and safety precautions we have here in the UK (caution contents may be hot on your disposable coffee cup for example and may contain nuts on a bag of peanuts) that we are allowed to just climb up this ridiculous rock. There was a mountain rescue lady there who could see the fear on my face. She asked those behind me to hang back whilst she talked me through the sequence step by step. Ollie who I had begun chatting to on the way up put his hand on my backside, “It’s ok, I’ve got you, you won’t fall and I am here to hold you.” In other circumstances I might at least perhaps have raised an eyebrow. However, at this moment, Ollie’s hand was exactly where it needed to be. We finally made it to Adam and Eve, I’ve blanked out a lot of the climb, I just know it was not my thing. My emotions took over and I cried a bit as I realised that the hard part of Tryfan was over, they were tears of relief. Time to climb down and Jade from mountain rescue was on the rock that has a sheer drop to one side. Normally I would laugh, she casually sat there with hundreds of meters of drop just behind her. I asked her to talk to me as I bum shuffled my way across. I can’t tell you how relieved I was to get Tryfan over and done with.

We headed for the scree slope, when I had done this with Brett it was just the two of us. We were careful not to dislodge any of the rocks, I had been above Brett and I did not want a rock to roll into him. It had been a technical yet rewarding climb. On race day however, there were many of us, all picking out our own routes. Every once in a while someone would shout, “ROCK!” – we’d all pause and consider if the rock was going to be of any danger to us. I was pleased not to dislodge any rocks, although I had a number of them teeter, I either held on to them or repositioned them so they wouldn’t fall. A large boulder just above me started to slide, it quickly picked up momentum, it was coming for me and I had to stop it, I could not let it continue on its path of destruction, it could prove fatal to a Dragon much lower down. I reached out for it and stopped it, somehow holding it yet getting my finger trapped underneath. “Oh my God” I exclaimed with alarm. I didn’t know how to extract myself without the boulder continuing on its deathroll of descent. A gentleman to my left told me not to worry and he crab-walked across to me, he lifted the rock from my hand and freed me, we both looked at each other, now what? It was almost comical! He carefully positioned the rock back on the slope, in such a way it would not shift. Onwards and upwards we went, yet again, it was a relief to finish this section. There seemed to be many moments so far on this event where I have felt relief for something to be over.

As I headed towards Pen y Pass I wondered if I was experiencing a similar feeling to someone being led to the gallows. I descended down and took some time there to refill my water bladders, grab a Coke from the cafe (Linda from the cafe said I could do Crib Goch!) and have something to eat. It was time to go. As I left, Instagram friend Claire Bishop @greendottedlines was there to film me, I waved my arm in front of my face and burst into tears, I didn’t want to be filmed looking so afraid. This was all a bit much. I cried tears of fear, and tears of anger. This stupid mountain has been on my mind for far too long and here I am about to do it. As I started the easy part of the scramble I found myself completely alone. This is not good. I needed people around me, someone to follow. I carefully went up, considering each hand hold and foot positioning. I found myself near Steve Chamberlain, a friend of Kev’s. There was also a chap behind me who seemed nearly as worried as I. The point of no return was long gone. There was an extremely tricky section where mountain rescue was on hand to advise the best way up. This was really mentally very tough for me. The physical act was fine, I’d prepared by doing Clip n Climb which then lead onto proper climbing walls. The feeling that I was not secure in any way, that I was not grounded, that is the feeling I don’t like. One slip and I’d be either in a world of pain or an eternal sleep. There are no room for errors here.

I finally crawled out onto the top, the famous knife edge ridge. Well this isn’t so bad at all! What a relief! I nearly pulled my phone out for a selfie and then thought better of it, I must respect this mountain. And so began the steady crawl across. Actually it was every bit as bad as I thought, in fact it was worse. I’d watched endless POV videos, looked at photos, visualised myself here up on this ridge. I had hoped the videos and photos would make it look worse than it was. Well, they didn’t. It was exactly as described, a knife edge ridge. Some parts I could walk along. Others I had both hands and both feet touching the rock, I introduced the fifth point of contact (my bottom) in places and unashamedly bum shuffled along, whatever worked. The issue with bum shuffling, was that my leggings would occasionally snag and get caught on a rock. This meant I had to let go with one hand and free myself. This was horrible. Why people do this out of choice and for fun I do not know. I thought of the Pyg Track and how lovely it was, how I longed to be on that instead. I couldn’t look at the view, I was too afraid to acknowledge the drops to either side of me, I didn’t know what would happen if I were to look around me and this was not the place to have a panic attack. Others had told me to focus on one metre ahead. I focussed on about 10 cm ahead. After the knife edge ride there are the 3 pinnacles. I took courage from the people around me and keenly followed in their path. We descended down off the final pinnacle and I asked if someone wanted to hug me, luckily they did.

Then came the next bit. What followed is not mentioned in any of the YouTube videos or blogs I have read. There was a further knife edge ridge followed by a wet and slippery and very steep face, this was possibly worse than the Crib Goch ridge as seen on YouTube – it was so slippery and my foot went from me a couple of times. I cannot tell you how relieved I was to have done the climbing wall / Clip n Climb sessions as I felt that they had really prepared my arms for this. We finally were on the path to the Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) summit. When I tapped it, I swore at her and told her I was never coming back. I rang my husband and tearfully told him I had done it. Turns out, there is still quite a lot more to cover on Day 1! I’d been so focused on Crib Goch I’d actually not considered what was to follow, there’s still a few more lumps and bumps to do. My watch battery died which was so frustrating, it usually lasts much longer than this. I stayed with a group until we reached camp. I needed to put my head torch on for the descent into camp, which by the way is steep, rocky, muddy and wet, it wasn’t easy after all we had been through. I ran victorious across that line though, I did my finish line burpee and I shed some more tears, they were tears of joy, of relief and a sense of achievement too. I hadn’t known if I was good enough to do Day 1, but I was. I was good enough. I had completed day one of the Dragon’s Back Race.

Back at camp I was shown to my tent, Tent 4. I was the last one in. I was as quick as possible getting my dinner, picking up my Dragon Mail to read before I sat down so I could read it as I ate. I knew that it might be emotional. However, I cried and sobbed, laughed and spluttered my way through the Dragon Mail. What a privilege to have as many messages as I did, each and every one of them meant such a big deal to me, so many people had dot watched me throughout the day and all the way across Crib Goch, what a marvellous boost!

After dinner I tried to be efficient with my washing up, refilling my bladders, preparing my kit and drop bag for the following morning and getting my sleeping mat, pillow and bag set up. I unzipped what was to be my pod having first tried another which already had two people in it. I posted my sleeping mat through hoping that I would not bash my pod mate on the head with it. I crawled into my pod, having no clue who any of my tent mates were let alone my pod mate. I initially slept surprisingly well but then was uncomfortable and regretted not taking paracetamol before going to bed.

Day 1 Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/9791127334

Mentally dealing with Crib Goch – my true fear

Working alongside a mindset coach I have discovered that I have a cheerleader on my shoulder, but I also have Veronica. Veronica is a bit of a bitch and when I allow her to pop up, she likes to sabotage my runs. I was struggling after the Dragon’s Back Race with the many, many emotions but the overriding one was that of negativity surrounding my feelings towards Crib Goch. I felt that having accomplished it I deserved to be proud of my achievements. I just felt rather flat and deflated, with a sense of, “I told you so” because I knew I wouldn’t like it. I wrote a letter to Veronica, and it has helped enormously.

Veronica.

You told me I wouldn’t enjoy it. You were right. You told me it would be really hard. You were right. You told me I would be scared. You were right. You told me I couldn’t do it. 

You were wrong. 

I allowed you to build a monster in my head because I was counting on the fact that you would be wrong. 

I was counting on the fact I would get to the top and think, “is this it?”. I was counting on the fact that I could laugh in your face whilst I was up there.

I was wrong.

I did it though. Despite the fact that I knew I would not enjoy it. Despite the fact that I knew I would be scared. 

I did it. I proved you wrong. 

I did it because I wanted to find my limit. You thought it would be my limit. Well, it wasn’t.

Despite everything you told me, despite the technical difficulty, despite the height, I did it. Not everyone can you know, you couldn’t do it. I did not hear you up there.

Day 2 | 14 hours 49 minutes 03 s | 38 miles | 3,200m | Nant Gwynant to Dolgellau

I woke at 4am, as did my pod mate, we whispered our introductions to each other, Sasha from Canada.

I needed the full 2 hours to get dressed, pack away my sleeping stuff, have breakfast and drop my dry bag and drop bag off and go through kit check. I started at 6am. Day 2, here we go. I had done the recce for this with Kev back in 2021 but there has since been a number of route changes and there was quite a lot of the route that I did not recall at all. I remembered the start along the road (I chatted a bit with Sean and Paul, they introduced me to Sean’s girlfriend who was cheering them on). The path to Cnict was not nearly as steep as I recalled, or as long. Of course when I did this with Kev it was my first ever mountain day, I also remembered feeling a little afraid on Cnict. This time however, the scramble was no problem at all and at no point did I feel exposed or afraid. I was really quite pleased with how this morning was going.

Day 2 is a tough day, it is very similar elevation to Day 1, but a number of miles longer (10km). There are big climbs throughout the run too, whereas with Day 1 all the climbing seems to be in the latter half. The scrambles are not so technical but they are often on scree so you have to take care where placing your hands and feet.

The water point is near the Ffestiniog railway and I refilled my bladders, I seemed to be managing my water intake and supply well. I was constantly taking sips, never running out but then drinking quite a lot as I approached the water supply points as I knew I could afford to do this. There is a run along a grassy field before a steep lane, I remembered this section well from my recce. I was trying to get my Hula Hoops out and dropped them, I nearly went the wrong way across a field and became aware of two people waving at me. Why were they waving at me? I looked at my Hula Hoops to check that they were in my hand and not still on the floor. “Lizzie!” Eh? “It’s Anya!” What? I thought she was a mirage, the heat was perhaps making me hallucinate but sure enough, there was Anya and her husband Ant! I couldn’t believe it! We had a cuddle (I realised afterwards how gross and sweaty I must have been!) I took a selfie and I carried on. It was amazing. We must have spent all of 20 seconds together but it was the most wonderful moral boost to have a familiar face cheer me on.

It was another blisteringly hot day and I was very much looking forward to my Coke in my drop bag. As I descended down into the campsite, something happened to one of my poles, I thought I had broken it but I had just over extended it and it just needed putting back together again. I thoroughly enjoyed my tomato and olive Merchant Gourmet, rice pudding and Coke. I allowed my feet to air whilst I ate.

As I set off up the Roman Steps, I realised Andy Nutall was there, we had driven up together. We had a bit of a chat and were joined by a third person, we three did the climb together, a lady came scampering past us. It was oh so very, very hot this afternoon.

As the afternoon progressed, so it would seem did the technicality of the route, I feel as though I am pretty decent on climbs, however any time I make on the up is lost, and then some, on the down. As I picked my way slowly down the rocky route, more and more people passed me by until it felt as though I was the last one left on the course. I could see them disappearing into the distance and suddenly felt very alone. This was the first time in the two days that there had been no one nearby, either in front or behind. I spotted a marshal in the distance which pleased me. I came to a hole in the wall, I had heard about this and it was not on the recce that I did with Kev. I eagerly crawled through, only just fitting with the size of my bag! I got to the marshal and asked if I was the last one on the course, of course he didn’t know. I turned and saw a group of people come into view, this instantly gave me a boost knowing I was not last after all. I remarked that I was extremely slow on the descents, the marshal rightly commented that I had better be quick on the ascents then! I pointed at the Rhinog in front of me. “Am I going up that?!” “Yes!” Right, I’d better show him how fast I can climb! I popped a pre-climb mouthful of food in and began, I felt like I flew up it! Whether I did or not I do not know but the only times I stopped was not for breath but to double check my route upwards, there were definitely easy options and harder options.

Beyond this is where you need to hand rail the wall. Another section I remembered well from doing it with Kev. I remember him charging off at a speed of a thousand gazelles. I had hoped I could pick up the pace a bit here but actually it was a lot more technical than I remembered. I did my best though. I passed Andy who had stopped in the shade to eat a custard pot. There seemed to be an unsaid rule of going to the Diffwys trig on one side of the wall and returning back from it on the other, the other side was much easier going, I think it would be worth using the style and doing the out and back on the other side, especially as the trig is on that side anyway.

There was quite a few of us bunched together now so whether I had caught up with them or they had caught up with me, I’m not entirely sure, probably a bit of both. I started heading down knowing that the hard part of Day 2 was done, it was just a case of returning back down to civilisation and finishing on a road section which passes over the Penmaenpool toll bridge. I was pleased that on this very runnable section, I was most definitely still running and although my feet were tender, I was running comfortably at a pretty decent pace. There were a huge amount of people walking it into camp but I felt really good and I chose to run, I was comfortable and not pushing it so felt as though this would not ruin my legs for Day 3. I ran with a lady and as we neared camp we seemed to get faster and faster, were we racing? I wasn’t sure but luckily she seemed to dial it back a bit which in turn made me slow down a fraction too.

I was very excited at the opportunity for a real shower. My finish line marshal was there ready to film me do my burpee.

Rosena lead me to my tent and helped me with my shoes. I ate and washed up then headed for the showers. On the way I met Zouki and we walked and chatted together. The sign read, “No hot water.” you have to be kidding me? Zouki had the good sense to check the unit behind and discovered porta-showers, with hot water. It was wonderful. The night before I had done everything by head torch. Here though I was in bright artificial light washing in wonderfully hot and powerful water, I scrubbed my feet and washed my face three times! I dressed, I brushed my teeth and hair, I even put moisturiser on my face. It was so wonderful to feel human again. I am pretty sure if there was a B&B option on Dragon’s Back then the finish rate would be a lot higher! My shower did probably mean I went to bed a bit later, especially as I had crossed the line later than the night before, but it was for me, 100% worth it as it meant I had a pretty decent night’s sleep and felt very comfortable. I remembered to take paracetamol before going to bed too.

Day 2 Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/9791136199

Day 3 | 15 hours 10 minutes 44 seconds | 45 miles | 3,600m | Dolgellau to Ceredigion

4am and it was time to get up. Sasha gave me a morning rub of my back which was a small but meaningful gesture. I prepped my feet and put on waterproof socks as I knew there was some wet and boggy ground in store for me over the course of the morning. I’d been looking forward to Day 3 as I felt like the really hard scrambly climbs were behind me. I had recced this day in its entirety recently so I was very familiar with the route. The climb up Cadair went well, the sun beaming down and fabulous views. I gradually ticked off the miles and was pleased with my progress, the later starters (faster runners) passed by on the Pony Track after the Cadair trig and it was great to see them fly by. It was here I saw Sam Skinner, he had finished in 5th last year and was really doing a great job at cheering people on with his cow bell!

As it neared 11am and I was dropping down off the mountain the weather really seemed to ramp itself up. I had other runners around me but they gradually pulled away from me on the grass field leading towards the water point at the campsite. I came into the water point and handed my bladders over for a top up. There was too much water in my back bladder so I asked the marshal to pour some of it over me, it was ice cold but felt amazing. This, I believe was the beginning of the end for me. The water went into my waterproof socks, however I did not register / think of the consequences of this at the time.

I left the water point with the sun beating down on me. There was no wind, we were low down and this day was even hotter than the previous days’ relentless heat. The heat was not just from the air temperature but it seemed to have been captured by the ground, ferns and trees all around which threw the heat back at us all. 

I gradually became aware of what felt like a little stone in my shoe. As my attention drew to my feet I realised they were wet through too, my waterproof sock on my right foot must have filled with water when I asked the marshal to cool me down. I ran down the fairly steep forest track and stopped just before the gate as there was a touch of shade away from the burning heat and a bank that I could sit on. I pulled off my sock expecting to reveal a stone, however I was not prepared for what I was about to encounter, my foot was macerated and the ‘little stone’ was in fact where my now baggy skin had created a crease and a tiny blister had formed. I dried it as much as I could and put a new sock on. I really should have done my other foot. My reasons behind not changing the sock on my left foot was because it felt fine. I didn’t want to fix what wasn’t broken. In this instance though, I should have recognised this as the moment for some self preservation.

I was running along the road towards the turning for the little railway line – feeling great with my now comfortable foot I overtook a few people too. To my delight I saw Anya! A quick hug and a shout of support and I carried trotting along on my way.

The long drag to Tarren Hendre was unbearably hot. There was nowhere to hide from this heat. At every water source opportunity I soaked my hat and my buff and tried to cool myself down, I really should have taken my tee shirt off, soaked it then put it back on but I did not think to do that. Within minutes of leaving the waterfall or stream, the sun would have dried me out so the relief was only brief. This section was one of those where you just get on with it and get it done. It was not enjoyable, it was a case of one foot in front of the other and hoping that there might be some breeze on the next summit.

I was very much looking forward to Machynlytth and much of the route was still fresh in my mind. There is a grassy section leading to Tarren Hendry which Francis and I had run walked due to the boggy ground conditions. The ground was easier to run along but the heat at this point was quite overwhelming. In the past two and a half days I had passed countless people taking a rest in the shade and trying to cool down, here was someone else, he’d run out of water and was just taking a moment in a rare shady patch to cool down. We all checked he was ok.

As I neared the out and back for Tarren y Gesail I had it in my head that I was really tight for the cut off, it was important to me that I made it in with ample time as I really wanted to get a vegan sausage roll from Greggs in the Spar shop along with a cold Coke. I knew on fresh legs I could do the out and back in around 30 minutes, this drove me on to really power hike my way up there. I was concerned about the steep descent down as my feet were really sore on the downhills now. I thought of the Spar shop and I thought what it would mean to me if I got timed out in Machyntleeth, it was not an option. I ran down that hill as fast as I could, the pain was pretty awful so I roared. I roared to let the pain out, I roared to let the fear of missing the cut off out and I roared with the excitement of it all, in this moment, I felt as though I was racing (not sure who!). People were giving me funny looks so I just continued in a roaring voice, “THIS IS WHAT A DRAGON SOUNDS LIKE!” I had tears rolling down my face. I appeared to be a crying Dragon. I’ll just mention again here. I have never cried so many emotions over the course of a week before. This feat of human endurance really does something to you!

I knew I had around 5 miles to go to Mach and it was all down hill, along a gravelled forest track, a forest footpath where two of Anya’s friends shouted hello and good luck to me and finally the road. I was running with a chap for a lot of the forestry track section and we chatted a bit. Once on to the road, I checked my watch and realised I had bags of time. Time to take it easy, I could jog walk it in no problem, I did not fancy ruining myself on the tarmac. 

Into the Spar, Greggs vegan sausage roll, cold Coke, magnum ice cream, crisps and a cheese sandwich. I walked to eat the ice cream and as I came into the drop bag zone I saw Anya again, and Sam, Sean’s friend who had come 5th last year. I told Anya about my adventures on Taren Hendry.

I had over catered for myself so gave the cheese sandwich to the guy next to me. I was looking forward to the afternoon’s running.

I left in high sprits knowing I had some fabulous runnable trails ahead. The heat still seemed to be turned on to the max and I was constantly on the look out for water to soak my hat and buff in to try to cool down. The afternoon’s miles seemed to tick by quite nicely. I reached the bridge in what felt like no time, three Dragon’s were having a cool down in the water. I had a steady climb followed by the annoyingly slow grassy section which follows the river. The guys behind crossed the river and found a trail on the other side gaining a good lead on me, it was a really good line considering they had been so far behind me.

The light started to fade on the final climb of the day and my head torch was on by the time I reached the trig.

I ended up leading a group of three others all the way back into camp as they did not have the route on their watches anymore (battery I think) It was nice running together as a small pack. I recalled the sheep field into camp being a bit annoying due to it’s angle but actually it wasn’t as I remembered. What was a lot longer than I remembered though was that whole section from the trig to camp and it did seem a bit never ending!

At camp I went to see the medics as I knew that my macerated and sore feet were not in a good way. There were plenty of blisters too. It transpired that some of the blisters were actually hard skin that had become swollen with moisture, turned white and gave a pretty good job of looking like blisters. I found out they weren’t blisters when the medic lanced them and they really, really hurt, a little bit of blood seeping out. The medic was brilliant, giving me clear instructions on how to tape my feet and to care for them.

I believe I was the last Dragon to go to bed this evening.

Day 3 Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/9811866247

Day 4 | 14 hours 02 minutes 46 seconds | 43 miles | 2,300m | Through the Elan Valley

3.45am, time to prep my feet. They had made a miraculous recovery overnight and really looked good. I opted for waterproof socks again as Day 4 morning is very wet and boggy regardless of how hot the weather is.

I was looking forward to this day as it was the ‘easy day’. A lot less elevation, no particularly significant climbs and lots of lovely rolling countryside. There is an easy climb out of camp before the notorious forest. I got interviewed by the DBR social media bod on this first climb.

I remembered it well from my recce, it’s crazy steep, lots of trees, some are so rotten you could easily knock it over, I’d struggled finding my way through it on the recce but there would be no problem with so many of us going through. Although it had seemed that my feet had made a big recovery overnight, it soon transpired that they were a real issue, they felt like big plates of jelly and it was incredibly uncomfortable trying to move on such angled terrain, I really was desperate for the flatter stuff so that I could try and get a bit of speed up. Those first few hours were exceptionally slow go. The heat was beating down upon us, splashing through the bogs and streams did not offer any relief from the increasing pain and discomfort, as I progressed I seemed to just be adding more and more water to my feet, the waterproof socks not seeming to offer any help as the heat had made my feet sweaty. There seemed to be no escape from the wet. Although the route was exactly how I remembered, it was so much harder than I remembered. I just could not seem to get myself into a higher gear due to my damn feet.

By the time I eventually got into the Elan Green support point I was feeling a little bit deflated. The Hatchlings that were already there were all lying down either enjoying a bit of shade or sunbathing. Hatchling runner Carmine de Grandis was there with his accordion and it was fantastic hearing him play, it made me forget my feet for a little while and I felt a little bit human again.

I ate my food while airing my feet. I found this particular Merchant Gourmet sachet a bit too spicy for me and had to leave some. The Coke I’d packed was fabulous, if a little warm!

Setting off I felt that surely I could get a bit quicker over the course of the afternoon. I ran so much, only walking the bits that really needed it. I was just so slow. I started to obsess over anything remotely wet. My feet were so macerated by now that the sensation of water going on them felt like torture. 

The drop bag to the water point did not seem to take massively long and I was thinking through the rest of the route in my head. There was a bit of shade at the water point and I sat down in it, airing my feet again, eating and drinking.

There are a few road sections, one being right after the water point and I trundled along it, I ran a lot with Jess who was one of my tent mates and in fact I think this was the only day I finished ahead of her.

The day wore on, my feet seemed to be getting more and more sensitive to water as did my attitude towards it. I was begin to feel a bit emotional when there was no choice but to submerge my feet in water and I would do anything to avoid stepping in it. I was really not looking forward to the section between Abergwesyn and the 6 mile road to camp as I hadn’t really enjoyed it on the recce and had found it a bit hard going due to the overgrown terrain. However, after turning off the road and commencing said section, passing two little pony and traps, it looked different to how I recalled. There was a proper path which I didn’t remember at all. I started celebrating, the farmer has kindly put a path in for it! I don’t have to do the horrible bit! After some time I thought I recognised the area to my left. Yes, I was sure, I was running to the side of the horrible bit! Turns out I was wrong. It’s hard to express how depressed I felt to realise that my celebrations were uncalled for and I had further than I thought to go as well as having to fight through the ferns and pass through more water. I started to cry. I pulled myself together and then I would pass through more water. I cried again. And so began the emotional storm. I was hot and tired. My feet hurt. I was on a trail I didn’t enjoy. I had a long road section ahead. There was more water going into my shoes. I couldn’t pull myself together anymore and I cried and cried. I could not stop crying, I started to wail at one point. I complained out load, as if there was someone there to listen to me. When I finally reached the road section I recall a guy with a drone, that made me feel even more depressed, he was going to film me running slowly along the road on broken jelly feet balling my eyes out. That made me cry even more, if that was even possible. This was definitely the lowest low I have ever experienced in running, and in fact, I would go as far to say this was the low pain of my entire life! Call me dramatic but the Dragons Back Race is brutal. This was the moment it tried to take me down in its fiery dragon’s breath. In the moment I thought I was defeated. If someone had pulled alongside me and offered me a lift to the finish I would have said yes. But this was not an option, I just had to keep taking one more step. I am incredibly lucky to rarely have experienced the need to dig deep simply because I love this sport so much, I don’t need to dig deep because I am just so happy to be there. However, this was me finding whatever courage, energy and strength to keep moving onwards. Someone ran with me along the road for a little bit, I told him to just ignore my crying, he was so good, keeping me company and cheering me up for a little time.

Just after 8pm I finally crossed the line, another finish in the dark, I’d really hoped I would have been able to finish in daylight today. I still somehow managed my finish line burpee, which surely just proves the point that you are always more capable than you think. Camp that night was a case of going through the motions and fighting and then eventually overcoming my demons.

Day 4 Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/9811853838

Day 5 | Timed out at 12 hours 39 minutes 18 seconds | 44 miles (35.4 miles completed) | 3,200m (2,518m completed) | Into the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park

This day was all about my feet! They were in a bit of a state at this point, not so much because of blisters (although there were a few) but more that they were macerated and so extremely painful. Day 4 had been a massive low for me, but Day 5 was a new day, it was also going to be my favourite day as it was Brecon Beacons day! I had to change my tactics too, I needed to forget cut offs and focus on taking good care of my feet. I planned to stop every 10 miles to give them a proper airing, dry them out, put talc on and new socks. Luckily the bakery is at the first 10 mile marker! Friends of Kev were there, Guto Evans and Paul Telford, it was nice to chat with them. Sarah Francis was also there, it was so nice to be amongst friends and to be in a bakery, it felt so normal. A lot of my time on Dragon’s Back I felt like I was on my own in a bizarre world of tough running, denied of the simple pleasures of life. I bought two cakes and a Coke and spent some time airing and prepping my feet for the next 10 mile section.

The first chunk of Day 5 is on road, as I hadn’t recced Day 5 I was really surprised at just how much road there was. I remember the Usk Reservoir in particular as the searing heat was almost unbearable. I had to keep walking as I could feel my heart pounding, I knew from experience that I needed to try to keep my core temperature down otherwise the heat would raise my blood pressure and I’d get in to all sorts of difficulties. Some Hatchlings were nearby, a group of around 6 of them, they were all were having such a great time and they were listening to music, chatting and laughing. They passed me and when the final sounds of their music went out of earshot I checked my phone for signal. I had signal! I used the opportunity to send off a load of voice notes, and receive some back, it was fantastic! As I reached the 20 mile point I was looking for somewhere to sit in the shade so I could air my feet again. There was no where, I felt like I was in a desert. I carried on but in the back of my mind knew I had to do something about my feet.

Up on Fan Brycheiniog I saw Guto Evans and Paul Telford again. There were a pair of hikers sat enjoying the view. I decided to sit near them and eat some snacks whilst letting my feet air, in those minutes I felt at peace with the world, everything was wonderful. Time to stop relaxing and get a move on. It was a struggle to fit my feet back into my shoes as they were so swollen, I felt so frustrated coming down off the Black Mountain as my feet were now huge wobbly plates of sore jelly and I was beginning to wonder that maybe airing them had not been such a great idea after all. I was in a lot of discomfort before, and now I was in a different type of discomfort.

I got to the car park at checkpoint 4 and the marshalls kindly set an alarm for me so that I would leave on time, I think I gave myself 30 minutes rest here. I’d lost my socks on the way down, I’d had them hung on my bag like a washing line! I was pleased when someone came in with one of my socks, I hoped that maybe the second one would find its way back to me too!

Leaving checkpoint 4 I had a great climb up Fan Gyhirych, overtaking a few people. At the top was a gentleman who knew my name and wanted a selfie with me for his friend who read my blog, I thought that was pretty cool! On to Fan Nedd, Fan Lila and Fan Dringarth. I was actually having a really enjoyable day. I looked at my watch though and realised I had only 17 minutes to make cut off. A quick bit of mountain maths and I knew I was cutting it fine. It was from here that I really and truly pushed myself hard. I was flying along to the best of my abilities, there was another guy and he did the same, it was as though we were both running for our lives. When I got to the start of the descent down to the CP 9 underpass, I was really panicking, my feet were in so much pain, what can I do to make myself go faster? I sat on my bum and I slid down as it was quicker, the dry grass and stones were going up my bum and my back but I didn’t care. I then realised I didn’t know how to get to the underpass! This was an absolute disaster, I should have done a recce on this bit. I made it to the underpass after some confused zig zagging, 3 minutes before cut off. And then it dawned on me, this was not the water point where the cut off was, I had to go another kilometre or so down the road. I started to sprint. A marshall saw me, she shock her head. We both knew it, it was hopeless. My Dragon’s Back Race was over. I collapsed to the floor and sobbed and sobbed and sobbed. I finally got to my feet and walked it in, Warwick Taylor, someone I knew through a Facebook group and had run with once before was there. He put his arms around me and walked me in. I sat at the water point absolutely devastated.

I am proud of the decisions I made on Day 5, I still believe I made the right choices. I was devastated to get timed out, but taking care of me was number one, unfortunately that did mean that I missed the 6.30pm cut off by a matter of minutes but I feel given the condition of my feet and the super hot weather, I made all the right choices to keep myself healthy. And as much as I cried when I got timed out, what a way to go! It was an extremely exciting and dramatic end to my race!

Day 5 Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/9811883177

Day 6 | 5 hours 57 minutes 40 seconds | 20 miles (Hatchling Course) | 530m | To Cardiff Castle

Day 6 was a mentally tough one for me. This is because I’d got timed out with only 8 miles to go the day before. I was crossing the line at around 9.30pm each evening and having to wake at 3.45am to prepare my feet for the 6am start line. It was a brutal week. Day 5 overnight I was in an enormous amount of pain (feet, hips, knee, legs). This was due to me sprinting up and down mountains (I overtook a few people!!!) to try to make the Day 5 6.30pm cut off. Due to the pain I was in and my strong desire to finish on a high, I opted to join Day 6 from the bag drop rather than the start, meaning I could experience morning camp in daylight for once! I took the Hatchling transport to the support point at Trelewis, I met Beverley Tucker a friend of Brett’s and Mynydd Du runner, I had heard so much about her from Brett already, she completed Dragon’s Back in 2022 with a broken arm! She is an extremely skilled fell runner and one of the known short cuts on the DBR route is named after her. Although Beverley humbly says that she learned the route from Sabrina Verjee.

The start to Day 6 was a tad frustrating as we had to be transported by mini bus to a point where a coach would meet us, either we were early or the coach was delayed and there was a lot of hanging about. We then were coached to the Day 6 support point where more hanging about was needed as the front runners had to go through first. It was finally time for us to start at midday (this probably was our schedule start time, it just felt like an eternity before we were allowed to start!) I had to have a few words with myself starting out but somehow I pulled it out the bag, managing to enjoy what essentially could have been a pointless run as I was out of the race. I ran with Zouki for a short time but then when a Co-Op presented an opportunity for lunch I dived right in and got a sandwich and Coke. Day 6 is certainly easy running although tough in the heat, I yo-yoed with a lady for a while, we ended up introducing ourselves (she is called Annais), chatting and then decided to team up and we ran most of the route together. Talking utter gibberish, me howling in pain on downhills. She howling in pain uphill.

We laughed a lot. I fell over and tore my leggings which made me laugh some more. We had Coke and ice lollies at the pub water stop at CP 6. We even did the monkey bars and danced the Macarena in the final couple of miles.

Crossing that line together marked the end of what was a phenomenal week. I questioned myself and my reasons why. I found my limit and went beyond it. I fell out of love with running but fell back in love with it again. This rollercoaster left me emotionally, physically and mentally drained but it was a life changing experience and I know it’s going to take me some time to fully appreciate what I have achieved and learned from it.

Annais did the finish line burpee with me!

Day 6 Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/9817108682

What’s in my race pack and the Ortlieb dry bags?

Lessons Learned and Tips Picked up from Other’s:

• Soft easy to scrunch up camp shoes would have been much better than my sliders as they are lightweight, take up less space and are waterproof (wet grass in camp in the morning and evening).
• Cut the washing up sponge into quarters and throw it away as the week progresses, this would help with drying to keep the damp at bay.
• The recces I did were invaluable – try to do every inch of the course, I wish I had recced day 5.
• Talcum powder was the best bit of kit I took
• The drying tent was something I did not use – it was rammed full every night and I’m not sure that anything would have dried in time by morning.
• I’m so glad I used my own portable chargers as this saved having to walk back and forth to the charging tent.
• Ear plugs and eye mask are essential sleeping kit, as is a comfortable bed set up. I think my pillow was an unnecessary space invader, I could have just stuffed some clothes in a pillowcase instead.
• I made a laminated idiot proof guide of what to do when I got into camp each evening

• Have a camp bag, a bag to carry all of your items in around camp to save you going back and forth to the tent.
• I did not have enough time to wash in the river as I got into camp so late. I used warm water in a bowl, a disposable flannel (one of the miniscule ones when once wet, grown in size) and did a strip wash/wipe down each evening.
• Receiving Dragon Mail, text messages and voice notes were always a huge boost to my moral. Make sure you encourage loved ones to use Dragon Mail!

Dragon’s Back Race 2023 Results

https://results.opentracking.co.uk/event/dragonsbackrace2023

Registration Day