Labelled as “the pinnacle of ultra-trail race routes in the UK” and has a tag line of ‘Beautiful beyond belief. Savage beyond reason‘ – UTMB, this race certainly lives up to that and more!

The start and finish line is located in the village of Llanberis in Snowdonia national park in Wales. Usually held in the month of May, it has 4 different distances to choose from, 100 miles, 100km, 50km or 25km. Cost of entry differs depending on the distance you choose, this year I entered the 100k distance which cost me £236 including fees.

Registration for the UTS100k was on Friday 16 May between 8:30am & 12:45pm. There was a small window later that day for anyone with work commitments or travel issues but was on special request / dispensation only.

We arrived around 11:30am on Friday to register, the event village was busy already with the 100-mile runners and support hanging around in preparation for their 1pm race start. Car parking was still plentiful, and we managed to find space in the Car Park right next to the event village.

The mandatory kit is already extensive, and this was added to with the activation of the hot weather mandatory kit 24 hours earlier. I had to purchase some items I didn’t already own for this race and the full kit weighed as if I was packing for a week away. My kit had been checked and packed already and then re-checked and re-packed to make sure everything I had complied with the mandatory kit check list and the warning on the UTMB website that anything missing would result in no race bib, no entry.

Registration was well organised and a painless process. When I arrived, I was given a tray to put all the items from the mandatory kit list in, along with my race pack and trail shoes I would be wearing on the day and told to have the items on the hot weather kit ready for inspection. After all the warnings on the event website about having the correct kit, I was a little disappointed it wasn’t thoroughly check by the event team as I passed through. It was literally, open the bag, look inside and waved me through.

Next was the ID check. Barcode scanned from my entry email and a check of my photo ID. Next was my race band, race pack and bib number. Then my tracker was secured to my race pack. Then a quick picture with my bib number on the stage from the event team for my online profile. The whole registration process took about 15 mins in total, so easier than I had expected.

We watched the 100-mile runners gather on the start line at 12:45pm and took in the incredible atmosphere with the famous UTMB Viking clap and introduction of the elite runners. 1pm and they were off. We took in the atmosphere in the event village for another hour or so, catching up with familiar faces and looking around some of the brand tents before heading over to our hotel in Betws-y-Coed.

The 100km race was split into 3 waves. My race was starting at 4:30am so the alarm was set for 3am. We headed to Hangin Pizza in Betws-y-Coed to carb up before getting an early night. I woke up before my alarm, as I usually do before a race and got myself ready. Breakfast consumed and grabbed a quick coffee before heading back over to the event village in Llanberis.

I arrived and gathered at the start line at 4:15am. The elite field of runners were introduced and then we had a muted countdown from 5 to start the race. The start of this race was a lot quieter than the 100 mile race the day before, in respect of the local community. We headed off along the streets of Llanberis, packed with supporters to the very steep road that takes you to the Llanberis path to Snowdon. As we climbed this first section to the trail, my kit felt exceptionally heavy. This would be a major negative for me about this race, as I didn’t need over half of it.

Going away from my usual race plan method, I broke this event down into 11 climbs. The first being the climb up Snowdon to the finger rock and then down the Pyg track to Pen-y-pass and Aid station 1. With all the excitement and freshness of the early morning this was a very enjoyable climb, ascending and taking in the views of Snowdonia as the sun started to rise. The terrain was easy going with some light technical sections and some small runnable sections. I got up and down in just over 2 hours. 890m of elevation and 11.9km in distance covered.

Aid station 1 was located at Pen-y-Pass and had plenty of water and Naak. I topped up my bottles and pushed on. Before Aid station 2 there was 2 climbs over the Glyders including the steep technical descent of Devils Kitchen. The first climb was 666m out of Pen-y-Pass and was technical. The descent was even more technical than the ascent and very challenging in places with the use of hands needed to climb down. The route followed Llyn Idwal lake which was the only runnable section of this climb before we hit climb 3.

Climb 3 was Bwlch Tryfan and was about 320m and very steep. Again, the terrain was very technical on both the ascent and descent with limited runnable sections. Aid station 2 was next, with a distance of 23.4km covered. Aid station 2 was very busy and supplies were very low. I had to wait for water to be refilled and to get some food. Luckily, I had my crew with me and aid station 2 was one of the 2 aid stations where support crew are permitted, so I had access to my own nutrition and supplies. I changed my socks and applied sunscreen before the heat of the day.

Onto climb 4 and it was a steady climb towards Carnedd Llewelyn. The 700m climb to the first summit was steady going and only technical towards the summit. After that it was a runnable section over a stunning ridgeline to the true summit at 1060m. The descent into aid station 3 was very runnable and I made some good time on this section. Four climbs done and I arrived at aid station 3 with 38.6km covered. I knew the next section had some runnable terrain and included three smaller climbs, so I reset myself, applied more sunscreen and used the toilets. This aid station was a little disappointing as they were low on supplies again and only had water, coke and oranges. They were waiting on a re-supply, but I didn’t want to hang around in the hottest part of the day, so I continued.

The next section was just over 12km in distance and included circa 450m of elevation over the 3 smaller climbs. The terrain was very runnable and included some sections on forest trails with shade cover which was by now very welcome. The rocky terrain now changed to tree roots and compact trails, so a much different challenge. I made good time over this section, but the heat was still taxing and hard to deal with.

The halfway point soon arrived as I arrived at Aid station 4, Capel Curig, 50.4km. This was the best Aid Station on the day, well stocked with supplies even if busy. The volunteering team were on hand to support the runners in numbers. This is the checkpoint where your drop bag will be if you choose to leave one at the start. The hot food on offer was welcome. I sampled the soup with some bread and butter along with watermelon and some other snacks.

The food at Aid Station 4 was needed for the next climb, a 700m slog to the summit of Moel Siabod. The climb was steady going with an average level of technical terrain to contend with. The sun was still high in the sky and the heat was still very hard for me to deal with and very exhausting. This is when things started to go south for me as I descended this climb. Sickness had set in and I was vomiting as I ran along. I tried to keep on top of my fluids, knowing I was likely to get dehydrated if I kept being sick and losing the much-needed fluids to keep moving.

I met my crew just outside Aid Station 5 and it couldn’t have come at a better time. I took on some fluid calories and changed my socks and cap before moving on to the Aid Station where I filled my bottles and took on some more fruit. Again, I couldn’t hold any of this down as I set out for the biggest climb of the day so far.

The next climb was the 1,060m navigating the Watkins path to the very summit of Snowdon and covering over 17km in distance to the next Aid Station. As we approached 8pm, the sun was low in the sky now, but the heat and direct sun had already done its damage on me as I tried to move quickly and reach the summit before darkness set in.

As night fell I was within reaching distance of the summit. I stopped briefly to get out my headlamp and try again to eat something. Nothing was working and I was feeling really sick and lightheaded. I pushed on to the summit. The wind had picked up a little and the temperature had dropped as I started the descent via the Rangers path into Aid Station 6.

This is where the wheels fell off completely for me. My head was hurting, my vision was blurry and near tunnel like with white speckles and I felt really unsteady on my feet as I navigated the technical terrain on the descent. I’d never felt this bad on any previous ultra I had done but was sure it was just another low and it would hopefully pass. But I didn’t feel safe and had to respect the mountains, so slowed down massively which made the time on feet longer and the after effect of heat exhaustion more intensified.

I landed in Aid Station 6 at midnight, 82km in with only 2 climbs to go and just under 20km in distance. I sat down as my crew grabbed me a coffee and refilled my bottles for the next push to Aid Station 7. However, things worsened here and a felt severely poorly so went to have a quick sleep in the car to try and sort myself out. I took on some liquid calories and closed my eyes. I felt worse. Dizziness and very lightheaded and feeling very sick, my eyes were closed but I could see white blotches.

Something wasn’t right so I went to see the paramedics team. They took my vitals and confirmed I had high blood pressure and was dehydrated. It wasn’t safe for me to continue. That was it, my race was over. I didn’t feel safe returning to the mountains feeling like this and where if something had happened to me, it would have been difficult for assistance to help me.

My tracker was taken away and I was done. My first DNF. After completing multiple ultras to date, I know my own body and mind quite well. But in the car on the 2-hour journey home I was already questioning if I could have completed the race. But in the morning, still feeling the effects of the sun, heat exhaustion and still feeling quite unwell, I knew it was the right decision.

I’ll take the lessons I learned from this tough race and right the wrongs. Nutrition strategy and heat management being the root causes.

All in all, the event was good and just about value for money, even just for the spectacular views. With some positives and some areas for improvement.

But will I be back? Definitely. I won’t be beaten; the demons will be exercised; I’ll right the wrongs and redemption will be sweet. Its only 1 nil to UTS100k and the mountains will be there next year for me to conquer. Hopefully thistime with a little bit of cloud and rain!

The Stats

Distance Covered: 82.3km

Elevation Gained: 5,359m

Total Time: 20 hrs 10 mins

Total Calories burned: 11,307

Average HR: 142bpm