2. 2012

Vegan Welsh 3000s in Snowdonia in August

In 2010 an all-vegan team completed the infamous Welsh 15 Peaks challenge, climbing all 15 peaks higher than 3,000 feet, in the same day. The amazing stories and photos are here. In August 2012, seven vegans once again assembled at Pen-y-Pass in Snowdonia at the ungodly hour of 04:30 to repeat the challenge – but this time, the plan was to run as much as possible, making it, as far as we know, the world’s first vegan ultra-marathon. We faced 30 miles/48 km and 14,921 feet/4000+ m of ascent, but perhaps the greatest challenge was the weather. Not only was it a British summer, but a Welsh summer! During the first attempt, six weeks ago, small streams became impassable torrents during torrential rain, and after battling over one mountain range, the course was closed for safety reasons (see event website). This time only 'showers and occasional thunderstorms' were forecast. Surely then it would be easy...?
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    Simon above the Black Ladders.jpg
    Several things happened shortly after this. Kate's old ankle fracture started causing serious pain so she went a different way. The clouds then covered us and she got lost again. We found her trying to send out a distress call. Then the rain came down hard. This time it was cold, and it didn't stop. Until I was starting to shiver. The ground, mountain and indeed all of Snowdonia was entirely soaked. Long stretches (e.g. 150 ft) of the route up here were underwater, and I felt roughly the same. Visibility dimmed and it became hard to navigate. Soon I had to run on just to keep warm. But then the rain stopped and so I'm here to write about it. Another 2-3 hours and I'd have been joining the chap with the dark hood and scythe. I now know what 'showers' means in a Welsh summer and won't ever venture into them without survival gear.
    Meanwhile, Roger was reaching the finish line at the far end of the Carneddau. He appears to have cleverly beaten the worst of the weather, arriving in around 13 hours to win the event. Awesome effort Roger!