Ten Peaks Brecon Beacons Long Course
Saturday 10 September 2016
55.3 miles (89 km); 15,748 feet (4,800 m) of ascent
Route description: Starting from the Talybont Reservoir the course heads west to take in a number of peaks south of Pen y Fan and ultimately to the twin peaks of The Black Mountain. It then heads back east but about a mile further north to take in different peaks on the return trip including the rollercoaster ridgeline of Corn Du, Pen y Fan, Cribyn, Fan y Big and Bwlch y Ddwyallt prior to the slippery final descent back to race headquarters.
There is also a Short Course option which is only 58 km with only 3,000 metres of ascent.It is possible to register for the Short Course or for those feeling the pace at Checkpoint 2 to divert to the Short Course from the Long Course to avoid The Black Mountain, Fan Gyhirych and Fan Nedd.
Starters: 125
Finishers: 83
Retired: 30
Transferred to the Short Course: 12
First Man: David Chetta; Mercia Fell Runners; 12:27:25
First Lady: Karen Nash; 12th overall; Krypton; 15:57:48
Steven Jones: 43rd; Dark Peak Fell Runners; 19:24:35
Weather: Heavy rain the night before and easing off in the morning. After about two hours the rain stopped. However, the deluge of rain had made the bogs even wetter than usual and the paths were flowing with water and the streams were raging torrents. The wet conditions slowed people down with most people seeming to think that they had taken about an hour off their time. In the afternoon it was very, very hot and one of the hottest days of the year making the going tough. After dark after the Storey Arms it got very cold and putting on lots of extra layers at that Checkpoint was a wise tactic. The fastest runners had already finished by then in daylight.
There was also a Short Course which was only 58 km and with 3,000 metres of ascent.100 people finished the Short Course with only 6 people retiring.