Ten Peaks Brecon Beacons Long Course
Saturday 9 September 2017
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.
Most runners were from Great Britain but other nationalities included South Africa, Slovakia, Sweden, Belgium, France and Finland.
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.
Long course details:
Starters: 85
Finishers: 70
Retired: 15
Transferred to the Short Course: ??
Joint First Man: Robin Carter and Matt Tomlinson; 11:33:49
First Lady: Katie Hateley; 23rd overall; 16:47:55
Steven Jones: 35th; Dark Peak Fell Runners; 19:18:18
Weather: Dry to start with then rain, light rain and heavy showers. It was quite breezy and towards the end the winds got stronger. At night there was mist on the hills.
The Storey Arms was used as a checkpoint on the way out and on the way back with a drop-bag facility (last year the checkpoint on the way out was at the foot of the path coming off the Pen y Fan track and the drop-bag was at about the half-way point).