SATURDAY 18 OCTOBER

0430: Alarm goes off. Unusually easy to roll out of bed, given the hour.

0545: On the road from Bradford.

0930: Roll into the parking field a quarter of a mile past Penantigi Isaf farm on the A470, 10 miles west of Dolgellau, mid Wales. It’s a big field in the middle of nowhere in mid-October, which can only mean it’s the British Fell Relays. A gathering of the clan where we do our mad fellrunning thing without (hopefully) bothering anyone else. I pay my £10 parking fee and get a relatively flat spot on firm-ish ground, a relief. Load up a rucksack of gear for the day and also grab a camping chair, which may come in useful later. Immediately notice the high, steep mountains to both sides of the valley. Vehicles are now arriving thick and fast, here in this otherwise undisturbed spot, and soon there are hundreds of cars on the field and a mini-army of fellrunners advancing to the start.

1000: Arrive at the North Leeds Fell Runners (NLFR) club tent, after a 10 minute walk which includes a narrow, muddy tunnel under the road. Seemingly miraculously, as if having popped up out of thin air 140 miles from home, 20 other NLFRs are already milling about (we have 3 teams entered), let alone loads of other familiar faces from dozens of other clubs. The multi-coloured tented village is up and running, the banter starts and the cheerful bilingual announcer reminds us we are in the heart of Wales. Before you know it, the Leg 1 runners are going through the kit check tent and into the starting pen.

1100: I’m on (navigational) Leg 3 of the men’s open team (we also have women’s open and V50 teams). On Leg 1 my team has Tom B, this year’s BOFRA Championship winner, and the Leg 1 route looks similar to a BOFRA course, only even steeper and longer. Josh and Phil on Leg 2 are primed for an early handover. 190 runners are underway on the 11am mass start with Tom near the front. In fact he makes it to the top in 3^rd place and is back in 32 minutes, just 2 minutes behind the first runner. From the handover, Josh and Phil now have a very different leg, about twice as long, so it’s more uncertain for us on Leg 3 to predict when to be ready.

1200: I decide to sort-of start getting ready and wonder why my shoes don’t feel very tight. Closer examination reveals the soles mostly departing from the uppers, don’t ask me how I hadn’t noticed earlier. Decide there is time to jog back to the car to get a spare pair; I have a graveyard of various old running shoes kept permanently in the boot. After trying several pairs, I realise none are in better condition than the original. So it’s time for Plan C – the Pete Bland van. Fortunately it’s here, has a pair of size 12 wide-fit Mudtalons, and reception for the card machine. 80 quid, fair enough, you’re going to need a new pair before long anyway…

1230: The first Leg 2 runners come in and hand over to their Leg 3 counterparts. On Leg 3, you don’t know where you’re going until someone gives you a map 5 minutes in. Speculation on the field was that it would be on the other side of the road, and indeed we can see the nav pairs run through the muddy tunnel and up the hill beyond.  

1245: The worst thing you can possibly do on a relay is not be there for the handover when the previous leg runners come in, so Will and I on Leg 3 go through kit check and into the holding area. So, just have to stay warm somehow until Josh and Phil come in, which could be any time from now. Will seems very relaxed, which I’m pleased about because he’s had the unenvious job of pulling the team together, including having to find two last-minute replacements (of which I’m one). We jog about a bit while trying to keep an eye on the Leg 2 pairs arriving. They all look like Josh and Phil from a distance… until eventually Phil’s distinctive red shorts come into view and we’re ready to go.

1315: Will and I are underway, through the tunnel and shortly after handed a map each, showing 9 checkpoints to visit in order. However, conditions are clear and we’re midway through the pack, so other pairs are strung out in front of us. The nav is thus no problem; instead, I get to concentrate on the running side of things. Namely that Will is much faster than me, it’s a lot of uphill (or contouring) and conditions underfoot are very rough (heather, tussocks and bog). It feels very hard and unremitting and apart from dibbing the checkpoints I don’t get any kind of breather.

1415: After what seems like an eternity Will and I get to the penultimate checkpoint on what must be the final hill. Downhill all the way from here, surely. The descent includes our one small bit of nav, contouring round a final bump rather than going over, which I’m extremely grateful for. We belt it down through the final fields, into the muddy tunnel and…. then the sting in the tail. Rather than running straight into the handover area, we have to do a lap of the field. This includes a miniscule climb, but it feels the worst of all. As we eventually go through the finish my legs turn to jelly and I wobble through the dibbing area and back to the tent. Can’t remember the last time I pushed so hard for so long, 1hr 23 minutes as it turned out.

1430: We handed over to Tom S on Leg 4, which is similar to Leg 1, but my thoughts are focused on collapsing into the camping chair, thank goodness I bought it. Niamh then informs me about some showers on site and that seems like a good idea, so after a bit more rest I find these and it really was a good idea. Refreshed, I think about some food but the queue is snaking round the field and anyway I can’t find my meal ticket (which I’d thoughtfully removed from my race number earlier). So it’s back to the club tent for snacking, cheering in the Leg 4 guys, taking photos and generally recounting and recovering. Will looks like he’s barely broken sweat.

1630: All three teams are successfully round, a great club effort given the tough terrain and distance from home. We start noticing the cold, the tent comes down and the trudge off the field begins along with everyone else. It’s taken the host club, Merionnydd, 12 months to organise this gig, and most of us have only been on the field for 6 hours.

1730: Arrive at our accommodation for the evening, 20 minutes drive along the road, a further 10 minutes up a long winding track. There is parking for 2 cars, but by some significant error in car sharing there are in fact 7 cars, for 9 people. And no turning space. Somehow, we all find a spot, and organise 2 cars in such a way that we can easily drive off to the pub in the dark later.

The Airbnb is somewhere between a bunkbarn and a fancy conversion, with distinctive features like a woodburner, a sunken bath, a raised outdoor platform and a gigantic historic map of Machynlleth. But all thoughts are turning to the pub…..

1900: Arrive at The Brigands Inn, Mallwyd, where we are booked for dinner. Thank goodness I ordered 3 courses in advance, I’ve not had a square meal all day. All 20 of us are put in a side room out of everyone else’s way, the service and food are excellent and it’s a great way to end the day. Thank you Brigands.

1030: Arrive back at the Airbnb. As a late addition to the booking I don’t get a bed, or a sofa, but after a day like that a bit of floor for mat and sleeping bag is more than adequate. Fell Relays day is always like two days in one!

Full results

Many thanks to Merionnydd Running Club for hosting the event, and the many members of NLFR who organised this brilliant club weekend trip.