Snowdonia, peaks and troughs

This year's Snowdonia Marathon was very much a case of de j'a vu both weatherwise and in terms of time. Falling rain and a heavily puddled car park was very reminiscent of last year without the wind, yet with the whole family arriving within minutes of the agreed time the omens were good.

EtU had collected my number the night before and a quick preparation was going well until I enquired of another runner how he had fitted his timing chip. His wife immediately sized me up as a confused geriatric and offered to fit it to my shoe. Then it was waterproof hat and cag on and off to the start, this year brought a mile nearer to Llanberis, by which time the sun was out and it was hat and cag off.

I had a good start close to the front and was soon caught by Roger our brother in law who told me last year's over 65 winner was now 70 and was bearing number 9. Just after the start of the first long climb the opposition caught me and inched ahead to disappear. Not wanting to blow up too soon I had to let him go, hoping that his legs would eventually fall off.

And so the miles went by speeded early on by the company of a young lady from Deeside Runners who seemed happy to chat about marathons and running in general. At roughly halfway the family support team were in full voice and I dragged up the second big climb keeping a good pace with the younger runners, still hoping that I would come across number 9 walking. No such luck.

The mile times were fairly steady as we continued to the last big turn (and the last big hill) and I was making a good stab at the final climb as others were falling by the wayside with cramp and nausea. By now it was obvious to me that number 9 was going strong and I resigned myself to second place (possibly) and no prize.

The intermittent showers - still very little wind - had lengthened and were getting heavier. By the top there were hailstones and worrying cracks of thunder. We had everything but snow. The last descent was as steep and painful as ever but with the revised course and a finish in the main street of Llanberis we were spared the usual tortuous wanderings of a final mile through the back streets of the town. What we weren't spared was the full fury of the weather as the heavens opened and the rain came down in buckets full.

The course flattened out at 26 miles and it was maximum effort to the line to finish in 4hrs 5mins 53 secs, just 51 secs slower than last last year. The rain was bringing a serious threat of hypothermia so it was a slow dash to the car park where the hailstones were coming down so heavily they were triggering off car alarms.

From there it was it was a another slow dash for the cover and relative warmth of the leisure hall for a quick change before the presentation where more drama was to unfold.

Roger was already there confident a having won the over 60 category with a slightly improved time of 3hrs 18mins and me there to support him.

The presentations were made in reverse order, ladies first. Then the the announcer came to the winner of the male over 70 "John Thomas of Corby in a time of 4hrs 11 mins". The alarm bells were ringing. Number 9 had got a slower time than me but fortunately he must have guessed and did not turn up at the presentation. A quick word with the organisers put the record straight and after a check with the finish line video the announcer corrected his earlier statement and my presentation was made after the big trophy had been handed over. In the event I got a bigger ovation than otherwise and later a total stranger came over to compliment me on a "stonking" time.

What a cliffhanger. Somehow I had managed to pass number 9 without realising, attributed unkindly by wife and sister to my preoccupation with the young lady from Deeside.

It was assumed that the results error was caused by a timing chip problem and a check by one of the organisers revealed the lady on the car park had fitted it wrongly.

Because of the weather and the timing of the presentation EtU was left to run in unsupported in a time that he will not doubt want to reveal himself.

After a Sunday celebratory lunch in a Caernarvon tavern it was agreed that next year if Roger and I could repeat our wins it would only need EtU (who moves up to over 65 next year) to make a clean sweep for the family. Would that be possible?

What we didn't know at the time was EtU had been only narrowly beaten (11 secs) by the over 65 winner. So there is hope, although next October is a long time , and a lot of miles, away.