Ras y Moelwyn takes place tomorrow, and last week I thought I'd run the route to see how my mountain fitness is progressing. At 10 miles and 2,800ft of ascent, it's the hardest run I've done yet.
The route (PDF) goes from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Tanygrisiau, and then up through Cwmorthin and Rhosydd quarries. From there, you go the long way around the old workings, which I'd never looked at up close before. They're pretty impressive and, along with the discovery of cwmorthin.co.uk, make me want to find someone who knows about caving and get them to drag me down there for a closer look! From this height onwards there were still some small snow patches hanging around, contrasting sharply with the scorching sunshine which prevailed all day.
Workings at Rhosydd quarry. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010
From the pits it's straight up to the top of Moelwyn Mawr, down to Bwlch Stwlan (steeper and more scrambly than I remembered from last time) and then the short hop up to Moelwyn Bach. Doubling-back on yourself, you cross the dam holding the Llyn Stwlan reservoir in place (the UK's first pumped storage hydro-electric plant, fact fans) and then across some broken ground to the upper slopes of Moel yr Hydd. A knee-joltingly steep descent gets you back to Llyn Cwmorthin, and then back around to Blaenau.
Moelwyn Bach from Moelwyn Mawr. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010
I'm not going to lie, it nearly killed me. I walked the last mile or so, and didn't particularly enjoy the last three. I'm not overly worried though, as I did try to run the entire thing and my ability to run uphill is flaky at the best of times. The plan for LAMM is to walk the uphills and run the flat / downhill, which should increase my stamina somewhat. I reckon without faffing a lot for nav and stopping to administer to blisters, I could have got around in 2h 30m. Last year's finishing times for Ras y Moelwyn tail off around the two-hour mark, so I haven't entered this year for fear of trying too much, too soon. I think it's definitely worth a shot next year though…
View towards Porthmadog from Moelwyn Mawr. Copyright Haydn Williams 2010
