Race date: 1st March 2026
Race report by: Jo Gleig
This race was organised by the same people ‘Beautifully Brutal’ who are putting on the She Ultra, which some Striders are doing in April – going by this little tiny 14 miler, theirs will be a big challenge so best of luck to all doing that one in a few weeks.
I did this for the enjoyment of a long run in a lovely area, combined with a visit to my sister who lives in Pwllheli now. We had to register on the Saturday afternoon, so I went over on the Friday, and fitted in a stony beach parkrun too.
Unlike a previous race I did in this area, the Abersoch 10k, last summer, which was full of holiday makers, this one was a much more local type event, with almost everyone speaking Welsh, I even learned to thank the marshalls – ‘Diolch’
We started from a big beach shack/ store, which as well as being a cafe sold quite expensive clothes and household items, so it was quite odd sheltering amongst cream canvas leisurewear and fancy toiletry bags, while keeping out of the wind at the start. The kitlist announced by email a few days before included a Powerpack and headtorch (in case of mist) , which I considered totally unnecessary, and I really didn’t want to be weighed down by anything more than a phone, but I was worried there would be a kit check, so I took them like a good girl. Then there wasn’t a check so I wished I hadn’t bothered.
It was quite a big event with I think about 500 runners/ hikers, everyone started together and the results weren’t separated into hike/ run categories, I suppose a lot did a combination.
It was windy, but the main slowing factor was the muddy areas, which were quite extensive due to the wet previous few months, and it being mainly on coastal path. The organisers had had to adjust the original route to take it inland, to avoid recent landslips, and although this added on a mile, the country lane running was a bit of a relief from slithery mud, especially the bits going downhill to the beach and back up again which were quite technical, i.e. easy to fall over on.
I had estimated it taking at least 2.5 hours, but realised half way round it was going to be at least 3 hours, and it was just over, although the last downhill mile into Aberdaron helped.
It was pretty tiring, due to the conditions – I’m sure the paths will have dried out a lot by the Ultra, but as I say, good on the girls doing that, I couldn’t have managed more than the 14 miles I did!
I got a nice Welsh Medal, I’m not usually interested in medals, they just end up in the sock drawer, but I liked this one. No age category prizes , but I would have won if there was – I think quite a few people must have walked a lot of it going by the times, I was quite surprised to be 49th female out of 361 finishers (100 of 453 total).
The race was won by Owain Hunt Williams in 01:41:26. The first female finsiher was Gwen Johnston in 02:13:43.
Striders results:
