Dragon's Back Race
‘There be Dragons’
Rob Howard / 21.06.2015
‘There be Dragons’ were the words that used to be written on the edges of maps to warn anyone foolish enough to venture beyond the known limits, and it is a phrase appropriate to the 3rd Berghaus Dragon’s Back Race.
They may be wild and at times inhospitable, but the many mountains of Wales are not exactly unknown, ordnance survey maps provide all the detail anyone needs, but for the 145 racers from around the world who have arrived for this iconic race the unknown is how they will measure up to this 5 day, 200 mile route down the spine of Wales. Or if they will, because most are going beyond their own known limits.
The route, first run in 1992, follows a course down the centre of Wales from North to South sticking to the high ground, and is mountainous pretty much all the way. To traverse it requires runners to cover very rough ground, sometimes on loose rock or through bog and tussock grass, while racing up and down continuously. (It’s about 16,000m of ascent over the 5 days.) It’s much more mountain running than trail running. And they have to navigate in the mixed weather conditions that prevail on the west coast of Britain, which is likely to mean challenging conditions sometime during the 5 days. And that’s not forgetting that it’s 40 miles a day, for 5 consecutive days ...
The physical demands are immense and the challenge to mountain runners who crave adventure and strive to find their limits, is irresistible. The first race all those years ago became something of a legendary event until Shane Ohly of Ourea Events revived it 20 years later. That race in 2012 proved why it was legendary – on the first day half of the field discovered that the phrase ‘one of the hardest mountain races in the world’ was not marketing hype, as it usually is. It was the truth.
Now the race is back for the 3rd time, with its biggest ever field, and a new set of challengers are about to head into their own personal blank on the map and find out if they can become a Dragon’s Back finisher.
So it was with a mix of trepidation and excitement that racers registered this afternoon in the canteen of the Conwy Youth Hostel, checking in their kit bags and collecting their Sportident timing tags and trackers, which had to be attached to their race packs. (These will allow you to follow the racer’s progress through the coming week.)
There is still an element of the unknown on the course as well. The route has been changed in places since 2012, but the racers don’t know the details yet and will only be given their maps day by day. They will get the first one on the start line at Conwy Castle tomorrow morning.
There are a few here who will note the changes more than others as they completed the race in 2012, though the majority of the entries this year are new to the Dragon’s Back. Those who are returning know the extent of the journey ahead, and there is even one, Joe Faulkner, who is attempting to finish the race for the third time!
The racers are mostly from the UK with international competitors from Sweden, Japan, Belgium, Switzerland, France, Australia, Hong Kong, Norway, USA, Canada and Holland. None are household names, it’s not that kind of sport, the racers are extraordinary athletes who don’t look for or receive any acknowledgement, or any reward other than the chance to compete in wild places and push themselves to their limits.
Tonight they will all gather for the race briefing, and tomorrow morning, after what may be a sleepless night, they will set off into new territory to face their own Dragons.
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