Ultra Trail Snowdonia 50K – 16th May 2026
Photos by Miguel Pilgrim Photography and Jen Gant.
The trail running juggernaut that is UTMB arrived in Llanberis for a collection of races ranging from a 2km kids race through to a mountainous 100-mile event.
I decided to have a go at the 50K as I seem to ‘enjoy’ suffering in the Welsh mountains. At least this time I didn’t have to spoon with a stranger in a wet tent at the end of a tough day of running.
The 50k starts in Llanberis and heads up the main tourist path to Bwlch Glas just short of the summit of Yr Wyddfa. There was not a lot to see due to low cloud levels. We then went down the Pyg Track to Pen Y Pass and on to Llyn Gwynant and the first aid station. This was in the same field as the day one camp on Dragon’s Back causing a few flashbacks.
The route took us on to the Watkins path to climb back up towards the summit of Yr Wyddfa. About halfway up the path, we switched on to the Cambrian Way up into the low cloud and then joined the Rhyd-Ddu path to the summit. The views would have been spectacular, but cloud was still hanging around, and the temperature had dropped making it feel close to freezing. The congestion on the trails finally eased after the summit as the field finally settled into a natural order.
A steady descent down to aid station two via the Ranger Path led to a short break during which I considered my poor life choices causing me to be cold, wet and a little bit broken in a Welsh barn. I hadn’t recce’d the next section. If I had I probably would have come up with some excuses to skip the event. The mud in the woods on the lower slopes of Mynydd Mawr led to a brutally steep climb to the summit and onwards to the final aid station at Betws Garmon.
A long drag up to the top of Moel Eilio with several false summits was followed by several more little bumps before hitting the smooth path of ‘Telegraph Valley’ back towards Llanberis. There was one last little kicker of a climb to go over to the Llanberis path for descent that was tough on my already ruined quads before a mile or so shuffle to the finish after 57km (35miles) and 3,475m (11,400ft).
I finished in 515th of 940 finishers in 11:13:40.
Jon Albon was first male in 05:34:37. Giuditta Turini was first female in 07:00:28.
