Eryri 25k 2026 race report

We're back in Llanberis for another Ultra Trail Snowdonia 25K race. Last year I had prepared for the race by running up and down every incline I could find in the local park. This year I returned older, wiser and living near some more impressive topographical features. After some pre-race visits to some ruined Welsh fortresses (Beaumaris in Anglesey and Castell Rhuddlan on the coast) the time had come to go again and see if I best last year's attempt at this course.

Things were already looking better in particular the much cooler forecast. Last years attempt involved me melting in the heat after ascending to Yr Wyddfa's summit and struggling from there on out to string together some semblance of a jog. However, on race morning the weather threw in a twist, thunderstorms were possible at the summit and the whole race was re-routed. And when they say re-routed they mean throw the map out and start again (all you can do really for a race centred on climbing Yr Wydffa). We were now going out to Moel Eilio, taking in the summits of Foel Gron and (almost) Foel Goch before an out-and-back section to a farm near the Llyn Cwellyn reservoir before coming back to Llaberis via the Maesgwm (Telegraph valley). Overall, this made for a shorter route (watch suggesting just under 21km) with about 200m less ascent than the traditional Yr Wyddfa route (but still ~1,200m).

This also made for a change in the texture of the race with much less of the traditional rock paths of the Llanberis track, no ridgelines and more grassy hillsides. This gave it more the flavour of a fell race than last years Eryri especially with a more undulating set of hills than Yr Wydffa's brutal ascent and the long descent into Rhyd-ddu. Whilst I was personally disappointed to not get a second go at the usual course I enjoyed the opportunity exploring more of the hills in the horseshoe, particularly pleasing in that I had a good view back to where I was staying from Moel Eilio!

The first 5km or so took us out immediately on the Llanberis path before turning off the path westward, coming across the valley and along the footpath to Moel Eilio. This turned sharply south into a 2km ascent with a good 0.5km section before the summit at around 20% incline. In the race we were slowly ascending into the clouds with poor visibility at the summit and marshalls on hand to direct us down. From the summit was a ~4.5km section descending but also taking in the summits of Foel Gron and Foel Goch. These were sharp grassy descents with occasional steep sections to come back up. The descent of Foel Goch was super steep until the fence line, there were some rocks marking the path but the whole section had been chewed up by runners so you had to descend carefully. It gradually improved from flying-head-over-heels steep to fun-fell-descending steep before reaching the gate that starts the descent down to the aid station.

This section was an out-and-back with quicker runners coming up from the aid station joining the rolling bridlepath of Telegraph valley back to Llanberis. It immediately started with a short rocky path that winds it's way down to a marshall who directed us off the path down a steep grassy slope to a farm house at the bottom of the valley. Things are pretty busy on this section with plenty of traffic coming back up and people bustling on the steep, slightly boggy hillside with gates and styles slowing us all down. The clouds had started to recede at this point and things felt pleasant in the valley but you could also see the hard slog that drew ever closer as you worked your way to the turnaround at the aid station.

The inevitable climb back up was the most brutal climb of the day. Your legs had been giving a good bashing coming down from Moel Eilio and the soft ground on the hillside made things all the more challenging. Reaching the marshall heralded a return to firmer ground, a slightly less intense incline and meant you were blissfully close to the start of the Telegraph valley track and the flowly stretch back to Llanberis.

The morning cloud had fizzled into white puffs against a blue sky and the sun was shining on the bridlepath ahead. From here the course was the same as last year and so for me it was plain sailing down the valley, cutting back across over to the Llanberis path and flying down the final descent into Llanberis. After navigating the road crossing you can see the event village but have one final kilometre over towards the Slate Mining Museum before crossing back over a footbridge to the finish line. This year I was pleased to cross feeling satisfied rather than shell-shocked.

This wasn't the route I'd planned for but the opportunity to run more in Eryri was fantastic. Whilst this didn't feel like a mountain race it definitely served up plenty of challenge. It was very much appreciated that the delay and reroute were handled as promptly and after hearing about the issues faced by some of the longer races over the weekend I can appreciate why this decision was taken.

I got round this course in just over 3 hours which (noting the course was shorter and slightly less elevation) felt like a significant improvement on last year. I would be keen for another go at the original Eryri route just to finally put to bed whether I can get round it faster but I drew a lot of confidence from this race after a start to the year that lacked consistency due to injury troubles. My biggest takeaway from training is that uphill treadmill work (whilst pretty boring) worked wonders for getting me prepared for lots of long climbs. It's definitely something I'll come back to for future races. My other takeaway though is that for all the festival of running vibe that is UTS I'm not sure how much I like it compared to the smaller races I've done. As someone who training predominantly on their own having so many people on the course is quite a shock to the system and isn't as enjoyable as events I've done like Ultra Trail Yorkshire Dales where you're more spread out but there's also more comradery among the few of you that are out. UTS have a great product, the routes they run are fantastic and the Eryri national park is one of my absolute favourite places to run and explore. However, for me I want the same adventure but with a little more solitude/community which I don't quite get from these events.