UTS 2022 Race Director's Report
It’s Summer 2017 and I’m living in Montroc, near Chamonix, preparing for CCC and training full-time. Each evening I would stare out of my bedroom window to the last zigzag climb of the route, up to the Aiguille Rouge and consider what was next for me after this race.
I knew continuing as a full-time runner was unsustainable, so I was left with two options: Go back to my career in design & engineering, or take a punt on an idea for a new event I had been mulling over for the last year or so and see where things went. I was searching for a deeper sense of purpose from my work life, and I would still have my conventional career to fall back on should things not work out.
I chose the latter.
Since inception in 2017, working on UTS has certainly been a vocational labour of love. Indeed, blissful ignorance, a huge dose of passion and bottomless well of raw creative energy were all necessities to get this project off the ground. To learn more about these formative years, read the ‘Story of UTS’ HERE.
Five years on, I’m proud to have achieved what I set out to establish, with an event that boasts a growing international profile and celebrates the potential of mountain ultra-trail running in the UK.
With the prestige of being the UK & Ireland’s first and only UTMB World Series event (read full announcement HERE), and to better cope with the anticipated increase in demand for UTS in the coming years, last November we relocated back to Llanberis (where we hosted in 2018 & 19), after securing a stunning new host venue at the National Slate Museum in Padarn Country Park. Read more about this in our announcement HERE.
Having stepped into a bold new era, here’s how this year’s UTS went from a Race Director’s perspective…
FRIDAY
UTS 165: 98 entered, 89 started (9% no-show). N/A finished. 20 nationalities represented.
The Friday morning is a nice way to ease the team into the event. Registration isn’t busy for the 165 alone and it’s a good opportunity for the team to get the hang of things before a busier evening period.
There atmosphere before the start of the 165 was palpable, and although the field was small, with just 98 entered for this race this year, only 10 runners didn’t start. There was a similarly low no-show rate in the 50 & 100, indicating attendance rates back to pre-pandemic levels (usually around 85%), which was great to witness.
The race started without a hitch (we overdid it a bit with the smoke grenades though – sorry!) and with a good crowd of spectators, MCs and some music, it finally felt like I had a ‘real’ event with UTS at long last!
UTS is BACK! An exciting start to the 165. © Alexis Berg
Once that race was underway, the event had to die down a bit until 17:00, when registration for the 100 & 50 would reopen, until 22:00, after the museum closed. This timing was at the request of the museum management, to reduce interference of UTS upon their regular day visitors.
Highlights from UTS 165 prior to cancellation...
For me, Friday afternoon was fairly uneventful. I spent some time at Race Control before returning for registration at 17:00, when the weather started to deteriorate. There was quite a queue forming and for the first hour or so the registration team, headed up by the ever-reliable June Harrison, were busy, but not overwhelmed. Feedback from entrants was they only had to queue for 15 minutes or so, so all good there. One more person overseeing ID check will help ease the bottle neck there next year.
I noted the merchandise sold a lot faster than Ironman (who oversaw this element of the event) anticipated, so the 25× hoodies they brought sold out within minutes. This was the first time I’ve ever had merch for sale at any of my events, so again, we will learn from this for next year and ensure Ironman bring a lot more stock!
Difficult conditions faced the runners (and photographers!) on Friday evening. © Jan Nyka
During this period, it was super cool to meet so many people visibly psyched about their race the following day, although sadly the local band we had booked could not play, due to the weather and conditions on stage. One thing we are trying to work out with UTMB is how to create more of an ‘event’ around UTS, to elevate it beyond a series of races, without diluting the experience for the more purist crowd the event attracts. Certainly, more can be done here…
Some of the Senior Event Team in Race Control on Friday afternoon.
It was around 19:00 that I decided to move to Race Control. I could overhear the radio comms with Kev’s Mountain Safety Team that the conditions on Carnedd Llewelyn (1064m) were becoming pretty abysmal, and front runner Mark Darbyshire had asked to borrow some of their emergency kit to descend to Ogwen Valley, where he would retire from the race fearing hypothermia. We had a serious situation developing due to unforecast wind speeds gusting at over 80kmph at the higher elevations on the Carneddau and were required to act fast.
Clad in a jacket, hat and mitts borrowed from our Mountain Safety Team, race leader Mark Darbyshire runs for cover (and warmth!). © David Miller
With a trail of many, possibly less experienced runners behind Mark, the decision was made to temporarily stop the race and hold runners at any aid station until a decision was made on how we would continue.
After assessing the situation, we were ultimately faced with choosing one of the following three outcomes:
- Re-route the section from MCNW Hut to Llanberis using a low-level alternative. Impractical and difficult to get from Ogwen Valley to Llanberis without covering higher ground.
- Stop all runners at aid stations upon arrival and re-start the race at 03:00, once the worst of the bad weather was due to subside.
- Cancel the race and repatriate all runners and offer them the opportunity to start the 100 or 50 the next day, once bad weather had subsided.
We swiftly unanimously agreed that the last was the most safe and sensible option, and so therefore we went about communicating this internally, before setting the wheels in motion to get all runners back to Llanberis and warmed up with hot food and drinks. There were some cold looking folk in the catering marquee and at no point from then onwards did I receive any feedback that our decision was not the right one to have taken.
As it looked like the wind would largely subside at higher elevations by around 03:00 the next day, it was decided that we would not enact the bad weather routes for the remaining races, and we would offer all runners the chance to re-start either the 100 or 50 the next day. This was only possible thanks to the support of LiveTrail & Open Tracking. It was also decided by Monday that all those who started the 165 would be offered 1× Running Stone, in addition to the 2/3 received if they finished the 50/100 the following day.
An excerpt from UTMB’s Operational Guidelines, indicating windspeeds that may be cause for race cancellation.
With the benefit of hindsight, there is nothing we would’ve done differently. During several Race Committee meetings in the lead up to, and during the event, we made what were well-informed, thorough decisions with the data available to us at the time. Our last Race Committee meeting before the 165 start was at 14:00 on the Thursday, when we agreed the weather forecast was not poor enough to dictate enacting the bad weather route for the 165 the following day. In-race, the wind on higher ground simply turned out to be a lot stronger than forecast. A force majeure indeed!
The Race Committee were presented with a challenging situation and the Senior Event Team must be praised for responding so professionally, making informed decisions using the data and documentation available, and successfully executing a contingency plan.
Near-perfect conditions on Friday afternoon, a mere few hours before rapidly deteriorating. © David Miller
Throughout the weekend countless people I met said that making that call must’ve been a stressful situation, but in honesty, I wouldn’t count it anywhere near my top 10 most stressful event experiences! I tend to experience stress when a sense of control over a situation is relinquished and at no point did I feel that to be the case on Friday. Perhaps it would’ve been a different experience if it was 2019 and I was having to make the call alone, with no external support.
Later that evening in Race Control, I looked around at those in the room and the decades of collective event experience they possessed, including Nicolas Lagrange, Head of Operations for UTMB Group (and their first employee). Having him and his assistant Jeremy Pecqueur in attendance throughout was a huge asset to the event this year; a firm indication of UTMB’s commitment to developing UTS.
Following Friday’s events and knowing all runners were safe and accounted for, I was able to sleep well, before reawakening for the start of the 100.
SATURDAY
UTS 100: 239 entered, 217 started (9% no-show), 143 finished (34% DNF), 27 nationalities represented.
A 4am start can never much fun, and we may look to put this back to 5 or 6 next year (pending a thorough assessment of our cut-off times and DNF rates this year) to make life a bit easier for both runners and volunteers.
The conditions were still pretty wet, albeit the wind now starting to die down. Due to council restrictions, the start of the 100 lacked any music or MC, so was a bit dour, I apologise. I will see what, if anything, can be done on this front for next year.
A typically British start to this year’s UTS 100
Following a short briefing to remind runners the conditions on higher ground could still be poor and to reiterate the importance of the mandatory kit, second race underway, I was able to skulk off back to our accommodation, a few minutes’ walk away, for another solid sleep. Now knowing full well that the event was in very safe hands, I was surprised by my ability to switch off properly and entrust the event be run by those in Race Control.
On the whole, from a delivery perspective, things felt very different this year compared to last: more in control, more professional and far less stressful. A week on, I can reflect and admit that I genuinely really enjoyed it all! I look forward to a future of transitioning further away from the ‘RD doing everything’, to the RD responsible for managing and developing a truly world-class team that delivers this event annually.
A much more animated start for UTS 50!
UTS 50: 692 entered, 594 started (14% no-show), 551 finished (7% DNF), 36 nationalities represented.
As before, once the 50 was underway I felt pleasantly calm and serene. That was, until I received a message from Waunfawr Aid Station Captain Carl who sent an image a participant had shared about the queue that had formed shortly after the start, before crossing the Snowdon Mountain railway track. Balls. The road climb was not enough to spread them out after all…
This will be an easy problem to solve for next year, by running further up the road and going under the railway, before hitting the trail. I kicked myself for not implementing this change this year, and for thinking the initial road climb out of Llanberis would’ve been enough to spread out such a large field. I had considered re-routing this section in May, when we had concerns about the timings of Snowdon Railway’s first train on Saturday running up the track around the same time our 50 runners were due to cross it.
From 273 runners last year to this: How UTS 50 has grown! © David Miller
With this in mind, I was happy to be lenient with cut-off times at later aid stations, extending them by 15 minutes. If this early experience tested your patience during the event, then please accept my apologies for getting this wrong.
From here, I made the decision to head to the Waunfawr and Bron y Fedw aid stations with the UTMB team. This was the first time I’ve not felt the need to be buried away at Race Control once the races are live, such was my confidence in the senior team managing the event from their command centre, tucked away to the south of the museum. It was a genuine pleasure to visit these aid stations and see hundreds of happy trail runners thoroughly enjoying their races, the weather now firmly on our side.
Lots of happy runners were fed and watered at Waunfawr, and no queues!
Pre-event I’m usually guilty of torturing myself over countless hypothetical worst-case scenarios in my head. One such fear was this year was that due to the mass start, the first aid station in the 50 at Waunfawr would be overrun, with runners having to queue onto the road before gaining access to food and drink.
I’d heard such stories after Lakeland 50 last year, so upon arrival was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a nicely laid out station, crewed by an enthusiastic bunch of volunteers including a dozen keen youths from TrailFam, with a steady stream of happy runners making their way through. It was busy, but far from overwhelmed. Que sigh of relief! I took several videos and pictures before moving on to the next aid station at Bron y Fedw Uchaf farm, where we would arrive before the first 50 runners.
Karen & Florian from UTMB with the Dacia Jogger, at the Bron y Fedw Uchaf Aid Station.
At Bron y Fedw, we were again greeted by a very slick looking set up, with nice pagoda marquees, heavy HOKA branding, and a lovely bunch of volunteers who had done a sterling job of laying the station out. The runners soon started to arrive, and it was a surreal experience to see Catherine Poletti, co-founder of UTMB taking pictures and posing next to a Dacia Duster for some promo photography. Her husband Michel (UTMB co-founder) was running the 50 – a real privilege, and I had hoped to meet him on-route, but he was taking his time and getting the most out of his experience of Wales!
A special moment: With Michel Poletti, who had a blast running UTS 50! © Jan Nyka
We hung around to see the first third of the field through and it was nice to greet my good friend Will Simmons at the sharp end of his race, though heavy in the legs from a trail marathon the weekend before. Feedback from the runners at this point was resoundingly positive, although the wooded section prior to arrival here had turned into a bit of a quagmire in places thanks to the rain overnight.
Not too long after returning to Llanberis, one of the highlights of the weekend for me was witnessing Josh Wade win UTS 100 in a superb time of 13:16:23. I know UTS is Josh’s favourite race, having won the 50-miler in 2019. He was narrowly pipped to the post in the 100 last year by Mark Darbyshire, so I could tell what it meant to him to return victorious this year, at a much improved, grander finish straight.
Josh Wade running towards redemption at UTS 100. © Ian Corless
Other notable moments from Saturday included witnessing the top 3 women in UTS 50 all finishing inside the top 20 overall. I knew the women’s 50 field this year was pretty stacked, and it was for sure an exciting race to witness unfold! I hope for a repeat of the same for many editions of UTS 50 to come. I can see this becoming the must-do ultra in the UK, by both regular runners and elites alike. I look forward to seeing what women’s winner Kirsteen Welch does on the trail next, a relative newbie to the scene, as well as how men’s 50 winner Jack Scott gets on in this year’s CCC, his target race of the year.
The top 3 men/women in UTS 50/100 also gained direct access to the UTMB World Series finals, at OCC/CCC, respectively (for either this year or next) – a great incentive to increase elite participation at next year’s UTS I’m sure!
Kirsteen Welch cruises to victory in UTS 50. © Sportograf
There were also some sterling performances in the women’s UTS 100, dominated by Rebecca Di-Luzio in a time of 18:58:37, over two hours faster than last year’s winning time of 21:41:03, albeit on a different route. With only 14 women finishers, I hope this figure increases next year, as enhancing female representation in ultra-trail running and reducing barriers to entry into the sport are both causes I feel strongly about.
Rebecca Di-Luzio en route to victory in UTS 100. © Evan Davies
It’s at this point where it usually hits me: there’s still a long way to go before the event is over! With this in mind I took a break from greeting finishers and handing out medals to get some down time elsewhere, before commencing UTS 50 prize giving at 20:00.
We moved the 50 prize giving to Saturday evening as experience has shown most prize winners are keen to head home before the event ends on Sunday afternoon which is fair. This year the ceremony was a much improved and professional execution, and it was a pleasure to introduce Catherine Poletti to address the audience, before presenting our beautiful bespoke trophy vases and age-group plaques to their new owners.
These were a real work of art, produced by local ceramicist Sharon McCaig, whose gallery is a stone’s throw from the museum, with help in the form of a little 3D printing magic by good friend, long-term event volunteer and design extraordinaire Rich Stevens, AKA DesignReal, who previously produced all our 3D printed trophies and still does so for the Snowdon SkyRace.
Catherine Poletti, co-founder of UTMB addresses the audience during UTS 50 prize giving. © Sportograf
Later on, on Saturday evening, it became apparent that our caterers had miscalculated their food amounts, and our finisher’s meals ran out, replaced by soup and bread. Apologies for this, we will seek to rectify this for next year. From what I could tell from runners finishing, this was only a minor consideration and marred no one’s overall experience of the even; there were still smiles abound at the finish area!
I’ll always remember falling asleep in my friend’s passenger seat at the finish line on the Saturday night of UTS 2019. I was still the RD doing everything that year, and the senior event team has come a long way since then in terms of resource, experience and structure. Again, it was a real luxury to get a solid night’s sleep on Saturday night, and no doubt helped in thoroughly enjoying hosting this year’s UTS.
Video highlights from Saturday, by JHP Visuals
SUNDAY
With the bulk of the action now passed thanks to the 50 being long since finished, Sunday AM was a largely uneventful affair. Those left by this point tend to be the more vigorously passionate trail enthusiasts and it was great to see supporters offering rapturous applause to each and every finisher arriving back to our huge arch, the sounds of foamex boards being slapped ricocheting of the quarries surrounding the Gilfach Ddu site. For a second, I almost felt like I was in Chamonix for the finish of UTMB itself!
With only a few minutes to spare, Ben Lonsdale was our final finisher this year. © Sportograf
We will tweak a few elements of the start/finish area next year, but on the whole, it worked very well and my fears about the site being too small or cramped for 1000+ runners were by now firmly dispelled. I’m now convinced this site can adequately cope with the growth we have planned for this event next year, when we hope to welcome around 1500+ runners to the site throughout the weekend.
After being presented with poster signed by many of the Event Team. What a lovely gesture! I think the wind was in my eyes… © Jan Nyka
Minutes before 13:00 on Sunday, we welcomed our final finisher, Ben Lonsdale home to rapturous applause, shortly followed by the 100k prize giving at 13:30. Again, this all went without a hitch and having had the previous evening as a dummy run, felt I didn’t fumble through my speech quite as badly (public speaking not my forte sorry!). It was a shame not to be able to hand out the 165 prizes, but they will have to wait until next year…
Video highlights from Sunday, by JHP Visuals
I could tell from the various WhatsApp chats throughout the event that a lot of comms traffic was being relayed during the weekend. Indeed, there were a lot of small things that cropped up throughout the duration of event, but I could see were dealt with swiftly by our superb event team. I’m always impressed by the team’s ability to use their initiative to overcome small problems on-the-fly. There is a lot we know we can improve upon organisationally for next year and with a longer lead-in and additional resources, we are sure next year will run much more smoothly for the Event Team.
This year’s UTS 100 podium. © Jan Nyka
WITH THANKS
First and foremost, I’d like to express my huge gratitude to the volunteers who made this event possible. We experienced an unusually high volunteer no-show rate this year, so those who did attend had to work unusually hard to compensate for the shortfall in resources. For that, I and no doubt all the runners are hugely thankful. Next year, we need at least double the number of volunteers to run this event safely, so if you or someone you know are keen to help, please complete the sign-up form when volunteer applications re-open later this year.
I’m always overwhelmed by the comments I see online with regards to how awesome our volunteers are to the runners. A few mentioned how despite the event growing as part of the UTMB World Series, it still retained a ‘family friendly’ feel, which gave me goosebumps to read. It was a real privilege to have you all on board and truly: you are a credit to the outdoor events industry. A crazy event like UTS need a crazy bunch of committed volunteers to deliver it and it sounds cliché, but we couldn’t do this without you!
This year’s wonderful volunteer team comprised the following extraordinary individuals:
Agnieszka Matyjewicz
Baptiste Cusimano
Brendan Turner
Brynmor Phillips
Charlie Tidball
Charlotte Wadman
Christian Quick
Colin Hughes
Elle Rasmussen
Emily Wymer
Emma Garratt
Equeen Leung
Ethan Levitt
Fiona Wright
Georgina Linfoot
Harvey Franklin
James Reynolds
Jan Carver
Jim Allen
Joseph Wenman
Kieran Dale
Leticia Orford
Martin Sherwen
Martin Wilson
Matt Parker
Matthew Rothwell
Nick Taylor
Peter O’Kane
Rachael Bateman
Rachel Sherwen
Richard Bedlow
Steven Kjar
Stuart Proctor
Sue Curtis
Susan Blunt
Tim Martland
Tom Levitt
Tomas Boza
Trish Patterson
Viktor Vasiljevs
William Jones
Zac O'Neil
In addition, a special thanks to the following enthusiastic junior volunteers from TrailFam, based in East London:
Adam Fergous
Amelia Rahman
Ethan Tison
Lisbeth Guacho Araujo
Millie Oldham
Sabrina Fergous
Sajidul Hossain
Tilly Ryan-Ward
Zaim Alami
Zoi Otoo
Some of the Event Team who remained on Sunday afternoon. © Jan Nyka
The Course Waymarking, Sweeper and Mountain Safety Teams are managed by Kev Keenan, who volunteered on the inaugural UTS and has since formed an integral part of the Senior Event Team, as well as becoming a very good friend along the way. Many of his team work shifts of up to 16 hours duration in the mountains, in all weather conditions and often throughout the night, to ensure we can respond to any incident on-course within 60 minutes (the long-term goal from UTMB is 30 minutes, which may require our own helicopter).
Kev’s dependable teams this year consisted of the below.
Mountain Safety Team
Working in pairs, this team comprises a mix of qualified and trainee Mountain Leaders, including several members of local Mountain Rescue Teams. They act as first response to any incident on-course and remain in regular comms with Race Control throughout.
Ali Hurst
Anthony Fleming-Williams
Ashley Townshend
Ben Powell
Brad Hughes
Cat Cameron
Chas Ward
Chris Brook
Conor Watt
Dafydd Williams
Dan Baron
Dan Romberg
Des Mahon
Elin Kirkman
Fredrik Keate
Gareth Clarke
Hero Douglas
Jamie Humphrey
Jennifer Thomas
Jerry Stokes
Jo Shelmerdine
Joe Obiro
Kevin Williams
Liam Mills
Liz Cornwell
Mark Swords
Marty Wall
Meg Bates
Mirain Rhys
Owen Jones
Patrick Surguy
Phil Spinney
Steve Bower
Stuart Jones
Tara Brook
Tess Elias
Tim Harrop
Tony Lowe
William Jones
Course Waymarking Team
Working in pairs, these teams follow our detailed guidelines to place waymarking materials on-route as late as possible before the first runner is due to hit their segment, then collect them as soon as possible, once the last runner has passed.
Adam Nodwell
Ali Hurst
Amy Fox
Andrew Metcalfe
Andy Duffy
Brad Hughes
Charle Lindsey
Charlotte Metcalfe
Chris Davies
Chris Tym
Dave Zidane
Ellis Davies
Fiona English
Gareth Hewett
Graeme English
Ieuan Belshaw
James Worthington
Jase Wilson
Jonathan Kettle
Jordan Lloyd
Kieran O'Sullivan
Lauren Gregory
Olly Chapman
Paul Astick
Paul Edlington
Steve Greenhalgh
Course Sweeper Team
Working in pairs, these people run the routes with the backmarker runner, to ensure their welfare throughout and to ensure all runners are accounted for at each aid station.
Charlotte Smith
Chris Tym
Dean Horrell
Joe Waskiewicz
Jonathan Kettle
Josh Bullard
Laurent Gorce
Nicola Jennings
Sarah-Jane Garside
Wayne Davies
Medic Team
Jonny Davies – UTS Chief Medical Officer
Dr Julia Weatherill
Dr Nicki Lygo
John Carr – Paramedic
Kirsty Lane – Paramedic
Coral Hinton – Paramedic
Lily Ransby – Paramedic
Tom Braint – Emergency Responder
Rachel Smith – Nurse
Kristina Wege – Emergency Medical Technician
Jack Wathen – Emergency Medical Technician
DNF Vehicle Drivers
To ensure any runners who retire at any aid station can be repatriated back to Llanberis within three hours, the following drivers managed our vehicle fleet throughout the weekend:
Angela Pleasants
Dan Rogers
Garfield Jones
Peter Haigh
Scott Ulatowski
Tony Kettle
Tremayne Cowdry
Catering
Dan & Emma – Cegin Fach
Timing/Tracking Team
LiveTrail Team – Remote
Chris Mills
James Thurlow
Mick Kenyon
Tom Jobling
Media Team
Jimmy Hyland – Video Editor
Elliott Waring – Cam Ops
Ryan Balharry – Cam Ops
Shay Allard – Cam Ops
Ian Corless – Photography
Alexis Berg – Photography
Jan Nyka – Photography
Evan Davies – Photography
David Miller – Photography
Senior Event Team
Hayden Arrowsmith – Operations Manager, UTMB UK
Kev Keenan – Course & Safety Manager, UTMB UK
Rachel Platt – Deputy Course & Safety Manager
Natasha Elliott – Marketing & Communications Support
David Thompson – Race Director’s Assistant
Penny Midgley – Volunteer Coordinator
Rachel Jackson – Volunteer Coordinator
Seth Kennard – Logistics Driver
Rich Stevens – Logistics Driver
Sharon Jones – Press Trip Guide
Marie Cheng – Expo Village Coordinator
June Harrison – Registration & Start/Finish Team Captain
Carl Arrowsmith – Waunfawr Aid Station Captain
Drew Thompson – Rhyd-Ddu Aid Station Captain
Felicity Aries – Pen y Gwryd Hotel Aid Station Captain
Heather Pritchard-Jones – Pen y Pass Aid Station Co-Captain
Lucy Oldfield – Glan Dena Aid Station Captain
Manuel Chaves – MCNW Hut & Nant Gwynant Aid Station Captain
Rachael Bateman – Beddgelert Aid Station Captain
Sara Reeves – Capel Curig & Bron y Fedw Aid Station Captain
Warren Renkel – Pen y Pass Aid Station Co-Captain
UTMB Staff in Attendance
Catherine Poletti – Co-founder & Chairwoman, UTMB Group
Michel Poletti – Co-founder & Chairman, UTMB Group
Florian Lamblin – Executive Director, UTMB International
Nicolas Lagrange – Head of Operations, UTMB Group
Jérémy Pecqueur – Operations Support, UTMB Group
Nicola Dawson – PR & Media Manager, UTMB World Series
Karen Merlin – Marketing & Communications Manager, UTMB World Series
Mirella Perotte – Territory Coordinator, UTMB Group
An event of this scale and complexity simply would not be possible without the financial support of the following partners:
HOKA – UTMB World Series Premier Partner
Dacia – UTMB World Series Technical Partner
Wahoo – UTMB World Series Technical Partner
Buff, Camelback, Compressport – UTMB World Series Official Suppliers
Interested in sponsoring UTS? Several opportunities are available to suit a range of budgets. Please get in touch if interested.
Hosting UTS at the Gilfach Ddu site in Padarn Country Park, with the stunning National Slate Museum as a backdrop, would not have been possible without the valued cooperation, support and guidance from the following key event stakeholders:
Carwyn Williams – Leisure Resources Manager, Gwynedd Council
Paul Sivyer – Head Warden, Padarn Country Park
Elen Roberts – National Slate Museum Manager
Hugh Edwin-Jones – Events Manager, Gwynedd Council
Peter Rutherford – Access & Well-being Manager, Snowdonia National Park Authority
In addition, we are hugely grateful to the following businesses based at Gilfach Ddu, for their support of UTS:
- Padarn Pottery: As a self-taught artist, Sharon McCaig has been selling her work for over 30 years. She crafted our trophy vases and plaques and her work can be viewed and purchased from her gallery and coffee shop in the Gilfach Ddu site.
- Ropeworks Active: Ropes course and adventure activities provider. Gratefully provided water and power for our shower block.
- Llanberis Lake Railway: Now celebrating their 50th year, these cute steam trains are well worth a ride! There is also a quaint café at the nearby Gifach Ddu station.
- Vivian Diving Centre: This 18m deep inland dive site offers fantastic visibility all year around, as unlike most dive sites, there is little silt.
- Fframia: Friendly owner Dilwyn, will be sure to offer service with a smile, should you wish to purchase one of his hand-made picture frames.
- Crefft Eilidir Crafts: Hand-made place names, made using locally sourced slate.
- Odyn Copr Craft Workshop: Offering a wide range of unique jewellery & crafts, made on the premises by local artist Sam Rogers & team.
In addition, we are super grateful for the continued cooperation of the many landowners, farmers and tenants whose land our expansive routes cross. In particular, the National Trust, Natural Resources Wales and Snowdonia National Park Authority for reinvesting in trail maintenance and upgrades throughout Eryri.
Big thanks to everyone who attended the event with a car, for parking sensibly, with due care and courtesy. This was a particular cause for concern with the local council, and with a few minor improvements to our parking and traffic management plans, we are confident we can continue to safely grow this event at the wonderful Gilfach Ddu site.
Last but by no means least: I must extend a huge thank you to UTMB Group, for recognising the future potential in UTS, choosing this event for inauguration into their new World Series and believing in me as the RD for this event, as well as other UK events we may launch in future... I officially stared working for them last November and have already taken on board a huge amount of valuable knowledge. For sure, their commitment and investment in the UK, including the resources to take on a full-time Operations Manager to work with me, will fast-track UTS’ growth, as well as my own professional development in the years to come.
The Operations Manager in question above being Hayden Arrowsmith, who started working with me on UTS in March. His wealth of previous event operational experience, detail orientation and professional acumen has proven confidence inspiring, and valuable assets to continue developing the event. I’m already looking forward to working together on next year’s event!
What a spectacle this year’s UTS turned out to be, in many ways! © Alexis Berg
THAT’S A WRAP!
Provisional results from all races can now be viewed on LiveTrail HERE. If you spot any anomalies, please email [email protected] providing further info. UTMB are currently working on allocating 1 added Running Stone to all those who started UTS 165. Please bear with them for the next week or so, as they are super busy with three other World Series events on this weekend.
Your race images can now be bought from our photo partners Sportograf HERE. This year’s image highlights gallery will be uploaded to the website very soon, featuring work from several high-profile international photographers (listed above) that I’m very grateful to have welcomed to Eryri.
Do also keep an eye out on our Facebook page HERE for regular image updates, and watch the videos from this year’s event on YouTube HERE.
This year’s post-event survey has now been emailed out to all entrants. We hope to gain a lot of valuable insight from the results, so please take 10 minutes to complete this and you could be in with the chance of winning a free entry for next year!
WHAT’S NEXT?
2023 entries will go live at 10:00 (BST) next Tuesday the 12th of July, via a new entry platform. Please follow the ‘Enter Now’ buttons on the website or sign up to our email newsletter using the footer below for a reminder! 200 entries will be available at the early-bird fee, so if you’re keen to grab a deal, have your finger on the button at 10 sharp!
Next year’s UTS will be hosted at the same venue, taking place over the weekend of 12-14th May (the same weekend we hosted the event in 2018 & 2019).
We had the option between the same July weekend next year, or one of two weekends in May (due to the prevalence of other annual events in Llanberis) and settled on the May date from next year onwards due to runner feedback, as well as it being a better slot in the international and UTMB World Series calendars; important factors as we strive to grow the international profile and participation level of this event.
We are currently planning only a few small changes to the routes next year, but there will be the addition of a brand-new 20K category race: the Eryri 25 (view the provisional route HERE). We hope this will open the event to a wider participant base, as well as offering finishers the exclusive opportunity to earn 1 Running Stone, to enter the ballot for UTMB Mont-Blanc in 2024.
We’re already looking forward to next year's epicness! © Ian Corless
FINAL THOUGHTS
The last 12 months have been particularly challenging for me both personally and professionally, so I’m now looking forward to a much-needed holiday in the Alps, to enjoy some cycling and running!
On the whiteboard in my bedroom at home, one of my goals for the year is: Finish an Ultra, which I hope to achieve at OCC this August. This may seem an odd goal, given my past race experience. However, following diagnosis of type 1 diabetes last November, returning to running has been somewhat of a challenge and to run 55kms in the Alps would represent a great achievement for me currently. If you’ll be in Chamonix during UTMB week, do say Hi!
Without a doubt, the last five years of developing UTS from a mere idea into the reality it is today have provided me with exactly what I was seeking in 2017. Yes, at times I’ve felt like it was a bit more than I bargained for, but such is the price to pay for a work life that provides a sense of genuine purpose and reward.
I’ve never felt like I’m ‘at work’ doing this, but along the way tears have been shed and countless lessons learnt, often the hard way. Difficult, unforeseen experiences and stresses have been endured; no doubt exacerbated by the Covid pandemic, which have led me to coming very close to calling it a day several times. However, I’m now glad I didn’t, and it’s exciting to think about what lies ahead for UTS as it starts to mature into something more refined, with the full backing of UTMB.
While there occasional nagging doubts about my abilities as an RD may persist, fleeting thoughts of career greener grass, or fears about my longer-term future in this role, five years on I finally feel like I’m getting the hang of being the Race Director of what is no doubt a complex event. Imposter syndrome is slowly giving way to a confidence which can only come with experience.
And so, with that: Here’s to the next five years of UTS; Beautiful beyond belief. Savage beyond reason.
Michael Jones – Ultra-Trail Snowdonia by UTMB® Race Director
