|
|
|
|
|
|
RACE THE TRAIN PREVIEW
Words by Debbie Marsden
|
|
|||
RACE THE TRAIN PREVIEW |
||||
|
|
|
|
Every August Beaumont Running Club packs its bucket and spade and heads to the seaside. The official reason is Race the Train - a tough 14.75 mile trail/fell race from Tywyn (on the Welsh coast) up the Talyllyn valley and back. But this is not just about the race. For that weekend the Club is on holiday: most of us stay at the Ynysymaengwyn Caravan Park, a mile inland from Tywyn. (The site takes tents too - the first year I went, everyone made me feel very welcome, particularly when they invited me in for tea and refuge as my tent became soaked). The main race takes place alongside as far as practicable the route taken by the Talyllyn Railway on its journey to Abergynolwyn and back. In order to do this the course uses a mixture of public roads, lanes, un-metalled roads, tracks, agricultural land, and rough grazing pastures. The terrain varies all the time and can be very wet & muddy in places. The route also ascends and descends quite steep terrain and runs on narrow footpaths with rare chance of overtaking. Route aerial view |
Often the train, or for many runners, the track, is just over the fence and in many places if you coincide with the train your passenger friends will be able to shout encouragement to you. A lot of the course is across private land only open for the race so pre & post race inspection of the courses is not possible. All courses are marshalled, well signed. If 14.75 miles sounds daunting the race organisers have, in recent years, added three other shorter events. So you could settle, for instance, for a 10K outing. There will be plenty of team-bonding stuff to occupy you post-race: barbecues and games on the campsite, mountain biking and walking in the adjacent hills. Twywn itself is a small seaside town with lots of good eating places. The Talyllyn Railway was the first of the small railways to be rescued by a preservation society, and is now one of the Great Trains of Wales. Don't miss the chance to take your family on the train to show them just where you ran. |
|
|
|
