Brechfa 10K

Val Kirby ran the Brechfa 10K on 17 November.  Here is her race report.

This great race was one of a series (Half Marathon, 10K and 5K) organised by Tough Runner in Brechfa Forest near Carmarthen in South Wales.  The series is new, and so the numbers were fairly small (220 ran the 10K).  The setting was lovely – mixed forest, hilly terrain; the surface was mostly forest trails; the weather was chilly but fine; and the event was well organised and friendly.

The route profile – given that I haven’t been doing much hill work – was terrifying in advance, but on the day, though tough, it was fine.  The worst section was off the main trail and onto very steep muddy paths – which was where years of following Simon over Cotswold winter mud paid off!  Fortunately, this section was on the way out and up and was not a feature of the return route. 

The first man got home in 48.33 and the first woman in 55.26.  My time was 1.20.08, 123 out of 220, and first of only 2 F65s – I was delighted.  My husband said afterwards that I had a broad grin on my face for over 3 hours.

I’d be very happy to go back next year perhaps with a group from the club and book a house – that’s what we did, within walking distance of the event, at a very reasonable price.