Route: Gwynne-Harris Round (United Kingdom)

Submitted by eharris92 on Tue, 04/27/2021 - 10:20am
Location
United Kingdom
Distance
75 mi
Vertical Gain
22,000 ft
Description

This route was created by Ed Gwynne-Harris:  "The reason I wanted to create this round was to try and encourage ultra runners to come to the Brecon Beacons National Park, which is where I grew up and an area I feel is underappreciated and underrepresented in the ultra running world. I am creating a film with The North Face about the FKT which ... Read more

Leaflet | Map data © Google
GPS Track

Comments

Regional Editor: Superb double-achievement, Ed! Congratulations for creating the round in what I agree is an excellent National Park. And well done for setting a tough time to beat. Looking forward to seeing future attempts on here.  

Editor's note:

Simon Malley recorded the third known time on this route over 16-17 June 2023. Supported, he completed the Gwynne Harris Round in 28 hrs 20 mins 9 s. You can see his run on Strava: https://www.strava.com/activities/9280320131

Here's Simon's report:

Wow, what an epic but incredibly tough route. My aim was to complete in under 24hrs. I had my Dad providing support points at most of the road crossings enabling me to restock my water and food. The predicted forecast was wrong and by around 10am it became clear that the heat of the sun was going to be my biggest challenge. It was around 30oc for most of the afternoon and by around 3pm I arrived at one of my support points feeling quite unwell. 

I thought I was going to have to pull out as it was clear I was suffering with heat exhaustion, and hadn't been able to eat anything for most of the afternoon so had zero energy. Thankfully, a 20 minute sleep in the shade and a little food gave me enough enthusiasm to carry on. I was joined by a friend Sean, at around 9pm/84km to help me through to the finish. My planned timing being out of the window meant I had to run throughout the night hitting the assent of corn du at around 4am. The last 18km seemed to last forever but knowing I was on the home stretch kept me going until I finally arrived back at the reservoir. 

Nowhere near the time I had hoped for but very proud none the less for completing it and being the 3rd ever person to do so.