FKT attempt – 8th March 2024 (International Women’s Day) – Brecon Beacons Horseshoe
An afternoon off work and ‘Fell Time Trial’ in the training plan (thanks Brett Mahoney!) so the previously identified Brecon Beacons Horseshoe FKT seemed like the perfect way to spend a Friday afternoon. I am new to the world of FKTs and this relatively short and local route seemed like the perfect intro into this dark underworld of running. The only thing I hadn’t factored in was the weather. We have had a week of beautiful calm Spring skies with an unusual amount of snow still gracing our hills after a St. David’s Day snow dump (March 1st). But the weather was set to turn and it was forecast 40-50mph gusts in the mountains – Easterlies as well which isn’t the norm. It looked dry at least and forecast to brighten up in the afternoon and I was hoping that most of the snow would have melted away as that can be tough going.
I decided to go lighter than normal and got some funny looks from walkers as I set off in shorts, carrying only a bum bag to stash my spare layers. The first climb up to Twyn Mwyalchod was fine, no snow and sheltered but then once I hit the Graig Fan Ddu ridge I was hit with a freezing side wind and there was a load of slushy snow to negotiate which meant for max concentration on route finding and a struggle to keep upright. I almost lost my waterproof to the mountain Gods as I tried to put an extra layer on which would have been game over for the FKT.
At the bwlch before Corn Du the wind really funnelled in and I realised that 40-50 mph winds coincidentally equate to the angle you need to walk or run at to stop yourself from falling over. I saw a few 45 degree people struggling to make progress and we exchanged looks – ‘what are we doing here?’ mostly. I have to admit, I had my doubts about whether this was the best day to go for the FKT but I had pretty much committed to the loop by this point so I thought I may as well get my head down and crack on as best I could. I narrowly avoided flying off Corn Du and got buffered all the way down by those cheeky Easterlies. Then Pen-y-Fan – I have honestly never been up there when it has been so calm and quiet. The flat top must have given a sheltered bubble from the wind ripping up the slope. There were 2 other walkers who had managed to battle their way up, we again exchanged pleasantries – ‘how is it so calm up here?’. They offered to take my photo but I said ‘no thanks, I’m trying to do a record!’. Then laughed to myself, this was not record breaking weather.
Cribyn was Cribyn, definitely a walking climb but again in shelter. With the clock on 1 hour 2 mins at the summit of the final peak and only 5k to go, all downhill, I realised that I was on for the female record but that the overall record of 1 hour 15, which I have to admit looked silghtly tempting (again, thanks Brett Mahoney!), was very much out of reach.
Slammed down Cribyn then onto the Roman Road and picked my way down, sailing past a few walkers on the way who probably wondered what on earth I was up to. Bombed into the car park with 1:23:21 on the clock. Nice challenge and of course, I would love to try again on a calmer day and see what is possible!