Ras yr Aran

A cold day for a race up a big hill in the quieter side of Snowdonia, with thick hill fog and large amounts of snow on the top ridge, but that's the fun of it! It's a race that suits Chris and I as it's a 3.5 mile uphill grind, then a 4 mile undulating summit ridge followed by the 3.5 mile downhill again - but no freewheeling on this one, even the downhill feels up.

It was a bit of a tester for me as Chris had already proved his mettle a few weeks ago on the South Downs, and the Highlander is only a couple of weeks away. After a long winter without racing it was good to get back into it, and Chris did his usual trick of starting fast. The photo above was luckily taken early on so we're both in it!(no I don't know what's going on with my Buff)

5.5 miles later Chris was more than a little surprised to find me with him at the summit before we turned for home and I immediately led him the wrong way down the hill in the mist. I eventually conceeded I was less than sure where we were, got my map out and headed us back onto the path just as we dropped out of the cloud. The GPS trace tells an interesting tale, but luckily no harm done as we were still well clear of the rest, and I just managed to get ahead of Chris as we covered the last couple of miles.

So, all looking good for the Highlander, Chris has earned the right to carry the Big Bag, and I'll look after the food.......