HAVING seen many of the Aberystwyth Athletic Club athletes venturing northwards last week, Balázs Pinter was not to be out-done and he took on the 14 Peaks Ultra, one of the races organised as part of SkyRun Eryri.

The Inaugural 14 Peaks Ultra takes in the 14 Welsh 3,000ft peaks, including the Carneddau, Glyderau and Yr Wyddfa over a distance of 52km.

Starting from Abergwyngregyn on the North Wales coast, the opening 23 kilometres ventures through much of the unique Carneddau mountain range.

Much of the time is spent high up in the mountains; only dropping down twice to the valley floors to refuel at the Ogwen and Nant Peris aid stations before climbing again to 750m above sea level.

For Balázs, it was an opportunity to see some peaks he had not conquered before:

He said: “For a long time, I had wanted to see Tryfan.

“With this race, I was able to run up from Ogwen Valley on Tryfan North’s Ridge and, from the summit, down on the other side.

“My other dream was to visit Crib Goch.

“The race route took us from Nant Peris up to the summit of Crib Goch, then all along the ridge to Yr Wyddfa.

“The wind was very strong in places, clouds and mist were coming and going, and I fully enjoyed the whole experience there.

“It took me nearly 13 hours (12:43) to reach the finish line at Llyn Cwellyn, near Rhyd-Ddu, but it was definitely worth it.”

Going slightly further afield and to Madeira where Karen Kemish took part in the  Madeira Ultra Sky Race, part of the World Sky Running Series.

It is a 45km race with  3,394m of elevation and she completed it in 10hrs 50mins, winning her age category in the process so she was naturally delighted.

She said: “They were brutally wet conditions with copious amounts of mud that made going up or down very difficult in a race where there was so much up and down!

“There were some passages which required technical climbing expertise but it was set in spectacular mountain scenery with the mountains one side and glorious sea cliffs landscapes on the other side.

“An experience never to be forgotten.”

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