International Snowdon Race - Paul Wathan

Every year this race (Snowdon International Race) is in my calendar to do! The race its self is know as one of the toughest and most brutal mountain races in Europe, it always attracts runners from around the world. This years race also incorporated into the World Sky Running Series what made it even more competitive.

On the morning of the race I looked out of the window and saw it was going to be a hot day ! A couple of hours later we were down in Llanberis, and the event was in full swing. Athletes getting ready by warming up etc.... And lots of other things going on around in the field from stalls to fair rides. At this time I was getting very excited and in the zone (As they say) but more than that I was really looking forward to testing the new Salomon Fellcross on such an event, prior to the event I had only used them for training around the fells in the Lake District.

2pm soon came around and we were off! The sun was beaming down on the 500+ strong field of runners in the small village of Llanberis, as everyone headed out of the village towards Snowdon it self the field quickly opened out as we started to climb the hill before the mountain! Straight away my legs felt double the weight and I was in trouble.... I continued to climb towards the summit of Snowdon slowly going backwards and backwards. At this time I was really impressed at how the Fellcross had performed so far they were very light and responsive, very breathable.
25 minutes into the climb and legs had totally gone, I started to cramp up and feel dehydrated within my self. I managed to get to the half way house (where there was a water station) I was so glad to be there knowing I was bit closer to the summit. After a cup of water I found a second wind and began to climb stronger and picked of a few runners who had pasted me early on in the race. 54 minutes later I finally had reached the summit in the thick mist and fog but this was only half way in the race. Slightly disheartened by seeing the leaders already half way down the decent I started to decend as quickly as I could and putting all my faith in the Fellcross and its grip to keep me up right, and again the Fellcross came up trumps they fitted around my foot like a glove what made the descend easier as I didn't have to worry about slipping, down side to it all after descending for 15mins my feet started to burn up as the weather was so hot what made the ground even harder underfoot. I had no option but to slow down and descend at a slower pace what lost me a few minutes on my time I should of posted.
Over all time and position : ‎54:54 up, 29:59 down. Total 1:24:53, Chip 1:24:52 69th O/A

Quick summary on the Fellcross : Another great product from the Salomon team. Very light and responsive, great grip and feel to the shoe. Serious about fellrunning? Then the Fellcross should be your next purchase

Paul (Keswick Manager)