The dust has settled on the second edition of the Blaenau 600, and we’ve slowly started to reflect on an incredible few days. From waving riders off as they embarked on their adventures, to chasing dots around the Welsh mountains, and ultimately welcoming them home one by one and sharing tales from the trails over pizza and beer, it was a joy to be a part of!
The people make the place, and the people made the race. Once again we were lucky to have a brilliant group of riders take to the start line, and the sense of community and camaraderie was strong throughout.
It took the riders between two and four days to complete the route, some battling it out against each other, but most in a fight against their own minds and bodies. An indication of how challenging the Blaenau 600 is comes from the finishing statistics – of the 29 riders who set out, just 12 completed the 600 and 2 the 400. A scratch rate of over 50%!
Blaenau 600
| Rob Gardiner | 49 hrs 20 mins |
| Ewan Partridge | 53 hrs 43 mins |
| Lee Endres | 57 hrs 36 mins |
| Lucas Ashworth | 60 hrs 45 mins |
| Steve Chapman | 61 hrs 18 mins |
| Daniel Mills | 71 hrs 34 mins |
| Eoin Corcoran | 71 hrs 44 mins |
| Jamie Muirhead | 77 hrs 58 mins |
| Nicholas Pow | 78 hrs 0 mins |
| Richie McColl | 80 hrs 44 mins |
| Rebecca Richardson | 81 hrs 13 mins |
| Hannah Sargent | 84 hrs 44 mins |
Blaenau 480:
| Andrei Tereskin | 58 hrs 1 min |
| Sam Bennett | 77 hrs 58 mins |
Here are some of the highlights (and a few challenges) from their time on the trail:
The weather – from unseasonably high temperatures, and humidity that made the harsh terrain even more difficult, the riders had to manage hydration, refuelling, and their own efforts in order to try and make it through the first couple of days. Those who were able to battle the heat, were later treated to thunderstorms and torrential rain. Although this was a welcome relief at times, during others it was a scary thing to contend with when lightning was striking all around in the middle of the Welsh desert.
First time ultra racers – through running this event we’ve seen the beauty of enabling others to have an adventure, particularly one that takes them to the edge and often outside of their comfort zones, and witnessing that experience in real time is wonderful. This year we had the added element of lots of first timers on the scene. Seeing them step into the unknown, expose themselves to the highs and lows of an event like this, and ultimately prevail was really special.
Mechanicals – a bumper year for mechanical issues, some down to pure bad luck, and others that could maybe have been avoided. The biggest issue was tyres, and I think the main takeaway was that tougher is indeed often better on a rough off-road ultra, particularly for those opting for a gravel bike. I think a few more tyre boots will be added to kit lists next time, along with a Gerber tool (or at least a valve core remover) as swapping from tubeless to inner tubes proved a hurdle too far for those without one.
In our experience strong and reliable has won out more often than light and fast on this one!
Slow and steady wins the race? Well steady and consistent at any rate. Not that these things are all about the race, and the richness of stories often only increases as time ticks on, but it was exciting to watch the tactics of those at the pointy end play out. Ultimately it was Rob Gardiner and his metronomic pace that won out, and it was impressive to see Rob’s calm riding throughout, but those behind with less experience will hopefully come back and challenge his record another year. They certainly had the legs, and it wouldn’t have taken much for the finale to be a close one!
The mountains, and the moments between them – the big ticket attractions on the Blaenau 600 are definitely The Gap in the Brecon Beacons and Twmpa in the Black Mountains (the highest point of the race) and there’s no hiding how big an undertaking it is to bike, and often hike, up these climbs, particularly in the context of a 600km ride. This was a big talking point both pre and post event, with riders firstly sharing their apprehension and then their stories of these ascents. However, in many ways the presence of two standout points on the route distracted from the difficulty of the rest of it. A takeaway for many of the riders seemed to be that the big moments were perhaps not as hard as the accumulation of smaller ones.
The finish – we managed to follow through on our promise to welcome everyone home at the end of the Blaenau, no matter when they finished, and it was such an incredible joy to do so. Being there to witness the end of a journey like this, and the emotions that come with it, is something you rarely get to do, and especially not more than once in such a short stretch of time. From laughter and pure joy, to tears of happiness (and perhaps a little relief), sharing that moment with the riders was really special.
We would like to thank everyone who helped make this event possible, and the riders themselves for ensuring it was a great one!
We will be back in 2024 with a bigger (well, only slightly as we want to keep things fun and friendly) and better Blaenau, and we already have some plans in the works for some other rides throughout the early season to feed into the big day.
Watch this space!
