Snowdonia Sea2Sky Race Report
Date: Saturday 3rd August 2024
Location: Barmouth Beach, Snowdonia
Weather: An 11°C start, topping out at a very pleasant 18°C with sunshine all day
The first edition of the RunThrough Trails Snowdonia Sea2Sky Presented by The North Face & Sportsshoes.com kicked off on Saturday 3rd August 2024, and saw over 630 runners join us on the beautiful Barmouth Beach.
Runners were invited to a shake out run and film night on the eve of the race, hosted by The North Face & Sportsshoes.com. Anna McNestry joined us there, and summed up the evening perfectly, saying ‘It’s always more than the running and Snowdonia Sea2Sky delivered at every level. The shakeout run with The North Face x SportShoes brought the vibe and eased any race day nerves with a warm welcome from the team and chatty miles. This was followed by a trilogy of inspiring films from The North Face and a Q&A to tune up all the runners for the adventures ahead.‘
The team were out at the crack of dawn on Saturday to check the course and organise the event village (mostly picking up all the barriers that had fallen over the day before) – who knew the coast could get so windy? And by 6.30am we were ready to welcome our runners and spectators to this awesome venue.
With nerves and excitement fluttering around the event village, along with a very nice sea breeze, 232 runners lined up to take on the 53k at 8.00am, with another 403 runners joining us for the 25k at 10.00am. We were grateful the summer weather held up and encouraged such a good turnout of runners, spectating loved ones, and locals, creating a pretty special start and finish atmosphere.
Thankfully, after a few days of warmer temps prior to race day, the course was mostly dry underfoot (with just a bit of slip n slide on the descents) and with the morning mist moving off the peaks our runners enjoyed the stunning views from higher up.
Some exceptional times were achieved in the 25k, with our 1st place female, Tracy Rogers, flying in at 2:04:20 and placing 3rd overall! Katie Brown came in 7 minutes later with 2:11:27 on the clock to take 2nd place, followed by Anna McNestry in 2:24:30 to take 3rd!
Ryan Moore brought it home 1st for the men in a spectacular 1:55:51, closely followed by Kieron Brown in 1:59:07 to take 2nd, and Aiden Zembrzuski to claim 3rd in 2:07:20! I was actually positioned at Aid Station 4 at the time these 6 runners passed through and was blown away by their pace (almost literally! 💨).
Our 53k results were just as impressive, with Joe Farrelly taking the win for men in 4:49:38, followed by Joshua Beaumont in 4:57:55 in 2nd, and Josh Bakker-Dyos nabbing the 3rd podium spot in 5:05:47!
The female field was a little more spread out, with Alice Bourne dashing across the line as 1st female in 5:39:41, followed by Sara Genco claiming 2nd in 5:59:33, and Weronika Adamkiewicz placing 3rd in 6:59:16!
25k
V40 – Gertjan Van Nimwegen (M), Anna Michelle Buckingham (F)
V45 – David Lea (M), Anna Mcnestry (also 3rd F overall)
V50 – Matthew Lynch (M), Caren Brown (F)
V55 – Gethin Williams (M), Juliet Weston (F)
Plus our only V70 finisher of the day, Dave Fox, who crossed the line in 4:29:44!
53k
V40 – Craig Ivison (M), Loren Peta (F)
V45 – Stephen Marks (M), Fiona Allen (F)
V50 – Steve Kitchin (M), Lesley Lewis (F)
V55 – Ady Pendred (M), Claire Galpin (F)
V60 – Neil Tilley (M), Caroline Kinghorn (F)
We also have to say a massive well done to all of our first timers for whom this was their first time trying a new distance or terrain, including Neo Tigedi in the 53k who completed her first ever trail race! We hope this event has been the introduction you wanted into the off roading and ultra-distance side of the sport and you’re keen to get out for more!
With a 32% female field (197 total female finishers), we were ecstatic to see so many women take on these longer trail distances, and would love to see this number grow. With a number of passionate female trail/ultra runners on the RunThrough Trails team, we are so keen to welcome more female athletes into our future Summit events and get that number as close to 50% as possible.
We want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who joined us on race day. Whether you ran the 53k or 25k, came to support a loved one, or cheered from the sidelines as a local, you all made our inaugural race truly special. A big thank you as well to Barmouth for hosting us, our incredible marshals, the harbour master for his invaluable advice on protecting our event village from the tide (which nearly swept us away as we were packing up, but we’ll gloss over that), and everyone else who contributed to making this race a success. We can’t wait to return next year.
Next up is the Ladybower Reservoir 22k & 52k on 12th October which you can enter HERE.
Hopefully see you there 🙂
‘The Snowdonia Sea2Sky 25k was my first-ever trail race and it couldn’t have been any better. The course was spectacular, extremely runnable and the support throughout was amazing. Starting and finishing on the beach was so much fun. What an incredible day!’
– Sam C
‘It was the most fun event I’ve ever run! Everything was on point from the marshals, the trails, the aid stations, the scenery, the start & finish! I can’t say enough positive things!’
– Abby S
‘Really loved this race, probably my favourite one I’ve ever done. The event village was great because everyone came out to watch so to have that much support at the beginning, end and during a trail race was a nice surprise. As ever, the positivity at the finish line is unmatched and just cemented this race as one of the best. Aid stations had a good selection of snacks and helpful volunteers. The route was great with amazing views and I liked the mix of terrain to keep it interesting. Free food and drinks vouchers are always a win and everyone around me was really impressed by those. A wider selection of food choices would be a suggestion, as well as incorporating the stretch tent into the event village more. We loved it for unwinding but felt a bit out of the way. Overall, a really great day and I can’t wait for the next one!’
– Emily C
‘The Snowdonia Sea2Sky 53km was an amazing event. The route was challenging but stunning, and truly captured both coast and mountains and everything in between. The course was extremely well marked and the aid stations had everything you needed. Having the finish line on the beach was really special and a great way to end such an incredible race.
– Sophie R
‘I had looked forward to the sea to summit race since it was announced, and it didn’t disappoint, run through trails laid on a great course over varied terrain that tested all aspects of my endurance, superb course marking meant no stress whatsoever over route finding, the aid stations were well stocked and I was greeted with loads of encouragement and positive vibes at each one , icing on the cake was the finish over the bridge and an amazing welcome at the finish line on the beach !! Be back next year for sure.’
– Neil T
‘Loved every minute of the Sea2sky race. It offered an array of different terrains & trails that were clearly marked & thought out, showcasing some stunning views of the Welsh hills & coastline heading back into Barmouth. Starting on the beach, the atmosphere was electric heading out in the morning and back through the buzzing sea side town to finish. Made up with my result & will definitely be doing this race next year!’
– Joe W
‘I completed the 25k S2S this year, and was very pleasantly surprised. The route was excellent, with scenic views over the sea, and a great finish across the bridge into a packed Barmouth beach. I will 100% be returning next year!’
– Charlie C
