THE first edition of Element’s scenic but tough nine-mile Black Mountains Trail Race from Crickhowell took place on November 19.

The stunning race route winds up the Grwyne Fawr river valley, famous for its leaping salmon at this time of the year and the runners enjoyed the most classic features of trail races: mixed terrain, lovely views, mud and hills.

One runner commented he that it was the most beautiful route he had ever run.

Race Director Ruth Pickvance, herself a former international athlete, said: “I’m absolutely delighted with the first edition of the race.

“The community of Crickhowell and local residents have been fantastic in supporting the race.

“Particular thanks go to the Crickhowell Volunteer Bureau and the local Duke of Edinburgh students who marshalled the race. All runners without exception commented on how wonderful the marshals had been.

“We were also blessed by the weather gods and couldn’t have had a more perfect late November day.”

The event attracted 300 runners of all ages, with people turning out from various clubs around Wales and England including Parc Bryn Bach Running Club in Tredegar, Brecon AC, Forest of Dean Athletics Club, Les Croupiers in Cardiff and Swansea Harriers.

Runner Kate Platt commented “I’ve never done a trail race before – or run that far and I absolutely loved it; the race was superbly organised and I can’t wait for next year.”

The overall male winner was Andrew Fisher in a time of 59:34, closely followed eleven seconds later by Jacob Dobson.

The first female home was Clare Bunce from Swansea Harriers in 1:07 being pushed hard by Helen Brown from the Forest of Dean who was only thirteen seconds behind.

Special thanks go to Likeys in Brecon for supplying the prizes and a chocolate sheep for every runner! Also thanks to Crickhowell Adventure, Horizon Socks, Christie Residential, Griffiths Engineering and The Angel Hotel for their support of the race.

Ruth Pickvance also added, “Element put its emphasis on quality and intelligent, appreciative engagement with the outdoors.

“We’ve tried to make the race as sustainable as possible – no plastic water bottles were issued to runners, we bought biodegradable cups instead.

“Similarly, we monitored the route carefully immediately after the race and not a single piece of marker tape was left.

The race will have a limit of 300 participants even though demand is higher as we do not want the wear and tear on footpaths to be excessive.”

Donations have been made to The Crickhowell Volunteer Bureau and The Gwent Wildlife Trust.