It’s good that you have that interest, it’s something to look forward to. No more popcorn and chocolate diets though 
I thought this might help to motivate you Mark, it’s my account of the Snowdon Marathon. No where near the times that you were running though.
Hope it works, it’s a good run.
The 1990 Snowdon Marathon.
As I lay awake on that late October night, I could hear the wind scurrying around the rooftops and howling through the gaps in the window frame. It had been fine and calm all day, and the warning of storms on the radio led me to believe that this was the beginning of those storms. I was a long way from being engulfed by sleep, for although I was warm and comfortable, I was a worried man. The reason for my worry would be clear in the morning, when I stand on the start line of the Snowdon Marathon. I will be running 26.2 miles in some of the most hazardous conditions, where even in summer the temperature can plummet, mist can descend, and freezing rain can beat down the hardest competitor.
I knew what the wind was trying to do, it was attempting to intimidate me, to make me go home and forget this foolhardy challenge. But I knew that if things went well it would be the most scenic and satisfying of all my marathons.
I woke at six a.m. to find the wind still taunting me, the sea was rough, and so was I! Never at my best in the mornings. I showered and assembled my kit, my wife slept peacefully as I crept out of the room so as not to wake her. Jim was apprehensive as we made our way down to breakfast, Weetabix and toast, that should do it.
After an hours drive to Llanberis we met hundreds of worried runners, the wind had eased and it wasn’t all that bad for running, except for the cold, it was freezing! We had to walk up to the start, about a mile and a half away. Few words were spoke, it resembled a procession of condemned men and women. “Oh yes” there were quite a few lady runners as well, I was surprised on such a tough marathon. The start was off road in a field, where we met some familiar faces and exchanged thoughts. We were soon pushing our discarded clothes into marked bags for collection later and applying Vaseline to the sensitive bits of our anatomy that tend to rub together on a long run. Its hard to remove warm clothes when you’re cold but experience tells you that after a couple of miles you will be too hot and have to take things off, you either carry it to the finish, or throw it away. So it’s best to only wear the minimum however naked you might feel now. A Helly Hanson thermal top would protect me from the cold’s embrace, while a waterproof in my bum bag would prevent hypothermia in the rain or if I had to stop running for any reason.
Nine Thirty passed and we surged off along the track to the road, with all this nervous energy it’s hard to go slow, but you must remember that there is a long way to go and if you don’t know the course you must beware of surprises. I made steady relaxed progress along the first half mile or so of flat running through the village of Nant Peris, then came the first climb of the day, it was a long hill of about four miles up to the Llanberis Pass. I dug in and listened to the chatter of other runners, It soon stopped as the climb made it’s presence felt, I was beginning to warm up now and was glad that I had decided not to wear my gloves. We seemed to climb for ever and I wondered how much energy I had got left, round every bend in the road I thought that I would see the top, but no, it went on and on. I spotted some buildings in the distance, that was it, the top, but the road was getting steeper with every step, my legs ached and I was breathing heavily, I was hanging on by a thread, just when I thought that I would have to walk I saw the crest of the hill just a few hundred yards away, and besides, nobody else was walking so I toughed it out up to the drinks station at the top. I snatched a cup of water as the road levelled out and gobbled down it’s contents, after checking the whereabouts of other runners I flung the empty vessel to the roadside. By this time the road had started to descend, “right” I thought, now it’s time to do some work. I had recovered and was back on full power so I let it go down the hill. It felt good as I picked up speed and started passing other runners, I took the right turn at Pen-y-Gwyryd and saw the five mile marker. I continued to make good progress, I glanced behind to see a stream of runners snaking back up the hill, the awesome shape of Snowdon appeared on my right with the sun illuminating her weather-beaten flanks, I could not think of a better place to be.
If there were any hills between here and Beddgelert I didn’t notice them, my legs were going through the same routine that they had gone through a thousand times before while training, there was no pain or objections by them and my mind was free to wander where it wanted. I avoided conversation in order to take in the marvellous scenery and the magical sensation.
The spectators in Beddgelert were brilliant with their shouts of encouragement for the runners, it gave me a heart-warming feeling, we were heroes, I was floating on air, I was soon brought down to earth when my lungs suddenly demanded more oxygen and a bead of sweat trickled down my forehead, this was one mean hill! The pace dropped off dramatically but I sensed another runner going with me stride for stride, together we were passing people struggling up the hill, but without a word we pushed until there was no more hill left. I turned to him and said “ We did well there didn’t we?” He agreed but had to bid me farewell at the drinks station so that he could stop to remove some objects from his shoe. “ I’ll try and catch you up” He shouted, as I disappeared up the road, but I never saw him again.
My pace returned to normal now and once again I was running with very little effort, I spotted the fifteen mile marker as I passed some lads in a group having a chat, when again I noticed another runner on my shoulder going stride for stride with me. No words were spoken, but I knew that we had a common ambition, to complete this marathon. It was uncanny the way that we stayed together, I was feeling the distance now, and I knew that he was, but we seemed to encourage each other, if I slowed down then he would too, and if he dropped back I would ease off the pace until he caught up. We went on like this from seventeen to twenty one miles, then came the battle that we had been waiting for, this next hill was the big one, Snowden!
As the road took a turn for the worse, so did I! My legs turned to jelly, sweat trickled down my face, and my lungs were filling to capacity, the smooth swift pace disintegrated and I slowly picked my way through a crowd of exhausted runners walking up the hill. Round a sharp right hand bend on to a minor road revealed an even steeper climb with more walkers than runners and as the road turned up to the sky my friend was dragged silently backwards and out of touch. I meanwhile was determined not to go the same way, I dug in hard, and although I was going through the motion of running, I was going no faster than a slow walk. All of a sudden I could take no more and grudgingly with hands on hips, I slowed to a walk. I didn’t want to do this, but the severity of this climb asked for more than I could give. I walked and jogged the best I could until the track started to level out, weary runners were spread out in front of me, and I was weary too but we were all jogging now, no more walking. The boulder strewn path was getting flatter by the yard with just a small rise up to the summit, and quite runable.
The third placed Lady runner asked me if there were any more hills, I told her that there was not, my reply made her happy and spurred her on, but I didn’t tell her that I hadn’t got a clue. We reached the summit and I took in the view, nestling in the valley below was Llanberis, I could make out the little white building of the Royal Victoria Hotel, the finish, and all down hill…
The sight of the finish sent blood rushing to my head and I started to gather speed, I could see runners in front picking their way around rocks and other obstacles, being used to running on the fells I leaped and bounded over anything in my way, including the third placed lady runner. They all fell to my mastery of the rough terrain, my legs felt strong and I was full of confidence, I passed other runners at a suicidal pace, the faster I went the stronger I became, nothing would stop me now. A weight had been lifted as every step took me ever closer to the paradise they called the Royal Victoria Hotel.
I could hardly control my emotions, I wanted to laugh out loud, I had a permanent smile on my face as all the questions had been answered, would I make it? Yes I would!!!
I glanced at my watch and it revealed a very good time for this tough marathon, I was shaking with excitement. I reached the tarmac path that led down to the road, and the firm smooth surface felt good underfoot. Once again my pace increased as the road flattened out and I was in Llanberis, a marshal directed me left and then right, and I was on the last straight with about half a mile left, my pace had subsided and my energy was spent but I managed a last surge up the short rise to the hotel,
Into the car park and under the finish gantry… 3 Hours 18 Minutes, Bloody Brilliant!
Great description OGF
Any thoughts I have of ever running a marathon are now completely dismissed .
Bring on the hot chocolate !
Great write up. Very good time on such a course too - well done .
The way I figure it the weather is supposedly going to be mild again next year - supposedly. If it is as mild as it has been this year in October then the Snowdonia Marathon would be one enjoyable scenic route - kinda. I’m not one for the cold though so if the weather takes a turn for the worse I doubt whether I will compete.
I wonder what’s happened to the OP…have We scared Him off with all of Our advice?
Very likely May, I am exhausted from just reading it!
Hmmmmm just looked at his profile … joined in December and has only made one post
Hmm…maybe He started running and …erm…got lost ?
Lol … let’s hope he returns soon and gives us an update
I don’t think exercise burns off the calories that most people eat. Some of them yes but not enough. The only effective way to lose weight is to eat less.
I have a very slow metabolism
Friends who smoke are all pretty slim even without exercise.
Well, I didn’t pass him during my 6 mile run. I didn’t pass anyone doing any running come to think of it.
Only REAL men run.
If they are real men, what are they running to escape from?
Real women
What this guy needs to do is what I intend to do for the next year - or forever, and that is to base his diet on veggies. Just about to place my order with Tescos and most of it will be made up of frozen veggies which are bargain buys. I will be eating veggies for late breakfast and evening meal. In between (or after) I might have some toast or fruit. I cook up a load of veggies in a very large bowl that includes cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, peas, sweetcorn, mushrooms, onions (all bought cheaply - frozen) and a small amount of oat bran (from Ebay). I add smash (dried potato) to thicken it along with some quorn for protein. This is a rock solid belly filler and the effect lasts for hours. I add more flavour by using soy sauce, black pepper and sea salt.
The above, along with exercise, will shift the fat over time and you won’t starve whilst doing so. I take vitamins, calcium tabs and extra iron in case.
I eat to live and not live to eat.
As for alcohol I haven’t had any for 5-6 weeks now as I drink non alcoholic Bavarian Beer, again from Tescos, 4 bottles costing just £2.50 (was £2 so has gone up!). Drinking a few bottles right now in fact.
Oh That could be me then, but don’t worry, I never run anywhere!
Apart from that I appreciate really tasty food, so I wouldn’t be that turned on by your planned diet 
No point in trying to look good of you are not enjoying life!
I so agree with that Twink. I exercise a lot but don’t worry too much about what I eat and drink. In fact, I suppose it’s the exercise that allows me to do that to some degree.
Although exercise is good for the body, If I had to choose to give up either the enjoyment of eating/drinking or taking exercise, the exercise would have to go.
Fortunately, it is often possible to strike a balance between the two. That’s more or less what I do. Got a bit more fat on me than I once had but don’t particularly care.
I’m sorry to have hijacked Chris’s (Playtheman’s) post, but when I heard about Mark proposing to run the Snowdon Marathon I felt I had to reply with my experience.
Despite the hardships it was one of the best Marathons I have run and if you can run twenty six miles as Mark has done in the past (in excellent times might I add) you must run this one, it’s brilliant.
As for exercising to lose weight, I think it is a non starter. Perhaps in the short term.
I weigh in at around ten and a half stone and have been a long distance runner for almost forty years. During my time as a Marathon and fell runner I was nine and a half stone but as age advanced and running declined I added a stone. The only time I returned to nine and a half stone was when I worked as a postman, jogging round eight miles for five days and training for the remaining two days.
I have never run to lose weight or keep fit, I have always run because I love it and always will. Unless you enjoy a sport for what it is, you will never keep it up long enough to lose weight and keep it off. Losing weight is a side effect of running, not the other way round. Doing something you love is self motivating, as the advert says ‘Just Do It’.
Whatever you do to lose weight remember to be patient and treat it as a long term exercise, gently gently is the way to go, losing weight rapidly is not healthy and will lower your resistance to infections and diseases.
That’s because there are nicotine receptors throughout the brain, the ones in the hypothalamus affect hunger, the nicotinic receptor located on neurons in the hypothalamussuppresses your appetite when activated by smoking.
Not a recommended way to control weight.
That’s interesting Pats … I am most definitely NOT taking up smoking