The 2024 Dragon's Back Race got underway on Monday at 6am - with runners setting off from Conwy Castle on their long journey south.
Throughout the race week we will be keeping you posted on the race and how the SCARPA Team are getting on.
This year we have four of the SCARPA team running the Dragon's Back Race - Simon Roberts, Jon Shield, Lewis Ryan and Gabe Joyes.
Track the SCARPA Team at the 2024 Dragon’s Back Race
Prepare to become an obsessive dot watcher! You can keep track of our athletes and everyone competing at the 2023 Dragon’s Back Race through the live tracking:
SCARPA Team Tracking Numbers
162 - Gabe Joyes
273 -Simon Roberts
282 - Lewis Ryan
291 - Jon Shield
 |
 |
 |
2024 Dragon’s Back Race – Day One
Conwy Castle to Nant Gwynant
49km (30.5 miles) | 3800m (12,467ft)
At 6am the runners set off from Conwy Castle on the first leg of this epic race. Day one is a short day in terms of distance, but a tough day of climbing including tackling Crib Goch and the traverse of the full Yr Wyddfa horseshoe.
In a complete contrast from last year's scorcher - 2024 brought wet conditions and poor visibility - but with it a very competitive race!
All of the SCARPA Team soon made their way to the front of the pack and stayed there for the day.
Simon Roberts finished day one in second place (time of 08:09:07), only 10 minutes behind leader Max King.
©Dragon’s Back Race® | No Limits Photography
By the end of the day Max and Simon opened up a gap to the rest of the chasing pack including SCARPA team members; Jon Shield (08:48:18), Lewis Ryan (08:50:44) and Gabe Joyes (08:51:32) who finished 4th, 5th and 6th respectively.
2024 Dragon’s Back Race – Day Two
Nant Gwynant to Dolgellau
59km (36.5 miles) | 3400m (11,155ft)
Day two on the Dragon's Back Race sees the route leaving the touristy areas of Eryri (Snowdonia) and head into the lesser known, but rugged and spectacular southern Eryri.
Whilst the peaks aren't as high on day two - the terrain becomes really gnarly and broken underfoot. A brighter day brought out the stunning scenery and better visability than on day one - a perfect day for running.
Day two highlights include the "Welsh Matterhorn" Cnicht and the rugged Moelwynion.
It was another good day for team SCARPA!
Simon Roberts kept up his battle with Max King at the front of the pack - finishing in second place with a time of 08:21:11.
The rest of the team ran together most of the day and finished together in 3rd, 4th and 5th place:
Lewis Ryan - 08:51:20
Jon Shield - 08:53:47
Gabe Joyes - 08:57:17
You can read the full day two race report here: Day Two Race Report
2024 Dragon’s Back Race – Day Three
Dolgellau to Ceredigion
70km (43.5 miles) | 3400m (11,155ft)
Today was the longest day yet for our runners, who had to tackle an enormous distance of 70km through Mid Wales.
The first obstacle of the day was the iconic Cadair Idris, the second most popular mountain in Wales behind Yr Wyddfa. Runners then headed into the sweeping Cambrian Mountains. The terrain was more runnable today, though it still presented plenty of challenging climbs.
The SCARPA Team all kept up their amazing efforts - making up the top 5 again after day 3.
Simon Roberts is still going strong in second place, however Max King in 1st extended his lead to almost an hour. There is still lots of running to do - so Simon has a chance to reel him in over the next few days.
Gabe Joyes had an excellent day 3 - finishing second fastest on the day and moving himself into 3rd overall.
Jon Shield and Lewis Ryan finished behind them in 4th and 5th respectively.
Now we are at the half way point of the race - things are looking good for the team - with plenty of running to come and those important podium places to battle for.
2024 Dragon’s Back Race – Day Four
Through the Elan Valley
69km (43 miles) | 2300m (7,546ft)
Day four sees the course moving away from the rugged mountains of North Wales into the rarely visited hills and forests of the Elan Valley.
There was a distinct chill to the start of the day and the wind was biting – many regular participants may have even found themselves actually missing the soaring temperatures of last year’s race.
Simon Roberts, on his long run home is now entering very familiar territory - and at the start of the day it looked like this was working to his advantage gaining 10 minutes on leader Max King.
However the second part of the day Max displayed why he has been leading the race since day one and took back his lead which stands at around an hour.
Simon reflected on his push to catch Max “I had a good first half. I tried to put some time into them. I took a gamble, but it didn’t pay off. You have to try though, don’t you? They’re just so strong on the second half.”
2024 Dragon’s Back Race Day Five
Into the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons)
70km (43.5 miles) | 3200m (10,499ft)
The penultimate day of the Dragon's Back saw the runners head tp the steep, grassy slopes of the Bannau Brycheiniog.
Although not as rugged as the Eryri peaks, these mountains were no less demanding, especially as the afternoon turned hot and muggy.
The SCARPA team kept up their charge for the podium with Simon Roberts running well again and keeping his second place, behind Max King, who is looking to be the ultimate winner of the 2024 Dragon's Back Race.
Gabe Joyes is also enjoying his trip to Wales with another strong day, further cementing his 3rd place.
Jon Shield is still running well just off the podium, however after an amazing 4 days Lewis Ryan had to pull out of the race mid way through day 5.
On to Cardiff...
2023 Dragon’s Back Race Day Six
To Cardiff Castle
63km (39 miles) | 1300m (4,265ft)
The final day of the Dragon’s Back race sees the Dragon’s leaving the Brecon Beacons National Park and diving into the South Wales Valleys before finishing in the amazing surroundings of Cardiff Castle.
Technically some of the easiest and flattest running of the whole week – but after 6 days of running in tough conditions nothing is easy.
The final day played out like most of the rest of the week - with the SCARPA team running well - but unable to make up time on Dragon's Back Race winner Max King.
Simon Roberts ran an amazing race all week, and kept pace with such an amazing runner for a lot of the race - finishing the race in second place in a time of 47:18:16.
Final Results
Top 5 men overall
-
Max King (45:39:18)
-
Simon Roberts (47:18:16)
-
Gabe Joyes (49:31:27)
-
Jon Shield (52:05:23)
-
Matt O Keefe (52:51:35)
Top 5 women overall
-
Jo Meek (63:30:01)
-
Elsa Morgan (64:22:17)
-
Zoe Murphy (65:25:38)
-
Katherine Hargreaves (67:07:32)
-
Brooke Cox (67:35:29)
