Intercounties Fell Racing Championship - Lletty Fell Race Clwydian Mountain Range 9m 2900ft ascent 22 May 2010 Nick White reports: When I got asked to represent Essex Counties in the Intercounties Fell Racing Championship a while back, on the basis of 2 previous fell races (Cilcain Mountain race and the Edale Skyline), I thought someone was taking the Mickey somewhere. But, as it transpired, one of the flatest counties in the country does indeed have a County Fell Racing team. This years event was hosted by the county of 'East Wales' on the Clwydian Mountain Range, on a lovely course of approximately 9 miles and 3000ft of ascent. The race itself started in the middle of knowhere, at farm which the cartographers for sat-navs have seemed to missed, but upon arrival the air was warm, the sheep bleating, it wasn't cold, it wasn't raining and it looked like it might be a fun race. After the first 400 yards, I needed Keith to put the 'Fun back into my Run'. For those amongst you who think the Walden 5km has a vicous start, think again; this 'gentle course, which will probably be won by a road runner' rose from 110m above sea level to ~450m in about 1km. This attribute seemed to be the course designers favourite trick, as we quickly descended and rose again a similar amount on a further 4 occasions. This was not good for the legs, which were still somewhat jaded from running a hilly marathon 6 days prior to this, so I let the stunning views over Wales take my mind off the pain and cramp in the legs. After 4 miles of ascending and descending I was joined by an East Scotland competitor, whom I knew through a friend, and we proceeded to run the rest of the course together, and as a result the 9.7 miles went a little quickier than expected. Verdict: Welsh Miles are like country miles; 9 equates to about 10. Welsh feet and inches are the opposite of 'Man feet and inches'; 3000ft equates to about 3500. Don't try and run a tough Fell Race 6 days after a hard Marathon, or your legs will hate you for it.