Race Report: Dysynni Trail Festival 12/06/2016

Situated just outside Twywn in West Wales, the Dysynni trail festival offers 5km, 10km and 15km distance races, all with a running and canicross event. 

The courses begin at the walled garden at the former country estate of Ynysymaengwyn, in woodlands close to the Dysynni river, and weave through the woodland before heading along grassy tracks by the river. The 15km event I ran goes all the way to the coast and crosses the Dysynni bridge and also takes in a river crossing, where Twywn's professional photographer is waiting, taking the best race photos I've seen.



It's a small event, with only around 40 competitors in my race (though the other distances were bigger fields), so it has the personal touches that small events produce, with really friendly marshalling and the Mayor of Twywn meeting all competitors. The race HQ is a caravan park, like every Welsh trail event I've run this year, which offers ample shower and toilet facilities. The ice cream van was great too, Oscar thinks, and he's a good judge! Goody bags were provided by local businesses as well as 9 bar, and there was a t shirt and medal for all distances, which isn't always the case for the shorter distances. 

I'd thoroughly recommend the event as an opportunity to discover the area on a weekend away and enjoy a very relaxed event. We had a picnic in the walled garden after the race whilst waiting for the presentation to see if I'd won my age category (came second, sadly, must try harder), and it was a lovely post-race atmosphere. It's an event I'll definitely do again and one of my favourites so far.

For more information visit the race website.

Lou