Amy did the Cybi Coastal Marathon on Saturday 5 August on Anglesey. Race report by Dave McKechnie
It was seriously bad timing for Amy last week as she prepared herself for the Cybi* Coastal Marathon on Anglesey. The forecast leading up to race day varied from ‘pouring down with a strong wind’ to ‘torrential rain with a fresh breeze’. The actual forecast on race morning landed somewhere between the two so it was ‘waterproofs on’ for the 10am start on Saturday morning at Holyhead marina.
The route is described as partially way-marked, following paths, tracks, beaches and coastline of the Anglesey Coastal Path. The entire route passed through magnificent coastline scenery with fine views of wide bays, sandy beaches, dramatic cliffs, the famous South Stack lighthouse and the summit of Holyhead Mountain.
The kids and I played our part as support team but in reality, other than ditching the waterproof jacket for a vest 5 miles in and also a couple of ibuprofens after taking a tumble about 12 miles in, Amy looked pretty comfortable and paced herself well, passing a number of competitors along the route. Thankfully the weather started to ease halfway through the race which helped although the route was diverted for safety reasons to avoid the summit of Holyhead Mountain.
Unfortunately we missed Amy crossing the finish line as she finished quicker than we had expected and we were still trying to park the van!! All in all, a really good race to compete in and a good one for spectators. Amy finished 5th lady and 16th overall in a time of 4:00:58.
- St Cybi was a 6th century saint who worked largely in Cornwall and North Wales. He was given an old Roman fort at Holyhead (subsequently known, in Welsh, as Caer Gybi, “Cybi’s Fort”) on Holy Island. He founded a large and important monastery there in the area where St Cybi’s Church is now located. Cybi died on 8 November 555 and was buried in Eglwys y Bedd (the Chapel of the Grave) adjoining his monastery at Holyhead.
Congratulations Amy and thank you Dave for the report and photos