The 2019 Berghaus Dragon’s Back Race opened for entries on May 2nd and within an hour it had 200 brave souls wanting to take part. By the end of the day that had risen to 350. Last time it was full within 2 weeks but this year it will surpass that.
Dragon’s Back covers 315km of rugged Welsh mountains with 15,500m of ascent over 5 days. Entrants must be very confident in map reading, traversing technical terrain with huge ascents and descents, adept at coping with difficult Welsh weather and just generally very good at managing themselves and their own safety. So, it’s not for everyone.
But for those with some mountain and ideally multi-day experience, this epic and historic race is one for the bucket list. It’s an impressive operation from Ourea Events, which is only possible due to an estimated 75-strong event team, a large proportion of whom are volunteers, who take responsibility for campsite builds, checkpoint placing, mountain safety, media coverage, catering, and much more. The support of National Trust Wales, the National Parks, and landowners is equally valuable to the smooth progress of the race as it travels south through Wales.
This year they are also adding
‘boot camp and recce weekends’ to help entrants have the best chance of completing it. Shane Ohly, Berghaus Dragon’s Back race director, explains: “We know that a surprising number of participants come to the event underprepared, and the sole focus of these courses is to enable them to prepare with expert guidance so that they arrive in Conwy in May 2019 truly ready for one of toughest mountain races in the world.”
We will be bringing you previews of the race as it gets closer. Good luck to all those who hope to get a place!
