A mere 46ish mile mixed trail/mountain/canal/road run around the magnificent Brecon Beacons in the middle of November, when climatic conditions can vary quite considerably! In the event's 5 year history the race has taken place in everything from sparkling sunshine through to minus 8 degrees, with obligatory rain and mist thrown in to remind the athletes that they are running in Wales in all its glory.
Review summary
4.7
11 Reviews
- Course
- Organisation
- Atmosphere
T
Tom M
"Really enjoyed route and organization. Definitely recommended..."
M
Martin H
"Excellent event! Very well marked and marshalled, water stations loaded with..."
S
Steve S
"If you struggle with uphills then poles could help, although 8 mile..."
See all reviews
How to enter the The Beacons Ultra
- Run 46mi
The Beacons Ultra route
The route for the Beacons Ultra is a very varied one that will test competitor’s strengths and weaknesses, flat land specialists will love the canal bits whilst the mountain goats will prefer the 'gap', and then of course there's all the 'in between' bits.
The event take place in the heart of the Brecon Beacons starting and finishing in the delightful village of Talybont-on-Usk. From the start at Race HQ you follow the picturesque Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal toward Llangyndir. The tow path to Llangynidr is probably the flattest 3 miles you will find in Wales! The route then splits from the canal at the canal locks and heads up the Beacons way for about a mile before detouring off to take in the much appreciated trek up and over Tor y Foel before descending down into Talybont forest. Here it picks up the old coal route where originally the tramway and later on the railway brought coal from ‘over the other side’ to be loaded on to the barges for dispatch to Newport. A steady climb continues towards Torpantau before dropping slightly and entering the Taf Fechan Forest. The forest trail then starts to change into open hill and follows what the locals call the ‘Gap Road’.
The highest point of the route is 600 meters above sea level at the ‘Gap’ itself.
After all that height gain there is quite a bit of descending along one of the Brecon Beacons ‘classic’ routes, down to the canal at Pencelli and back to Race HQ at Talybont-on-Usk where you can rest/restock before departing for your 2nd loop (note the cutoff for starting the 2nd loop is 14.30pm)
The event take place in the heart of the Brecon Beacons starting and finishing in the delightful village of Talybont-on-Usk. From the start at Race HQ you follow the picturesque Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal toward Llangyndir. The tow path to Llangynidr is probably the flattest 3 miles you will find in Wales! The route then splits from the canal at the canal locks and heads up the Beacons way for about a mile before detouring off to take in the much appreciated trek up and over Tor y Foel before descending down into Talybont forest. Here it picks up the old coal route where originally the tramway and later on the railway brought coal from ‘over the other side’ to be loaded on to the barges for dispatch to Newport. A steady climb continues towards Torpantau before dropping slightly and entering the Taf Fechan Forest. The forest trail then starts to change into open hill and follows what the locals call the ‘Gap Road’.
The highest point of the route is 600 meters above sea level at the ‘Gap’ itself.
After all that height gain there is quite a bit of descending along one of the Brecon Beacons ‘classic’ routes, down to the canal at Pencelli and back to Race HQ at Talybont-on-Usk where you can rest/restock before departing for your 2nd loop (note the cutoff for starting the 2nd loop is 14.30pm)

Ultramarathon
46mi
Mountainous
Event Details
What’s Included
FAQs
The Beacons Ultra weather forecast
Possible light rain in the morning.
9°C
Predicted highs
5°C
Predicted lows
Meet the organizer
#95
Force 12 Events are ranked #95 in the UK out of 553 organizers
The Beacons Ultra reviews (11)
Did the event in 2018
If you struggle with uphills then poles could help, although 8 mile downhill/flat to finish.Did the Ultramarathon in 2018
Excellent event! Very well marked and marshalled, water stations loaded with snacks and with friendly marshalls.I personally carried only 500ml worth of bottles and I could use more in the second half of the race...Only tiny remark about marking: I would use a bigger yellow arrow sign (or a marshall) where the trail left the tarmac below cribyn pass (after checkpoint), instead of the tiny blue one. This was the only "non-intuitive" turn and might have been easy to miss.Did the event in 2018
Did the event in 2018
Really enjoyed route and organization. Definitely recommendedDid the event in 2018
Well marked, well marshalled, very very tricky to get lost. The checkpoints are few and far between with choc brownies and some delish peanut butter/condensed milk bakes but very definitely bring enough grub and water to keep you going. Fab race, friendly racers, Will definitely be coming backDid the event in 2018
Did the event in 2018
I ran the ultra 10yrs ago and this year we did the trail marathon. We were super lucky with the weather. Though I did a big ultra in the Highlands earlier in the year, its amazing how quickly you forget how hard climbs can be. I really liked the way the marathon had a segment up Pen Y Fan even though it was tough - it was worth it when we got to the top. We weren't going for a particular time so we took a bit of time at the top to have a bite and take photos. I preferred the marathon course since it was a single loop. I think we were fine for kit and the organisers had plenty of water and snacks at CPs, though we carried our own. One tip someone gave us was how many bridges there were at the end (the end was bridge 145) - - so we could count them down. All in all, I really enjoyed the race. Quite tough underfoot so not one for a PB, but it is a trail marathon after all... I'd definitely recommend to other runners!Did the event in 2018
What a great day, the course covers a variation of canals, hills tracks, fire track, single paths, fields, over bridges and through streams.Suck a sunny day and very well organised.Did the event in 2018
Overall very very good, Coming of the hardest section (For me, Pen-y-fan & Cribyn) I was very low on water, an earlier water station had said there would be water there so I wasn't expecting there not to be ... luckily it was all down hill from there so I coped until the next checkpoint - it may sound negative - but it wasn't a really big deal. There is also a very long stretch of fire road the seems flat, but does actually climb very gradually- this was tough (mentally for me, I wasn't expecting it)Did the event in 2018
Excellent experience, a great event, the route was very well marked out and all the support staff and organiser are 5here to ensure you are safe and have a great time.Thank you.
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