North Wales endurance runner Karl Morris was forced to quit Snowdonia 100-mile race when his trainer fell apart.
Special report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com
*Welsh Master and endurance runner Karl Morris (*pictured above).
North Wales endurance athlete Karl Morris made a brave effort to tackle the Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 100-mile race last weekend but unfortunately, he was forced to quit after about 32-miles when one of his trainers started falling apart.
The NWRRC member and Welsh Master athlete, who began his tough challenge last Friday lunchtime confirmed, that the UTL 100-mile event is a very serious race, with 30,000ft of climbing and includes the majority of the major peaks of Northern Snowdonia.
At the start of the event, Karl said he was hopeful of completing this gruelling challenge but explained: “The odds are against me on this one, but I’ll give it a go. Anyone that knows me, knows that I don’t quit easily. My good friend Mark Davies called it his nemesis. Either way, I’m looking forward to a long adventure in the mountains.”
Unfortunately, though for Karl, he suffered some unexpected bad luck with his footwear, when, according to his Strava post, and after completing 51.48 kms (about 32 miles) with an elevation of 3,426m, he was forced to pull-out after running for an incredible 10 hours and 36 minutes.
Karl was obviously disappointed with the outcome and later admitted: “I was going well until one of my trainers started falling apart. My feet ended up ruined so had to call it a day!”
He later added: “Not one to make excuses though and in all honesty finding myself chasing cut-offs. I just wasn’t strong enough to get the job done.
"You win some you lose some. Big thanks to Michael Jones, and the team at UTS for such a great event. That’s it for big mountain ultras for me now for a couple of years. Hope to be back in the future to give it another go. Thanks for all your comments and support.”