Getting In · International ultra
Dragon's Back Race
Six days from Conwy Castle in the north to Cardiff Castle in the south, along the mountainous spine of Wales, navigating yourself across terrain with no course markings. It ran once in 1992, was considered too hard, and came back.
- Distance
- ~380 km~236 miles
- Climbing
- ~17,400 m~57,000 ft
- Days
- 6
- Navigation
- Self-navigatedUnmarked course
- Finish rate
- Often around 50%
- First run
- 1992
The Dragon's Back is the purest expression of British mountain running: you're given a map, a set of checkpoints, and a daily cutoff, and how you get between them is your problem. Day one crosses Snowdonia including the Snowdon massif and the Glyderau, which is scrambling terrain, in weather that is frequently horizontal. The later days ease in technicality and increase in length.
The navigation is not a formality. Runners lose hours to poor route choice, and in Welsh cloud the difference between a competent navigator and a confident one becomes very clear very quickly.
How to get in
- Open entryEntry when it opens
Entry opens well ahead of the September race, with a limited field. Popular editions fill.
- Time qualifierDemonstrated mountain experience
The organisers expect a genuine mountain running background and navigation competence. Some editions have used an application or vetting process. If you can't confidently navigate in cloud on rough ground, this is not the race to learn.
- ApplicationRelated events
Ourea Events runs other UK mountain races that build exactly the skills and the credibility this race wants.
Learn to navigate before you enter
- Map and compass, not GPS. You may carry GPS, but the skill of reading Welsh mountain terrain in cloud is what actually saves time.
- Route choice is the race. The line between checkpoints is yours to choose, and good choices are worth hours across six days.
- Practise on rough ground. Welsh and Lake District terrain is tussocky, rocky, and pathless in places. Trail fitness is not the same as mountain fitness.
- Day one is decisive. The Snowdonia stage is the most technical and has historically eliminated the largest share of the field.
- Recovery in camp matters. Six consecutive mountain days means eating and sleeping well in a tent is a genuine skill.
Questions runners actually ask
Is the Dragon's Back course marked?
No. It is entirely self-navigated between checkpoints, which is the defining feature of the race and the reason navigation skill matters more than raw speed.
How many people finish?
Often around half the starters. Day one across Snowdonia is the biggest single filter.
Go to the source
Entry rules, dates, standards, fees, and odds change every single year, and the interesting races change them the most. Use this guide to build the plan; use the official site to confirm the details before you book anything.
If this is your kind of thing
Need the races in between? The hard part of a bucket list year is everything else on the calendar: the qualifier, the tune-up, the long run with a bib on.