A night well spent…12,000ft of elevation, from waterfalls and reservoirs to the highest mountain peaks of South Wales. This race had it all… This is gonna be a classic!’

The Black Beacon Mountain races are epic long distance running races crossing the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National Park from North to South. There are 4 race distances to choose from; a 21 mile mountain trail race starting in Brecon, a 50k mountain trail race (UltraBach) starting in Llangynidir, a 50 mile mountain ultramarathon starting in Hay-on-wye AND a 100 mile mountain ultramarathon. All races finish in Pontneddfechen at the Southern edge of the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) National park.

The Route
The 100 mile Black Beacon race is a gruelling out and back traverse of the Bannau Brycheiniogs (Brecon Beacons) and Black Mountains and is one of the worlds toughest ultramarathons with a 33% finisher rate in 2023! Participants start at the Southern tip of the national park, initially following some amazing trails through ‘waterfall country’, before gaining Fan Llia and conquering the amazing rollercoaster of mountains which transverse the Brecon Beacons and Black mountains. The first half of the race culminates in the Market town of Hay-on wye at the Northern tip of the national park, before participants turn around and retrace their steps back across to waterfall country, Pontneddfechen and the race finish.

This challenge should not be underestimated – it is tough, there is a lot of ‘vert’ (>7,500m) and it is only suitable for the hardiest mountain goats! Only 33% of competitors finished in 2023 highlighting the magnitude of the challenge! However, the trails are fast and not overly technical, the navigation is relatively straight forwards and the scenery is spectacular.

The Black Beacon 50 mile route is another tough challenge which includes over 3750m of ascent and starts at 8am on the Saturday morning in the Market town of Hay-on-Wye at the Northern end of the Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains range. The route heads straight up Hay Bluff into the Black Mountains. A dramatic high-level ridgeline traverse over mountain summits follows before dropping down to Llangynidir and the start of the Ultra Bach race.

The 50k Ultra bach route is not an easy option either, with an epic 2400m ascent! The race starts in the small village of Llangynidr at the Northern boundary of the Brecon Beacons National Park. The route heads out (and over) the central Brecon Beacons with some excellent ridgetop running. The first summit is Tor Y Foel followed by a stunning climb past waterfalls to the top of Craig Y Fan Ddu. For the 50 mile runners you will be rewarded with breath taking views as the sun rises over the mountains. However, the main Beacons range now lies in wait with the climbs of Fan Y Big, Crybyn and Pen Y Fan in quick succession!

The 21 mile Black Beacon trail race starts its 1600m ascent with an amazing climb up the North Ridge of Cribyn (watch out- it’s steep!) where it meets the ultra race runners at the top. All routes then head down Cribyn and up ‘Jacobs Ladder’ to the summit of Pen Y Fan – for the 100 mile runners, it is the 2nd time they summit the highest peak in southern Britain (mile 85)! A short run across to Corn Du is followed by a fast fun descent to the Storey Arms Centre to cross the A470. Fan Fawr follows, then Fan Llia before dropping down a long descent into Ystradfellte and the fast runnable forest trails of Waterfall Country. Here you pass under the breath-taking Sgwd Yr Eira Waterfall – another highlight of the route. A fast mile all on single track forestry trails brings you to the finish in Pontneddfechen on the southern edge of the National Park.