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Snowdonia Marathon

Start 10:3010:30 AM Gwynedd, United Kingdom Ballot closed

The Snowdonia Marathon is a hilly course of 42.2 km with 645.3 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 44 m and its highest 365 m above sea level. Next race: Saturday 24 October 2026, starting at 10:30.

Snowdon
Snowdon. Photograph by Denis Egan from Bangor, Gwynedd, North Wales, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

At a glance

Race day
The 2026 race
Start
10:3010:30 AM
Distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
Marathon
Total climb
645.3 m2117 ft
Highest point 321 m1053 ft above lowest
Entry
Ballot closed
£50. For the 2026 race

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

The course climbs about 240 m to Pen y Pass by km 7.5, falls about 300 m to its low point at km 20.9, and after a smaller climb and an easing back to 126 m at km 33.6, climbs about 240 m more to Bwlch y Groes at km 39.5, the highest point at 366 m.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

km 7.3mile 4.6

Pen-y-Pass

The route climbs the A4086 to the top of the Llanberis Pass, Pen y Pass, which the organiser gives as 1,100 ft.

Height drawn many times taller than life · GEDTM30

Cut-off 16:304:30 PM, km 35.4mile 22
Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 42. The trace runs between 44 and 365 metres, a range of 321 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there. The dashed stretches are bridge decks: (unnamed span), km 27.8 to 27.9; (unnamed span), km 33.2 to 33.4; (unnamed span), km 34.9 to 35. A bare-earth model reads the ground or the water beneath a bridge, not the deck the runner is on, so those runs are interpolated between the ground either side rather than measured, and they under-report the real climb across a span. Marked points: Cut-off 16:30 at km 35.4.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

Dashed: bridge

Your 5 gels, at the orange marksFor a 4:00 finish, one every 40 minutes

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

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  • Two high points: Pen y Pass at 7.5 km, Bwlch y Groes at 39.5 kmUp the Llanberis Pass early, then a long descent, then the big climb at 33 km.
  • The six-hour cut-off sits at the foot of the last climbRunners are stopped at Waunfawr, just as the climb to Bwlch y Groes begins in earnest.
  • Not all of it is tarmacA downhill farm track near Pen-y-Gwryd and a short unmetalled stretch at the top.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
km 0 to 42.2GradientTwo high points: Pen y Pass at 7.5 km, Bwlch y Groes at 39.5 kmUp the Llanberis Pass early, then a long descent, then the big climb at 33 km.

The organiser describes the route as a climb to the top of the Llanberis Pass (Pen y Pass, which it gives as 1,100 ft), a drop to Pen-y-Gwryd and on to Beddgelert, then “a rapid climb to about 1,200ft at Bwlch y Groes” and downhill to the finish in Llanberis. The road rises from 106 m at km 1.5 to 345 m at km 7.5, then runs down 301 m to 44 m at km 20.9, the lowest point of the course.

A smaller climb takes the road from 44 m to 194 m by km 24.8 near Waunfawr, and the road eases back to 126 m by km 33.6. From there it climbs 240 m in 5.9 km to 366 m at km 39.5 (the organiser’s 1,200 ft), and the last 2.7 km fall about 250 m to the High Street in Llanberis.

Measured

km 33.6 to 39.5TacticsThe six-hour cut-off sits at the foot of the last climbRunners are stopped at Waunfawr, just as the climb to Bwlch y Groes begins in earnest.

The organiser says there is no course limit, only a cut-off time of 4.30pm (6 hours) at Ysgol Waunfawr, mile 22. The start is at 10.30am. Mile 22 is about km 35.4, where the road stands at about 150 m, after the low stretch from km 33 to 35. Bwlch y Groes is at 366 m, so a runner who clears the cut-off still has about 215 m to climb before the finish is downhill.

Sourced

Whole courseConditionsNot all of it is tarmacA downhill farm track near Pen-y-Gwryd and a short unmetalled stretch at the top.

From the Pen-y-Gwryd junction the race follows the old road along to the campsite until it joins the A498. In the organiser’s words, “This 2km section is farm track, downhill, then the surface returns to the tarmac. There is a short, sharp uphill back up to the main road at the campsite.” The climb to Bwlch y Groes includes “a short length is unmetalled”.

Sourced

Race weekend

Bib pickup at Marathon Eryri event centre, Llanberis LL55 4TA

Friday 23 October Bib pickup

  1. 12:0012:00 PM–22:0010:00 PM

    Registration and race packs Marathon Eryri event centre, Llanberis LL55 4TA. Race packs are given out at registration.

Bib in hand?A number belt holds it without pins through your race top. Clip it on tonight.

Number belt on AmazonAmazon partner link

Saturday 24 October Race day

  1. 07:007:00 AM–10:0010:00 AM

    Registration and race packs Marathon Eryri event centre, Llanberis LL55 4TA

  2. 07:007:00 AM–10:0010:00 AM

    Free shuttle buses from the event car park Glyn Rhonwy, Llanberis LL55 4EL. Buses drop runners at the main bus stop in Llanberis, 150 metres from registration.

  3. 07:007:00 AM–18:006:00 PM

    Llanberis High Street closed A section from the Doctor's Surgery to Capel Coch Road.

  4. 09:309:30 AM–11:3011:30 AM

    Llanberis Pass closed A rolling closure that goes behind the last runner.

  5. 10:3010:30 AM

    Marathon start Just outside Llanberis, on the A4086

  6. 11:0011:00 AM–15:303:30 PM

    Bryn Goleu, Waunfawr, closed

  7. 11:1511:15 AM–14:002:00 PM

    A498 through Beddgelert closed From Cae Du campsite to Warws Beddgelert, so the bulk of the runners have a clear passage through the village.

  8. 14:302:30 PM–17:305:30 PM

    Return minibus to the event car park Picks up from the main bus stop in Llanberis.

  9. 16:304:30 PM

    Cut-off at Ysgol Waunfawr A cut-off time of 4.30pm (6 hours) at mile 22. The organiser says there is no overall course limit. 6:00 limit: 10:10/km for 35.4 km6:00 limit: 16:21/mi for 22 mi

Times as published by the organiser, in Gwynedd time, checked . Confirm on their site before you travel.

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Gwynedd time

Entry

Ballot closed for the 2026 race

As read 10 October 2026.

Every way in, year by year Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Gwynedd, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile, by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Only the gel you trained with. Nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
A small balm stick
Illustration · drag to turn

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
A pack of blister plasters
Illustration · drag to turn

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Questions about the Snowdonia Marathon

Is the Snowdonia Marathon course flat?
No, it is a hilly course: 645.3 m of climbing over 42.2 km. The highest point is 321 m above the lowest. It finishes 12 m lower than it starts.
When is the Snowdonia Marathon 2026?
Saturday 24 October 2026. The start is at 10:30.
How do I enter the Snowdonia Marathon?
The 2026 ballot has closed. It opened on 1 December 2025, closed on 8 December and the results came out on 1 January 2026. Entry fee: £50 (for the 2026 race). Entry details on the organiser’s site
Where does the Snowdonia Marathon start?
Start: Just outside Llanberis, on the A4086.
Runner talk Questions, tips and race reports from other runners about the course and the city.

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