Trig Point 12 – 2026 | Race Recap
Last weekend saw the inaugural edition of Trig Point 12 by Adventure Athletes Events — a 12-hour, backyard-style race set on the beautiful Rhigos in the Brecon Beacons.
After receiving a message from the founder of AAE, Will, to come over the border and appear on his podcast (link here), I thought it’d be a cool idea to kill two birds and make a weekend out of it with our wee clan, and have a fun day out in the mountains.
So with that, myself, Maddie and the little man packed up the car and headed into Enemy Territory for a weekend of various outdoor shenanigans…
The Pres
We set out just before 0600 on Saturday from our B&B in Dowlais, with a cloudless prelude to sunrise over the mountains providing a scene akin to that of Lord of the Rings as we made the short journey to Rhigos.
Race HQ was already set up when we arrived, with a few other runners already setup on a small patch of grass next to the gate into the wind farm that was to be the stage for the day.
There was an immediate sense of community and cohesion around the place — the field being dominated by local runners. A sharpish chill held the air — welcome respite after months of hot weather, and a perfect start ahead of what was forecast to be a banger.
After getting registered, I got back to the car — parked just the other side of the road — to get the feet TrailSkinned and taped up ready for a beating by fire track and stone with the help of Mads and Wee Man.
The pre-race brief from RDs Courtney and Will outlined the groovy tweaks to the original backyard format that were to make it a little different:
4.2 miles // 6.7km every hour on the hour
A punchy 500ft of vert per loop
12 laps – 12 hours, with the 6th and 12th loops in reverse
Winners – Fastest Overall over 12hr & Fastest Final Lap
Time to dance…
Lap 1–5 | Plodding Along
0700 — game on.
The strategy for the first lap was to get a feel for the course, identify different landmarks to pin hiking sections, and work out what was to be the goal time for each loop.
Our first introduction to the route didn’t disappoint. From the Gate, we headed up the firetrack servicing the wind farm — a very runnable yet punchy climb to wet the whistle — before opening up to a panoramic view of the Beacons in all their glory.
As we passed the Zip World tower, the mountains in the distance were shrouded in early morning sun — Pen y Fan to the east, all the way to the Carmarthen Fans to the west, seemingly living out my LOTR fantasy, as always is the case in Wales…
The road gave way for harsh, rocky trail that wound its way through the woods, with the view still doing bits to our left, before reaching the Craig Y Llyn Trig Point hiding in the woods just off the path.
Dense woodland then opened out back onto the fire track — a long, runnable downhill section through the heart of the wind farm. This was to become trickier as the day wore on, due to the fact you could see about ¾ mile ahead of you — but early on, this allowed for smooth running and a crank on the accelerator.
A few hundred yards before the bottom of the descent, we were plunged into a pathless, overgrown section coined as ‘Winter Wonderland’ — a dense maze of Christmas trees where every step was a gamble. One where you definitely had to keep your wits about you!
Once back on the trail, we were able to get back into rhythm as down turned to up — albeit highly runnable. After a mile and a half or so of beautiful, closed trail, the path turned into fire track for the final time, leading us all the way back to the Gate and base camp.
The first 5 laps went by so quickly — settling into 34–35 minute laps on a dime. With no need to hold back with a 12-hour finish, this seemed like a balanced target — enough pace to have a sniff at the overall fastest time, while not sapping too much energy to go the distance.
That said, we were in the presence of a local gun — Tom McCarthy — who shot off each and every lap smooth as a fart, knocking out sub-30 minute laps like it was nothing.
So even though hopes of the win were non-existent at the start, I still wanted to put together a consistent performance as practice for the traditional BYUs coming up.
By Lap 3, the sun was beating down in typical fashion — and I started getting a serious sweat on despite the easy effort (I’ll thank the folks’ genes for that…).
Hydration and nutrition was the same as DNF - if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it - so I was taking 500ml + 1 scoop of BareFuel out on each lap, followed by 500ml water, 2 x 300mg Sodium Caps and some form of solid when I got back to base each lap.
Every lap I was greeted by the crew — one Bossy (drink this, eat that etc) and one Waggy — who, as always, I was eternally grateful for. A well-oiled machine that makes these events that much more fun!
+/- 2 minutes on the first 5 laps, body feeling top notch. Happy days!
Lap 6–8 | UNO
Then came the twist — the 6th lap marked the first of two reverse loops, and the start of elimination — whereby the last person back on each lap got the boot.
You wouldn’t think that the same loop would be that much harder in reverse — but trust me when I say it was different gravy.
The descents seemed much less runnable, and the middle section became a never-ending slog up to the Trig. It included a Strava segment that co-RD Will had set a time on — the beating of which would give a free entry to an AAE event next year.
Buoyed at the prospect of a free race, I got to the foot of the segment having held back on the first part of the loop ready to go #FullSend.
Fair to say, all of us got humbled — with T-Mac coming the closest at 1 second slower than Will’s time set the previous day. Not bad considering he had 5 hours and change in the legs, but we won’t mention that…
After enduring a slightly slower 37-minute lap on the reverse, I got back to rhythm early on the regular loop — and the hours started turning over just as quickly as they did before.
The field began steadily thinning out — and even Tom tapped out after Lap 8 with Dragon’s Back in mind in a fortnight’s time.
It was at this point where, having bashed on the door like clockwork for every lap, I thought I may have a sniff at the win.
Lap 9–12 | The Finale
With the late-afternoon sun setting, the last couple of regular loops ticked by — increasing the effort very slightly with an eye on Steve and Trystan’s times, both of whom had been similarly consistent throughout.
The start of the penultimate loop saw Trystan shoot out the gates like the clappers — logging an insane 31-minute lap having been on the brink a few times over the previous 2 hours.
I didn’t want to get complacent, so kept him in my sights ahead of the final lap.
Four made it to the Gate in time for the final lap — UNO Reverse.
A nail-biting turnaround from fellow finisher Simon getting the remaining crowd going!
Ego took over for the first lump of the last lap, which saw Trystan well and truly smoke me on a sprint start.
However, as the initial climb flattened out, the consistency began to pay off — and I pulled away when fire track turned to trail.
Ramping things up on the approach to The Segment, I pushed hard up towards the Willie Llewellyn Memorial — by which point, I checked the shoulder to the sign of Trystan turning onto the fire track about ¾ mile behind.
Nearly home and hosed…
One more nosy at the insane view running along the ridgeline on Craig Y Llyn, which saw Pen y Fan catching the last few rays of the day in the distance — and it was onto the final descent of the day.
Adrenaline kicked in, and the slight soreness in the feet that had accumulated across the day disappeared in time for a ‘sprint’ finish to the Gate.
Done and dusted. Body feeling class.
Bringing home the Double — fastest overall, and fastest final lap!
The Final Word
The plan for this was simple: a grand day out.
And that was exactly what was had!
With a couple of big Backyards on the horizon, I didn’t want to go full Hammer and Tong at this one — and it was nice to finish feeling as strong and fresh as I did.
Trig Point 12 embodied everything I love about trail running.
A raw, no-bullshit, no bells-and-whistles kind of event where everyone is there purely for the craic.
We had everything we needed — snacks, a working toilet, water and exquisite vibes.
Beautiful people; breathtaking scenery; and a belter of a day out in the mountains!
Huge thanks to Will, Courtney and all the volunteers for putting on such an incredible event — as (I think) the only runner outside of Wales, the community you guys have created is quality, and I cannot wait to return and share the trails with everyone once more.
And of course, El Capitan and The Bosun — could not wish for a better crew to have in my corner!
Check out the rest of Will’s events in the link below — and keep your eyes peeled for the latest episode of his podcast!
Adventure is Out There. Do Not Fail.
