A FELL runner from Conwy has told of his successful attempt to run the challenging Swiss Peaks 360 race.

Mark Davies, it is understood, was the first Welshman and UK-based finisher in this race.

It included tackling many of the toughest Swiss Mountain routes across a 236-mile course, with a total of 83,000ft of elevation.

Mark has provides a unique and personal account of his incredible challenge, having entered the race 10 months ago.

He said: “I needed a massive challenge. The distance, elevation, and difficulty of the course ticked all the boxes.

“I'm now lying in my bed however, with legs like an elephant, and wondering what had just happened, and how the hell I managed to finish!

“It all started at midday on a Sunday in Oberwald.

“The first couple of climbs teased and went relatively fast, both just up 2,000 ft, then dropping 2,000ft to valleys below; the third climb started to show you what was coming.

“It was a 4,300 ft climb up, but at the top, I started to feel altitude effects for the first time. I was weak, with nausea, and headaches, but it soon cleared when descending.

“After passing through a few aid stations with food and drink, my first problem started to show: my dietary requirements.

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“I’m gluten-free and vegan, and all I had was a few mixed nuts and fruits, but that was OK. I still had my own flapjacks and gels.

“The climbs now were all mostly up 4,500 ft and down the same. The scenery, though, was getting more beautiful, and the ground underfoot more technical, even slowing the descents to a walk.

“In the middle of the first night, I started to struggle. I began to feal weak and tired, so I took my first short sleep, just 20 minutes at the side of the track.

“I awoke feeling better, but I was struggling to eat anything.

“My tongue was getting ulcers, and I was forcing down antacids to try to tame the heartburn but carried on up and down the mountains, starving and weak until I reached the main checkpoint two, hoping for some decent food.

“I then slept for two hours and set off again, up and down massive climbs and descents, enjoying some amazing scenery, and then napping in bushes, or on benches, and some aid stations along the way.

“The volunteers up were some of the nicest friendliest people I have ever met.

“By halfway, I kept passing the same people and chatted away.

“I met a few, but ended up spending a lot of hours with a Swedish guy called Magnus, who, it later turned out, I would spend the last few days finishing the race with.

“The second and third day was where the terrain became very difficult.

“The section after Grande Dixence at halfway was incredibly slow-going, up and down in the wet for 30 miles. It was tough but incredible!

“The terrain got slightly easier over the last 60 miles, with the climbs getting shorter as we got closer to the finish in Bouveret, on the shores of Lake Geneva.

“By now, though, my feet were bruised and swollen, with crazy foot pains. The fatigue was taking its toll, but it still remained good fun, in an odd sort of way.

“The last night was a push to the finish.

“I had a plan to finish in under five days, so we went for it, pushing as hard as possible, but we were so tired by life base 6, that we just had to stop and grab an hour’s sleep, which turned into two hours.

“Finally, getting down to the finish with Magnus in 122 hours and 39 minutes, we finished in 34th and 35th positions.

“After just under seven hours’ sleep in five days, I finally got into bed, and then slept for 14 hours straight.

“The Swiss Peaks 360 has been one of the most crazy, stunning, and incredible experiences of my life.

“I knew it was going to be insanely hard, but it was beyond that. The pain will go, but the memories will last forever.”