Matt Whyman
Standing amid the ruins of Conwy Castle, trying to look composed and professional, it was hard to get my head around what lay ahead. We all know the challenges in terms of distance and landscape. It’s central to the Dragon’s Back mythology, and draws runners like me far out of their comfort zones. I’m from the south east of England, which is hardly celebrated for its mist-wreathed mountains and jagged scarps. Still, I had trained both creatively and comprehensively for twelve months so I could toe the start line without feeling like I’d made a terrible mistake. I reminded myself that I had earned my place, and yet the finish line was just too far away for me to contemplate.
As well as preparing for the Montane Dragon’s Back Race® throughout the preceding year, I’d also been writing a book. I love reading stories by elite endurance runners about their adventures, challenges and triumphs, and wanted to celebrate the experience from the middle to the back of a pack. Long after the winners have lifted their trophies, and possibly gone to bed, ordinary men and women are still slogging away in the hope of achieving something extraordinary, and that was something I wanted to share. In some ways, writing a book has a lot in common with running very long races. Facing a blank page can be both exciting and terrifying, which is exactly how I felt as the race got underway. It’s just a question of taking one step or one sentence at a time, trusting and enjoying the process, and then letting the outcome take care of itself.
As it turned out, my Dragon’s Back process led me to an unexpected moment in the teeth of a freakishly intense Welsh heatwave. By extension, this informed the outcome of the book and it’s a more human story as a result. Endurance challenges of this magnitude come with no guarantees. Instead, they offer us a great deal to learn from the experience. That’s where the true value lies. Ultimately it applies to every single competitor who finds the courage to go into battle with a fire-breathing beast of a mountain race knowing they might be burned to a smouldering husk.
Failure is an Option: On the trail of the world’s toughest mountain race is published in paperback, ebook and audiobook on April 14th 2022 by Vertebrate Publishing.
Matt Whyman on the trail of the Dragon at the 2021 Montane Dragon’s Back Race® ©Bib Number Photography