As the current race organiser of the Snowdon Race I regretfully announce the loss of our Race President, John Disley, who sadly passed away today, aged 87.

The Welshman, from Corris, won a bronze medal at the 1952 Olympics, co-founded the London Marathon, is the founder of the Snowdonia Marathon, founder of Plas y Brenin Mountain Centre, a pioneer of orienteering, the founder of Reebok – the list goes on.

John contributed so much of his time and wealth of experience to others and the community of Corris. Many of you today, that earn your living within the running, athletics, orienteering and adventure world, owe him a great debt for the vision he had with all of what he has achieved.

I witnessed this first-hand many times during the years he came to Llanberis, visiting Ken Jones and the Snowdon Race team. And again when I became the organiser of the race and most recently when we recorded an interview for BBC Radio Wales at his cottage for the Life of Disley documentary.

Here in Wales, 2016 is the ‘year of adventure’, and today we have lost a loyal, modest, low-key, pure gentlemen, and finally a adventurer – always seeking the next thing.

On behalf of myself, the Snowdon Race committee, past members and life members, our deepest sympathy goes out to John’s family, and we ourselves owe a huge debt to him for what the race has become today.

Diolch / Thank you John Disley, or should it be SIR John Disley

Stephen Edwards

Media release – Entries go live on March 1st

Traditional St David’s Day opening will see scramble for precious places at Wales’ premier mountain race

Llanberis, Wales – The first batch of the 650 places for the ELIM Peugeot International Snowdon Race / Ras-yr-Wyddfa go on sale in less than 4 weeks on Tuesday March 1st at 00.01, as 250 runners who have previously run the race in the last 5 years will be able to apply for the event which takes place on the 16th July, 2016.

A further 400 runners will then be invited to apply from the 15th of March. Entries will once again be via a link on the race website www.snowdonrace.co.uk.

Llanberis man and race organiser Stephen Edwards is organising the event for the eighth year and is rightly proud to be once again at the helm of the most iconic international mountain race in the running world. 2016 will be 41st running of the event. He states:

“We are all set for the deluge of enquiries that will happen when the entries open. It will be the same procedure for entry that has taken place in the previous years, which we feel works well. Those 250 runners who will bag a place will have to have completed the event in the previous 5 years. The remaining 400 places go to the ‘open market’ a couple of weeks later, however those runners must also have experience of mountain running to be able to enter.”

Last year saw a whole week of 40th anniversary celebrations, as the race returned to a high street start, bringing out thousands of spectators as the runners made their way through the village and onto the mountain, as they did back in 1976. It also saw a fantastic race once again, as Italy’s Emanuele Manzi and Ireland’s Sarah McCormack took famous wins.

International Snowdon Race 2015 men’s race winner Emanuele Manzi © Sport Pictures Cymru

Max Nicholls and Emmie Collinge after claiming the 2015 Snowdon Super Cup / Cwpan yr Wyddfa crowns, with Snowdonia National Park warden Helen Pye© Ray Wood Photography

The Snowdon race is considered as one of the greatest in the world of mountain running, and attracts some of the best racers in Europe. With names such as Kenny Stuart, Fausto Bonzi, Carole Greenwood, Andi Jones, Ian Holmes and Angela Mudge on the role call of winners, this famous mountain really has been graced by some of the world’s great mountain runners. However, the event has grown over the last four decades to be one on the bucket-list of mere mortals, as just completing the 10-mile race from Llanberis to the summit of Snowdon and back is something thousands aspire to, but only hundreds achieve, year-on-year.

Edwards continues:

“As far as the race is concerned the anticipation and buzz surrounding the event gets better every year. The 40th anniversary week of activities last year was really successful, and we will once again organising the Snowdon Twilight Race in June 24 and the DMM 5km race in Llanberis. We will also be hosting the excellent Snowdon Super Cup race in the morning, which always gets racing off to a bang on race day! All of our major sponsors and partners are on board and we have terrestrial television highlights confirmed once again for 2016.

“It’s also great to have our new headline sponsors ELIM Peugeot on board, they have been very supportive and we look forward to working with them in the lead-up to the race this year, and of course on the race weekend.

“More importantly we really couldn’t put the race on without the continued support of the likes of Snowdon Mountain Railway, First Hydro, the Royal Victoria Hotel and all of the Snowdon Race committee and Llanberis community and I suppose that’s what makes this race so magical – it’s an international event, with a local feel, and long may that continue!”

For further race information visit www.snowdonrace.co.uk

ENDS