The Berghaus Dragon’s Back Race is about mountain running, endurance, determination and so much more, but it can of course be reduced to numbers. Time and distance will be constantly in the thoughts of the racers in the days ahead and also of those watching their loved ones on the live online tracking system.

Without going into the full nitty-gritty, which generates many, many long and complex spreadsheets in the planning stages of the race, here are some of the key numbers for the next 5 days.

The Racers

• The faster racers are expected to be racing 8-9 hours per day, the slower ones 14-15 hours per day.

• There are 223 runners expected to start, of which only 33 are women. 

• (Women have a higher finish rate and some of the strongest performances in past races.)

• 24 different nationalities are represented from 5 continents.

• (No one from outside the UK has ever won the race – will that change this year?)

• The oldest competitor is Andy Cole (UK), age 68, and the youngest Evan Davies (UK), age 21.

• (The average age is 42 – experience counts in this race.)

The Route

• Distance; 315km  (This has gone up since 2015, due to more accurate measuring & moving the finish line.)

• Ascent; 15,500m  (That’s almost a couple of Everest’s.)

• The longest days are no's 3 & 4, both at 71km. The most ascent is on day 1 – 3800m.

• (It’s the combination of the two, cumulative over 5 days, which is the really hard bit.)

• On average 22% of the route is ‘trackless’ & 40% on ‘single track’. 

• (Road running shoes not advised!)

• 23:00 is the cut-off time at camp each day.  (There are also earlier cut-offs, to try an ensure racers do not finish so late.)