Event Director’s Report – 2024 Dragon’s Back Race®
by Shane Ohly, 2024 Event Director
Introduction
It’s been over a month since the 2024 edition of the Dragon’s Back Race® concluded, and before anything else, I want to start with an apology for the delay in publishing this Event Director’s report. This pause has given me ample opportunity to reflect on the event, and I can honestly say I’ve never felt more connected to the Dragon’s Back Race® than I did this year, mainly due to my personal experience at the Dragon’s Back Party in August. That said, I haven’t felt as challenged as a race organiser as I did this year for a long time. I’ll explain more in this much overdue report, but first, let’s take a look at a high-level summary of the 2024 race statistics and how they compare to previous years:
2024 – Starters 338, Dragon Finishers 124 (36%), Hatchling Finishers 126 (37%), Dragon and Hatchling 250 (73%)
2023 – Starters 298, Dragon Finishers 87 (29%), Hatchling Finishers 147 (49%), Dragon and Hatchling 234 (79%)
2022 – Starters 263, Finishers 102 – Finishing rate: 38%
2021 – Starters 367, Finishers 90 – Finishing rate: 24%
2019 - Starters 402, Finishers 251 – Finishing rate: 62%
2017 - Starters 223, Finishers 127 – Finishing rate: 56%
2015 - Starters 142, Finishers 65 – Finishing rate: 45%
2012 - Starters 82, Finishers 32 – Finishing rate: 39%
Celebrating success. The Event Team cheering finishers at Cardiff Castle. © No Limits Photography
After each of our big races (Cape Wrath Ultra® and the Northern Traverse® this year), I grapple with both satisfaction and exhaustion that results in a strange neutral feeling about the event in the days immediately after. To complicate things, we jumped from the Dragon’s Back Race® in Wales to Salomon Buttermere Skyline™ in the Lake District this year, forcing me to shift focus from one major event to another. Yet, what stays with me is the sense of camaraderie and friendship that develops among participants and the event team. Slowly, I can reflect on a sense of pride in a job well done, the satisfaction of delivering another complicated event, and delighting the participants with an adventure they’ll never forget.
I want to express my deepest thanks to the incredible Event Team. Throughout our happy week in Wales, they toiled in the mud and rain, setting up tents, preparing meals, serving drinks, driving vehicles, loading/unloading, and handling countless other tasks. Their dedication and teamwork were nothing short of extraordinary. The Event Team truly is the heart and soul of this race. While everyone played a crucial role, a few went above and beyond, offering unwavering support and helping keep everything running smoothly. You know who you are, and I cannot thank you enough.
It’s impossible to directly compare one edition of the Dragon’s Back Race® to another, as the course and the weather change from one year to the next. This year, we made significant revisions to both Day 2 and Day 3 of the course, and I think the route flows much better. 2023 was memorable for the heat… 2024 was memorable for the rain and mud. This makes life hard for everyone, with many practical implications for managing the venues for the Event Team. The weather also changed the presentations in the medical tent, with fewer collapsed runners this year and fewer blisters but a considerable increase in musculoskeletal injuries. We hypothesised that runners were slipping and sliding more in the wetter and muddier conditions.
Personal Reflections
Why do I feel both connected and compromised at once? In the early days of the Dragon’s Back Race®, I witnessed some titanic battles between friends and contemporaries at the front of the race. These were people like Jim Mann (winner in 2015), who I’d both raced against and with, and I was torn between wanting to take part myself and being very relieved that I wasn’t. At the end of 2022, I toyed with the idea of taking part the following year and handing over the race management to my team at Ourea Events. Wise friends advised that I would never have the experience I hoped for because I’d always be the event owner and never just another participant. Slowly, the idea of running the event non-stop formed in my mind, allowing me to run on my terms. With this in mind, I deliberately started to increase my familiarity with the course, joining recce events with our partner RAW Adventures, joining competition winners and inviting myself to recce weekends with friends who were taking part.
My own Dragon’s Back Race® Party (you can read about it here) was a phenomenal personal journey. Hence, after 18 months of building up to the party, I felt more connected to that incredible route through the Welsh mountains and to the participants’ experience than I've ever felt… and by a considerable margin. At the same time, I’ve cemented new friendships forged in the fire of the Dragon with friends with whom I’ve run countless miles and who turned out to support my own party. When I wanted to help them at this year's event, I had to step back and watch them face the Dragon for themselves. Perhaps I should have created an easier race!
Left: Simon Roberts. Right: Max King. © No Limits Photography
In the months after the 2023 race, I reflected on Jakub Wolski's outstanding performance, finishing 2nd overall while ‘on-sighting’ the route (as we would say in the climbing world), i.e. navigating the route with no prior knowledge. This year, Max King stepped it up to an entirely new level. Max is a renowned American runner, former Mountain Running World Champion (2011) and 100km World Champion (2014). He travelled from the USA and, like Jakub, on-sighted the route, relying primarily on map and compass navigation to win. Putting this into context is hard, but it is worth comparing Simon Robert’s (2021 Dragon’s Back Race® winner) and Max’s times as they tussled with each other throughout the week. Simon is a phenomenal athlete in his own right and impressed me by setting out each day, determined to push Max as hard as he could. I think there are very, very few runners who would have been able to beat Simon. Bravo Max.
Left: Jo Meek. Right: Zoe Murphy. © No Limits Photography
The women’s race was turned into a real fight. Jo Meek (Cape Wrath Ultra® 2023 winner and former GB international) was pushed incredibly hard by Zoe Murphy, with the two exchanging the lead in the initial days. These two inspirational women took the definition of grit and determination to a whole new level, and both – I hope they don’t mind me saying this – were broken when they reached Cardiff Castle. It is rare to see an “all-in” level of commitment like this combined with the self-belief to push, push, and then push harder to pursue their goal.
Iconic scenes and atmosphere in Conwy Castle moments before the start of the Dragon’s Back Race®. © No Limits Photography
The Dragon’s Back Race® is much more than just a race. It's an ‘event’. It’s an extraordinary test of endurance, grit, and determination that takes each participant on an unforgettable and profoundly personal journey regardless of whether they are trying to complete the full Dragon or the Hatchling. This year, once again, the effort put in by the participants was nothing short of amazing. The race is designed to challenge even the toughest runners, and what stood out to me, was how everyone rose up to test themselves. I’d very much like to emphasise my respect to everyone who toed the line in Conwy Castle.
Our first Wrath Dragon Finisher
Elsa Morgan at the Dragon’s Back Race®. © No Limits Photography
It would be remiss not to mention Elsa Morgan individually. Elsa is the first to complete the Cape Wrath Ultra® and the Dragon’s Back Race® in the same year. Many have tried, but Elsa is our first Wrath Dragon finisher. When I finally got to look through the library of event photos, one very striking thing caught my eye: a beautiful smile of Elsa enjoying herself. Day after day, picture after picture, Elsa is smiling, and I can’t help but wonder if there is a lesson for everyone here with a masterclass demonstration of both style and calibrated performance, resulting in a second-place finish after overtaking Zoe Murphy on the final day.
Dragon’s Back Race® 2025 - Vision
Shortly, we’ll be publishing a vision for the 2025 event. No major changes are planned, but we want to share how we see the event evolving naturally in 2025.
The Hatching
Following our reflections from the 2023 Dragon’s Back Race, where we recognised the success of the Hatchling but acknowledged various “logistical and operational headaches,” we were able to prepare accordingly for the 2024 edition. Thus, the 2024 race saw a similar number of participants choose and complete the Hatchling option, with very positive feedback and improved logistics and communication before and throughout the race. A fleet of hired buses helped support our MPV fleet at key moments each morning.
At the beginning of the event, 22 of the 338 starters had entered with the intention of doing the Hatchling. Yet, 126 participants arrived in Cardiff having completed the Hatchling, showing that whilst the intention of many is to attempt the full course, the Hatchling provides a fantastic alternative. Personally, I’d like to remind all our Hatchling finishers that completing this is a phenomenal achievement that surpasses almost any other event in the world in its own right. Please be very proud of what you have achieved.
Donations to Mountain Rescue in Wales
When participants entered this year's Dragon’s Back Race®, we asked if they’d like to make a voluntary donation to Mountain Rescue. We are delighted to have raised £2,454.00. We will share this equally amongst the eight Mountain Rescue teams whose areas the race route passes through. This includes:
Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Team
Llanberis Mountain Rescue Team
Aberglaswyn Mountain Rescue Team
South Snowdonia Search and Rescue Team
Aberdyfi Search and Rescue Team
Western Beacons Mountain Rescue Team
Brecon Mountain Rescue Team
Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team
Ourea Events has rounded up the donations from the participants so that we can present each team with a cheque for £350. This is a total donation to Mountain Rescue in Wales of £2,800.
Our own Response Team deployed to various course incidents during the six days of the event, which avoided the need to call upon the services of the local volunteer mountain rescue teams, leaving these teams available to respond to other incidents that might have occurred. We did require help from the South Snowdonia Search and Rescue Team late on day two, and we are incredibly grateful for their help evacuating an injured runner from high in the Rhinogydd. Thank you.
The Ourea Events Response Team. Ready to respond at a moments… after their morning bakery stop anyway. © No Limits Photography
Safeguarding Participants
In the last year, we have been developing (and implementing) a comprehensive safeguarding policy for all our participants, but this inevitably focuses most on female participants who are much more likely to be subject to inappropriate behaviour whilst also at greater risk of physical assault and worse. For those interested, we are sharing the draft policy with all the Adventure Sports Events Conference attendees organised jointly by Open Tracking and Ourea Events in November.
The Dragon’s Back Race® participants and event staff are the first of our races to benefit from long-term messaging in briefings (video, written and in-person) explaining our approach to inappropriate behaviour, and it feels like we have ‘permissioned’ our female participants to raise concerns that might have previously been unrecorded. Four incidents were raised at the event, one of which resulted in the immediate dismal of a freelance staff member. I want to make it crystal clear to participants and the event team that we’ll take a zero-tolerance approach to inappropriate behaviour, and we’ll support anyone raising concerns at our events.
In Conclusion
From the first step to the last, each runner pushed themselves to their limits, battling both the rugged Welsh terrain and their own physical and mental barriers. It was a privilege to witness these personal journeys unfold throughout the race. For many, the Dragon’s Back Race® is a transformative experience - one that takes them beyond what they thought was possible and leaves them stronger, more confident, and forever changed. The journey isn’t just about crossing the finish line; it’s about every moment of struggle, triumph, and camaraderie along the way. Each runner’s effort was a testament to their strength of character and passion for adventure, making this year’s event an unforgettable celebration of human endurance and spirit.
Thanking the Event Team
I’ve already mentioned and thanked the Event Team above, but I want to name-check the entire team of professional and volunteer staff and provide a little insight into what they were doing at the Dragon’s Back Race® this year. This is the team that made the magic happen: what an extraordinary group of brilliant human beings. Thank you.
Camp Team
This is the team grafting each day with what is arguably the most physically demanding job of helping to build and break down the Overnight Camps, including pumping up and deflating all those blue tents!
Alastair Ratcliffe
Amy Fulford
Brian Riches
Carolyn Watkins
Clare Capper
Colin Young
David Bland
Emily Ward
Emma Price
Giles Leather
Graham Wearne
Gregory Williams
Iain Young
Ian Mclaren
Imogen Palmer
Jan Rogers
Kirsty Barker
Loz Rawlings-Johnson
Lucy Phillips
Mark Spitzer
Michael Wright
Molly Harvey
Norbert Fasel
Rachel Jones
Sarah Howell
Sharon Dickson
Stevie Clare
Tara Brook
Tim Miller
Tina Usherwood
Wendy Leslie
Will Terry
Catering Team
An army marches on its stomach, and a Dragon’s Back Race® is no different. Our amazing Catering Team provide hundreds of hot meals each day, with their early shift starting work at 3am and the late shift often working close to midnight.
Catheryn Lowe
Chris Taylor
Damian Elsdon
Eleanor Smith
Fiona Culleton
Fiona Massey
Fiona Murphy
Hilary Malyon
Jennifer O'Neill
Joe Faulkner
Julia Gregersten
Justin Pilkington
Laura Smith
Linda Cairns
Louise Greenwood
Michael Burke
Nicola McNally
Paul Hadley
Paul Hughes
Regaina Thompson
Tammy Ruvino
Tim Glasby
Zuzana Nemeckova
Course Operations
This is the team we have the most applications for and is, consequently, the hardest to get in! The Course Operations team is primarily responsible for placing and collecting the checkpoints each day, and they also get the most glamorous job of marshalling the occasional road crossing.
Alistair Cox
Colin Harding
Dave Bright
Derek Allison
Eleanor Johnstone
Fiona Brannan
Jack Capon
Jade Phillips
Jonathan Naylor
Philip Wilkinson
Steve Hurren
Tim Laney
Tom Adams
Info Point Team
The friendly faces providing help and support at the Info Point in the main communal marque also get to hand our Dragon Mail (highlight) but also have to sort through the stinking lost property (low point).
Colette Webster
Isabelle Read
Steven Read
Tara John
Marquee Team
Safely erecting and dismantling our big white marquees (in all weathers) is the role of this team, and we have two teams leapfrogging each other, working a day ahead and a day behind the main bulk of the event.
Alastair Baillie
Antony Fleming-Williams
Jim O'Reilly
Kieran O'Sullivan
Morgan Stace
Patrick O’Reilly
Seb Boulton Oliver
Suzy Slaughter
Timothy Exley
Tom Bolton
Tom Jobling
Zakius Benaton
Media Team
Responsible for bringing the event to life with their excellent photography, films, presenting and commentary. The Media Team have a big impact on the look and feel of the event and work late into the night curating all the content from each day.
Christiaan Le Roux
Gary House
Harriet D'Alessio
Jimmy Hyland
Lowri Morgan
Matt Ward
Reuben Tabner
Shea Bonilla-Allard
Stephen Ashworth
Medical Team
Statistics show that most participants visit the medical tent at least once during the event, and the medical team, made up of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, and paramedics, does an outstanding job keeping our runners well and ready to face another day on the course.
Ally Middleton
Claire Walters
Elizabeth Rayner
Euan McCormack
Laura Jones
Lucy Sullivan
Madeleine Rowe
Morag Bowie
Nick Watson
Nikki Archer
Nikki Sommers
Peter Gimson
Rachel Smith
Mountain Safety Team
The Mountain Safety Team is on the course during days one and two, located at critical points, whilst also sweeping during the latter half of each day. Undoubtedly, this team makes a big contribution to the safety of the participants on the two most technically challenging and mountainous days.
Becky Coles
Helen Teasdale
Ieuan Belshaw
Jade Phillips
Kate Worthington
Meg Bates
Mike Raine
Nick Read
Rob Laing
Rusty Bale
Simon Verspeak
Stuart Lade
The ‘gold tops’. A combination of (some of ) our key freelance staff and (some of) the Ourea Events employees celebrating at Cardiff Castle. © No Limits Photography
Ourea Events Team
This is the office team from Ourea Events, which consists of current and past employees, each of whom has a specific responsibility to lead and manage a component of the event.
Charlie Williamson
Charlotte Eccles
Darren Graham
Duncan Archer
Eleanor Claringbold-Driscoll
Greg Mickelborough
Jen Edson
Jo Moore
Lorna McBride
Neil Davies
Shane Ohly
Sue Dowker
Race Control Team
Our Race Control team coordinates and manages all activities away from the static overnight camps. Their priority is always the safety of the participants, but they have a guiding hand in all our course operations and logistics.
Abbi Forsyth
Natalya Kennedy
Response Team
Our Response Team comprises of Mountain Rescue Team members from across the UK, providing us with a professional response capability throughout the event.
Dan Romberg
Dave Howarth
Jamie Barclay
Jurgen Dissmann
Rich Griffiths
Soraya Cherry
Start / Finish Team
The Start/Finish Team support Open Tracking at the start and finish. They ensure that runners have their trackers each morning and warmly welcome them back into camp each evening.
Charlotte Miltiadou
Chris Barker
Gordon Cameron
Joanne Adams
Katie-Fleur Lodge
Robert Campbell
Ryan Castle
Stelios Miltiadou
Stuart Taylor
Vic Green
Support, Water Point and Transport Team
This team has the longest continuous shift each day, but it is also one of the most popular roles because they are really at the heart of the event, building and running the Support Point and a Water Point whilst also helping transport participants to and from the Overnight Camps.
Andy Towne
Anna Gocher
Anne Kenchington
Benjamin Voke
Carwyn Phillips
Daren Piper
David Mackie
Glenn Shreeves
Ian Cowie
Littledave Cumins
Peter O'kane
Simon Bromham
Stuart Smith
Technical Services Team
This is our team of plumbers, electricians and all-around technical-minded people who literally keep the lights on and the water flowing.
Barry Hirons
Carl Bradford
Chris Reason
Philip Sturgeon
Stephen Moore
Tom Rouse
Timing and Tracking Team
We have a close relationship with Open Tracking, who provide all the timing and tracking at most of our events whilst also creating our results, supporting vital safety functions and providing our Dragon Mail and WIFI.
Chris Mills
James Thurlow
Michael Briggs was presented with his last finisher trophy at the end of the Dragon’s Back Race®. © No Limits Photography.
Results
A full list of the finalised results, including split times and age category results is now available here:
Tracking
You can relive your journey down the length of Wales with the replay function on the GPS Tracking page.
Event Coverage
We trust that your friends, family and colleagues watching from home enjoyed our live coverage and reporting of the event from our brilliant media team, and also watching the participant dots gradually head south on the GPS Tracker page. Dot watching has indeed become a thing and its surprisingly addictive keeping tabs on your mates. There is a whole load of amazing media coverage from the event and we hope you enjoy catching up on it as the autumn nights draw in.
Event blogs
The daily event blogs in the news section of our website give a great insight into how the journey unfolded for all participants – those at the back of the race and also those leading the way. It’s full of quotes from participants, so definitely worth a read to see if you can spot yourself!
· Competition Set to Heat Up at the 2024 Dragon’s Back Race®
· Day One on the Dragon’s Back Race®: A wet start to a competitive race
· Day Two on the Dragon’s Back Race: Close battles as Zoe Murphy and Max King establish narrow leads
· Day Four on the Dragon’s Back Race®: Venturing through the Elan Valley
· Day Five on the Dragon’s Back Race®: Runners struggle on a tough penultimate day
· Max King and Jo Meek are this year’s winners of the Dragon’s Back Race®
Photos
No Limits Photography were on the ground every day capturing some amazing shots for the official event photography – you can view some of these on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, on our website, and in the press.
Bib Number Photography were also in attendance, taking some excellent shots of each participant, every day on their journey. These photos are now available to view (and purchase) here!
Day one of the incredible journey ©No Limits Photography
Daily Highlights Films
Presenter Lowri Morgan and the media team of Steve Ashworth, Jimmy Hyland and Shea Allard were roaming the mountains of Wales and stalking the Overnight Camps and Support Points to record six wonderful daily highlight films. If you haven’t already seen them, they are available on our website and by clicking the link below.
Ongoing Health
Whether you completed the full course or the Hatchling, every one of the participants’ bodies has taken a significant battering, and we would highly recommend an extended period of rest and recovery now. Anecdotally, it seems that having 4 weeks rest, followed by around 10 weeks of light exercise works well. All too often, we have seen participants in our expedition length races return to running too early and end up with chronic fatigue and other injury problems. Please take the time to let your bodies heal, and enjoy basking in the glory of your Dragon’s Back Race® experience.
Resting the legs ©No Limits Photography
Feedback via RaceCheck
At the beginning of October, we received a GOLD award from RaceCheck for all of your wonderful reviews ⭐️. Thank you to everyone for taking the time to share your experience at the 2024 Dragon's Back Race and help us improve the event, year after year.
If you'd like to have a read and leave a review yourself, click the link below.
Feedback is very important to us. Whatever you have to say, positive or negative, we are keen to hear your thoughts. Whilst we don’t promise to incorporate every piece of feedback received, we do promise to read and consider it carefully. Participant feedback has helped refine and improve the event from one edition to the next and it has been instrumental in polishing the details and the event is better for it. So, please don’t be shy and send any comments you have using our contact form or email us directly. If you haven’t already left a review, that would be greatly appreciated.
Tell us about your experience! ©No Limits Photography
What’s next?
Dragon’s Back Race® 2025 - Entries are open for next year!
One edition of the Dragon’s Back Race® isn’t enough for some people and there is a growing list of participants that have completed the event many times. Perhaps you want to improve your standing, perhaps you want to fill in the different a section of the Hatchling course. Whatever your motivation, you can be assured another world-class experience and warm welcome in Wales. The 2025 edition will take place 1st to the 6th of September 2025.
Cape Wrath Ultra®
You've explored Wales – is Scotland next?
Join us from 18th-25th May 2025 for the epic Cape Wrath Ultra®. Experience the complete remoteness of Northwest Scotland on an 400km and 8-day long journey, that will immerse you in the last true wilderness of Great Britain on this incredible life-affirming adventure. JOIN THE WAITING LIST!
Camp one of the Cape Wrath Ultra® ©No Limits Photography
Northern Traverse™
Stage Race to Non-Stop across England!
Now you've completed a stage-race, why not tackle a continuous race next? The Northern Traverse™ is a continuous race that follows Wainwright’s famous Coast to Coast route from St Bees to Robin Hood's Bay, taking in 300km of glorious trails through the Lakes, Dales and Moors. Join us from 5th-9th April 2025. JOIN THE WAITING LIST HERE!
The ever-changing landscape from Coast to Coast ©No Limits Photography
SCARPA Great Lakeland 3Day™
Three-day weekend of Lakeland mountains and trails.
The GL3D™ as it is known, has become the defacto training event for aspiring Cape Wrath Ultra® and Dragon’s Back Race® participants. With three days in the Lakeland fells, six different courses (catering for walkers and runners), and an overnight camp with bar, catering, speakers and movies it has a special relaxed and festival atmosphere that has to be experienced, to be believed. Learn more by clicking the link below.
Crummock Water in the Lake District ©Steve Ashworth