The history of MDC is, like a runner on the Blorenge, shrouded in mist and uncertainty. However, there are a few clearings in the mist that can illuminate the route we have taken, even if the way forward remains uncertain. This account is entirely my recollection, which may differ from yours or even from the truth in some instances. Inaccuracies or outright fibs are entirely my fault, and corrections and clarifications will be gratefully accepted. So join me over a pint of Bad Descender in the back bar of the Muddy Dap and I’ll tell you a personal and not too fictional tale of 40 years or so of ups and downs…
In the beginning…
I first met Bob Marshall in late 1977. I had wound down my track and field involvement with Cardiff AAC as, having recently married Kay and moved to Bridgend, there was no track to train on and only an insanitary dog **** infested sand pit to triple jump (my ‘speciality’) into. I had started running longer distances for fun with the Maindy Marauders lunchtime group in Cardiff – including future First Minister Rhodri Morgan – and found I quite enjoyed it. Bob came from the competitive end of Long Distance Walkers events, so while our wives discovered a shared passion for squash (separate story) we started running off-road around Bridgend.
By early 1979 we were regularly running a 15 mile circuit of the Ogmore Valley, and had got to know Norman Carter of Up and Under fame. The three of us made an unsuccessful attempt at the Abergavenny Three Peaks LDWA event in thick snow in March 1979, which was followed by the Mid Wales Mountain Marathon (25 miles including Cadair Idris) again in snow in April and the Dorset Doddle (33 miles/5000 ft), thankfully with no snow, in August 1979, At some stage Bob produced a photocopy of the FRA calendar, which introduced us to a world of which, at the time, we knew little.
Other groups were also active on the local hills. Les Williams, Peter Evans and others were based around Caerphilly, whilst from the heights of Blaenavon came Phil Dixon, Gareth Buffett and Adrian Andrews (creator of the awesome and magnificent Transfan Trophy, of which we shall hear more). Together with a sizeable contingent of adventurous orienteers from the Bristol area, including Alice Bedwell, Mark Saunders and Dick Crawford, these groups seemed to coalesce around the Up and Under banner, and for a short period as Mynyddwyr Morgannwg (criticised as too parochial by the Gwent contingent). I recall a discussion amongst interested parties after the 1979 Offa’s Dyke race when the prospect of formalising matters was raised,and (I believe after at least one meeting at which I was not present) by the spring of 1980 matters had advanced so that a number of us were running as Mynyddwyr De Cymru.
The creed of the Long Traverse
The inaugural Llanbedr – Blaenavon race took place on 22nd March 1980, organised by Phil Dixon and Gareth Buffett. Gareth was the local GP in Blaenavon, whilst Phil was an evangelical minister from the north of England who had the call to spread the Word to the heathens of the Gwent valleys and, while he was at it, get people running long distances over the hills. On his success in the former I cannot comment, but his success in the latter was such that it is safe to say that without his involvement we would have had far less fun but my knees might still be talking to me.
The Llanbedr race was, and continues to be, deservedly popular due to its crazily hard last climb up the north face of the Blorenge before running the gauntlet of the back alleys of Blaenavon to the finish. A glance at the results in the early years of the race will show many of the names already mentioned plus the Darby brothers from Pontypool and others such as multi-ultra-record holder Ann Franklin from Cardiff, and Robert West, still racing at an age when most people’s activity is restricted to reaching for the TV remote control. It is safe to say that the nucleus of the club was present at that race.
Developments gathered pace, and by April 1981 membership was formalised and officers appointed (I would say elected but that implies a degree of organisation that for many years was not a top priority for those in ‘the club for people who don’t like clubs’ (© Derek Thornley). Les Williams was the first Chairman/Secretary and Dick Crawford from Bristol was Treasurer. Club colours were silver with maroon trim and fuzzy felt lettering, and if you have one of those vests I’m sure the club museum would appreciate a donation. The club affiliated to whatever acronym was running Welsh Athletics at the time, as a fell running club only, which apart from minimising affiliation fees allowed members to run for other clubs on the road and cross country
Midweek club runs began, originally on alternate Wednesdays but soon changing to Tuesdays to give the serious boys and girls more time to ‘peak’ for races. There were visits to Caerphilly, Llangeinor, Machen and Twmbarlwm in the first couple of months. That tradition has continued, with a wide range of venues, some of which have been more successful than others (does anyone else remember the burning sofas of Pontlottyn or the almost naked tattooed man of Crumlin?). Some have become regular fixtures, notably the Pontneddfechan waterfalls run and Merthyr Mawr sand dunes in the dark to close the season. Winter midweek runs have been slower to catch on, although there were several winter seasons in the 1980s featuring road runs from Llanishen Leisure Centre, and in recent years off-road in the dark has become more popular – I think the orienteering influence continues through the Bedwell -Saunders and, more recently, Marcus Pinker and others.
By 1983, under the heavy influence of Rev. Dixon, the four classic south Wales long races had all been established by club members (L to B as above, Brecon Beacons (October 1981, Dixon again), Black Mountains (May 1983, Dixon/John Darby) and the longest and most rugged of them all, the Transfan (1983, that man Dixon again). Do all four in a season and you deserve to put your feet up. Befitting its senior status, the Transfan has a trophy (see earlier) that these days, for reasons we will come to, is awarded to the most deserving performance in the opinion of the marshals. In the early days organisation was distinctly informal (no mobile phones or boxes that beep, remember), and race insurance was something best left between Rev. Dixon and his ultimate employer.
Then-abouts, club colours changed to green with a yellow hoop, with a curious ‘ice cream cone’ shaped mountain logo. Also rare and covetable for the connoisseur. Make me an offer!
June 1983 also saw the first club effort at the Offa’s Dyke Relay (24 hr 37 mins), breaking Deeside Orienteers’ record – though they took it back soon after.
Also around this time club member Derek Fisher invented (and, with Andy Lewsley, made the first successful completion of), the South Wales (or Brecon Beacons) Traverse, a 24 hour challenge over all the 2000 foot summits of south Wales, which has attracted some major names over the years, I’m sure someone will tell us the current record. Meanwhile, club member Alison Wright, with Helene Diamantides, broke the Everest Base Camp to Kathmandu record, to international acclaim.
The remainder of the 1980s passed in a bit of a blur – all help with details appreciated – but the club was well established and many other short and medium races were produced by club members – too many to mention but particular personal favourites were Ray Eagle’s Ras Berwyn from Pistyll Rhaeadr (Ray died in a plane crash in Nepal a few years ago) and Alwyn Nixon’s Cribyn, which apparently has the greatest ascent to mileage ratio of any medium race in Britain. Hearing the electricity crackling through the wire fence on the Berwyns ridge in a thunderstorm does wonders for a rapid descent! On a similar meteorological note, the 1988 Transfan will never be forgotten for its excessively wet conditions resulting in the River Tawe crossing having to be swum. Many weekends were spent wearing a groove in the A470 to races in north Wales, with the MDC cohort being a regular sight at the campsite in Nant Paris. Happy days! Club Colours changed again about this time to the white with red and green trim in various styles with which we are all familiar.
The Transfan was taken on by Kay and me in 1987 following Phil Dixon’s return north, but a strained relationship with the National Park resulted in permission being refused for the race, and for our Llynyfan race, in 1990 – it seems a commercial organisation had offered them a substantial ‘facility fee’ for use of the Black Mountain for an orienteering event. Regrettably the race could no longer take place as a race, if you see what I mean, but by 1997 we thought the dust had settled sufficiently to run it as a ‘training run’ for MDC and friends, in which state it has continued and is probably better for not being a formal event.
To conclude the 1980s, the first Cambrian Way relay, masterminded by Chas Ryder, took place in June 1989 (54 hrs 44 mins 57 sec), which has yet to be beaten despite two further club attempts (2004 and 2019) and the invention of mobile phones and Gary Davies’ spreadsheet schedules..
Mention must also be made of the various club trips from 1989 to support club members running for Wales in the World Mountain Running Trophy. Perhaps not strictly club history, but venues were as diverse as Alaska to Zermatt, with Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean thrown in. Four of us (me, Kay, Rob Benjamin and the late Fred Parry (who as club Chairman should have known better) appeared on Czech TV in the 1997 event by pretending to be the Falkland Islands team. International honours at last! In 1991 at Zermatt MDC had three men home (I think Paul Wheeler, Graham Patten and A N Other (sorry can’t completely remember)) before the Soviet Union – one of our better results.
Darker times
You will note that throughout I have referred to club members organising races and not the club itself. In fact, MDC has never organised a race, whilst many members have done so as individuals, often with the help of other members. Insurance has always been via either the English FRA or Welsh FRA schemes for individual members, with brief assistance from the Scottish Hill Runners’ Association when the English let us down. This fine distinction really didn’t matter until in 1991 a runner (Carol Matthews from Dinas Powys) died of exposure in a fell relay race organised under the Welsh Water brand but with significant technical advice given by various MDC members. They, and other members who were at the race, had to give evidence at the subsequent inquest, which concentrated on detailed investigation of the organisation of the event and the safety precautions required. At this distance, it is sufficient to say that for various reasons the entire committee resigned and the club was on the point of collapse, saved only by the willingness of ‘fresh blood’ to take things forward under the Chairmanship of Fred Parry. MDC still does not organise races. Let’s move on…
A quick dash to the finish
1992 saw the inauguration of the Winter Hill Series by John Sweeting. While not strictly an MDC event, club members have been heavily involved in its organisation and race production, and it has gained in popularity over the years – we don’t get winters like we used to!
The second club attempt at the Offa’s Dyke Relay took place in June 1993 – running ‘downhill’ from north to south this time. We improved our time to 21 hrs 56 mins but missed the record by 26 minutes.
Moving on, the club withdrew from Welsh Athletics in 2003 following an incident at the Waun Fach race (a Welsh selection race ) when an AW official encouraged various runners who would not ordinarily run a fell race to ignore the organiser’s kit requirements and to short-cut at checkpoints. AW would not support the organiser or the club’s complaint on his behalf, so the only option was to withdraw. We eventually re-affiliated in 2015 (not sure of that date), but only on a majority vote. At about the time of this incident (again unsure) the Welsh FRA was set up to provide services to the domestic sport, including Open championships, a calendar and race insurance, where AW provision was lacking. (You may tell I have strong views on these matters!) The vast majority of Welsh races, and I think all those organised by MDC members, are now run ‘under WFRA rules.
Finally, a quick mention for the Bob Smith Traverse, a bike/run duathlon over the six 800 metre peaks of the National Park invented by yours truly but first completed by Eponymous Bob himself on 2nd August 1998 , 10 minutes ahead of me and Roy Ruddle (our excuse was a delay caused by a road closure). Several classy runners have had a go at this since, with Tom Gibbs currently holding the record – which I should know – apologies. Again,not strictly an MDC event but well worth an attempt.
Read all about it
With a membership list that has sometimes exceeded 100, scattered from Swansea to Somerset and with no central HQ, keeping people informed has always been tricky. There was justified criticism as far back as the mid 1980s that decisions and plans were discussed by the ‘on-going AGM’ of regulars at midweek runs and that others, who for various reasons could not attend but were nevertheless keen, were excluded. To address this, for many years we put out a printed newsletter, that for a long time relied on a typewriter, photocopier, envelopes and stamps (younger readers may need to ask their parents about these), plus generous although unwitting sponsorship from a major telecoms firm and a former County Council.
These days of course we have digital trickery to help us, but there may be a danger that in relying on members visiting the (excellent) website and increasing use of social media the club is not being pro-active enough in informing everybody about meetings, runs and projects. Even here at Analogue Acres we have email, and having struggled in the past with the 100+ envelopes etc I suggest it would not be difficult to send out an occasional email to all members on matters of mutual interest. Rant over.
The finish line
This has turned into a Category AL run through the first 20 years or so of MDC. We shall leave part 2 (2000-ish to present) for another day and hopefully another author. Finish lines, like all the checkpoints we visit in races, are staffed by long-suffering volunteers who get a strange pleasure from standing in the rain counting heads and making sure of safety.. Without them we wouldn’t have a sport. So be nice to them as you run past, or better still volunteer to help out. So while the ultimate finish line will hopefully remain just out of sight over the next hill for some time yet, you carry on and enjoy your race. I’ll sit here and admire the view for a little longer.
Ymlaen Mynyddwyr De Cymru!
Martin Lucas – Old Grey Beard