Brecon to Cardiff Ultra

The Brecon to Cardiff Ultra is a 70k, one way, fully marked race that winds its way from Brecon following the Taff Trail. You will start in the Brecon Beacons National Park with its dramatic mountain landscapes, pass crashing waterfalls and crystal clear reservoirs. As you head further south you will encounter a different landscape with reminders of Wales’s industrial heritage. The race starts at 0800 from Brecon. Here you join the Taff Trail which you follow all the way to the finish. The trail makes much use of an abandoned branch of the Taff Vale Railway and the Glamorganshire Canal. These had been built in the 18th and 19th centuries to transport coal and iron ore from Merthyr Tydfil, the Cynon Valley and the Rhondda valley to the docks at Cardiff and Barry. From Brecon the route heads east following the Monmouthshire & Brecon Canal to Talybont-on-Usk. Here the route climbs, not steeply – but for quite a long way, to Torpantu, from this point it is downhill (almost) all the way to the finish! Passing Pontsticill Reservoir and the Brecon Mountain Railway you arrive in Merthyr at with great view of both the Cefn Coed Viaduct and Cyfarthfa Castle. Continuing south you will pass Aberfan and the memorial before reaching Pontypridd and finally the finish line at Nantgarw. The first 30k of the route is almost exclusively on footpath or Forestry Trails. From Merthyr the route follows a off road cycle path all the way to the finish. As the route is linear competitors park at the finish and be are transported, by coach, to the start in Brecon. What your entry fee includes: Participation in a classic event Electronic timing and GPS Tracking Marked course Checkpoints well stocked with refreshments Half way drop bag transport Event buff Finishers medal Free race photographs Emergency first aid cover from CAVRA Car parking at the finish in Cardiff Bus transport from Cardiff to Brecon on Sunday morning Welsh winter weather!