Ellesmere College team completes Snowdon Run in memory of former Headmaster
Students and staff at a Shropshire school have completed a gruelling all-terrain running challenge of more than 71 miles in memory of their former Headmaster who died after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
The team of 27 from Ellesmere College revived the school’s Snowdon Run challenge this year - an event that was first held in 1999 but lapsed during Covid and involves relay teams running the 71.5 miles from the school gates to Yr Wyddfa, the highest point in Wales.
Starting at 4am, the runners took 11.5 hours to reach the car park at the bottom of the Pen y Pass where bad weather forced them to abandon the final climb for safety reasons.
The team raised £1,408 for Pancreatic Cancer UK - a disease that claimed the life of former Ellesmere College Headmaster Brendan Wignall in January 2024.
Beth Davies, a PE teacher at Ellesmere College, said: “It was a great achievement and congratulations go to everyone who took part. It was an amazing day to be part of and is a good character-builder for our students.
“It was tough in places but when morale was low the team supported each other brilliantly, raising spirits by singing - the challenge really did bring out the best in everybody. Our aim was to complete it in under 12 hours and we were half an hour inside that time when we got to the car park at the bottom of the Pen Y Pass for the run up Snowdon but the weather was just too bad and we couldn’t attempt it.
“Running conditions had been perfect until we got to the bottom of the mountain but then we were confronted by sideways rain where we couldn’t see the mountain at all and going on would have meant sending the students up into the unknown, which wasn’t safe.
“Our team consisted of 19 students and eight staff - including James Baggaley, a Geography Teacher at the school who did his first Snowdon Run in 2009 and has completed each one since. We also had two more support staff driving the buses on the day. The Snowdon Run is not a race but we did have two buses of very competitive people on board.
“The route covers 71.5 miles and moves point-to-point from the school gates to the top of Snowdon. Half is on the road and half is cross-country which includes traversing mossy areas and rivers. It is split into 28 legs and participants are equipped with a map and compass.
“We started at 4am and a bus met the runners at each leg changeover when the relay baton was passed on to the next team. We always ran in pairs with staff helping out with navigation on the cross country stages. Each student ran one mile minimum with some doing up to four legs of the challenge.
“Our thanks also go to the Old Ellesmereian Club who got in contact to support our efforts and parents were really supportive too, bringing champagne, strawberries and scones to us at the end - we had parents following some legs too.”
The Snowdon Run first began at Ellesmere College in 1999 but had to stop due to Covid, although it was kept alive as a mass participation event completed on the Strava exercise app. The record time for completing the actual challenge still stands at 10 hours and 48 minutes.
“The first run in 1999 raised money for Chernobyl Continuity, a charity helping children from Belarus,” said James. “When that charity ceased, other charities were chosen which were close to the hearts of people doing the run - such as SAD/CRY following the death of a student, and a breast cancer charity due to a pupil’s family that had been affected by that.
“There has been a gap in the Snowdon Run but this year students asked if they could bring it back and we were delighted to do that and organise the event in memory of our former head Brendan Wignall, raising £1,408 for Pancreatic Cancer UK along the way.”
Anyone who wishes to add to the fundraising can do so by visiting https://www.justgiving.com/page/ellesmerecollege.
