Beacons Marathon

The Beacons Marathon is a 26 mile mixed-terrain race starting and finishing at Henderson Hall in Talybont-on-Usk, in the Brecon Beacons, covering a single lap of the classic Beacons Ultra course. From the start, runners follow the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal towpath towards Llangynidr, the flattest section of the route, before leaving the canal to tackle an out-and-back climb up to the summit of Pen y Fan. The course then continues over Tor y Foel before descending into Talybont Forest and back towards the finish. The terrain is a genuine mix of canal towpath, mountain trail, forest track and road, with around 1,319 metres of total ascent, making it a properly hilly marathon rather than a flat one. The course is fully marked, though a map and GPX file are recommended for self-navigation. It's a demanding but well-supported introduction to trail marathon running in the heart of Wales.