GuideSwansea & Gower
Running in Wales
Where to run in Wales, based on first hand experience - initially focusing on Cardiff, Swansea and South Wales.
Latest
Journal entryCardiff
Málaga marathon block: weekly training log
Guides
All guides →Route descriptions, navigation, kit and training. All from ground I've actually run, which is why some regions here are thicker than others.
Aberfields parkrun review: course, parking and the climb
A course review of Aberfields parkrun in Nantymoel, run on a wet August Saturday: the route, runners and parking
Swansea & Gower
Swansea Bay parkrun: course, parking and PB potential
A first-hand guide to Swansea Bay parkrun after five runs there: where to park, how to pace the seafront out and back, whether it's a PB course, and what to do in Swansea afterwards.
Cardiff
Cardiff parkrun review: fast course, busy start line
Cardiff parkrun is flat, fast and one of the ten biggest in the UK. Both courses, parking at Gabalfa Tesco, where to stand at the start and how to pace it.
From the journal
All entries →What the runs were actually like. Including the ones where I went out too hard and paid for it.
Cardiff
Dragon 50: my first ultra
Second place in 8:23 over 80 km of the Glamorgan coast - going out far too fast, running out of water in the heat, and what an ultra actually asks of you.
Cardiff
Dragon 50 Training Recap - Injury Recovery 2026
A six-week durability-over-fitness rebuild back from a knee injury, ahead of an 80 km ultra - the fuelling plan, the kit list, and the pacing target for the Dragon 50.
Cardiff
Porthcawl 10k race report
A first-person report from the Porthcawl 10k - the figure-of-eight course, the town-centre climb, the wind off the bay, and a 34:00 PB three weeks before an ultra.
4 October 2026Half marathon
Cardiff Half Marathon
A guide to the Cardiff Half Marathon - the October half from Castle Street, how the ballot works, what a place costs, and when entries open for the next one.
18 April 2027Marathon
Newport Marathon
A guide to the ABP Newport Marathon Festival - the flat April marathon along the Usk, when it runs, what entry costs and how to get in before it sells out.
16 May 202710K
Barry Island 10K
A guide to the Barry Island 10K: the May seafront race from Whitmore Bay, what it costs and when entries close, plus the Romilly Park climb, Harbour Road parking and traffic from two years running it.
Where to run
All regions →Wales area by area. Cardiff is the one with real depth behind it so far; the rest get written up as I run them.
8 articles
Cardiff
A capital city built around a runnable river. The Taff Trail links parkland, the Bay and the hills to the north into one connected network, almost all of it traffic-free.