The Nos Galan road race is an annual five-kilometre (3.1 mi) road running event, held on Nos Galan (), New Year's Eve, in Mountain Ash, in the Cynon Valley of South Wales.
History The Nos Galan race celebrates the life and achievements of Welsh runner Guto Nyth Brân. Founded in 1958 by local runner Bernard Baldwin, it is run over the route of Bran's first competitive race.
At its height covered by the BBC nationally as part of its New Year's Eve celebrations, the races were halted in 1973 due to concerns expressed by the Glamorgan Police regarding the undue delay to traffic. The Nos Galan race was resurrected in 1984, when a reduced field of 14 runners ran a race. The race also broke with tradition, with three mystery runners, representing the present, past and future of athletics, carried the Nos Galan Torch.
It still attracts runners from all over Great Britain. The 2009 race attracted over 800 runners, and 10,000 people into Mountain Ash for the associated entertainment. In 2023, after two years of virtual races, the number of runners had grown to 1,925 participants.
A virtual race was held in 2020.
Route and traditions The main race starts with a church service at Llanwynno, and then a wreath is laid on the grave of Guto Nyth Brân in Llanwynno graveyard. After lighting a torch, it is carried to the nearby town of Mountain Ash, where the main race takes place. The format of the race has changed several times over its history. The current race consists of three circuits of the town centre, starting in Henry Street and ending in Oxford Street, by the commemorative statue of Guto.
Traditionally, the race was timed to end at midnight. But in recent times it was rescheduled for the convenience of family entertainment, now concluding at around 21:00.
Rescheduling has resulted in a regrowth in size and scale, and now starts with an afternoon of street entertainment, and fun run races for children, concluding with the church service, elite runners race and presentations.
Mystery runner The race is started and run by a mystery runner, normally a running or local sporting celebrity. The mystery runner lays the wreath: 1958 – Tom Richards 1959 – Ken Norris 1960 – Derek Ibbotson 1961 – John Merriman 1962 – Martin Hyman 1963 – Bruce Tulloh 1964 – Stan Eldon 1965 – Ann Packer 1966 – Mary Rand 1967 – Ron Jones 1968 – Lyn Davies 1969 – Lillian Board 1970 – John Whetton 1971 – David Bedford 1972 – David Hemery 1973 – Berwyn Price 1984 – Steve Jones, David Bedford, Lisa Hopkins 1985 – No Race 1986 – Kirsty Wade 1987 – Tony Simmons 1988 – Tim Hutchings 1989 – Bernie Plain 1990 – Phillip Snoddy 1991 – Dennis Fowles 1992 – Guto Eames, Tremayne Rutherford 1993 – Simon Mugglestone 1994 – Steve Robinson 1995 – Neil Jenkins 1996 – Robbie Regan 1997 – Iwan Thomas 1998 – Jamie Baulch, Ron Jones 1999 – Garin Jenkins, Dai Young 2000 – Christian Malcolm 2001 – Darren Campbell 2002 – Matt Elias 2003 – Stephen Jones 2004 – Nicole Cooke 2005 – Gethin Jenkins, Martyn Williams, T. Rhys Thomas 2006 – Rhys Williams 2007 – Kevin Morgan 2008 – Linford Christie 2009 – James Hook, Jamie Roberts 2010 – John Hartson, Mark Taylor 2011 – Shane Williams, Ian Evans 2012 – Dai Greene, Samantha Bowen 2013 – Alun Wyn Jones 2014 – Adam Jones 2015 – Colin Jackson 2016 – Chris Coleman 2017 – Nathan Cleverly and Colin Charvis 2018 – David Bedford, Sam Warburton and Rhys Jones 2019 – Nigel Owens 2020 – VIRTUAL RACE 2021 – VIRTUAL RACE 2022 – George North 2023 – Gareth Thomas and Laura McAllister 2024 – Lauren Price 2025 – Jess Fishlock
References
External links (Rhondda Cynon Taf authority website)