MACHLUD
CILCAIN SUNSET TRAIL RACE
(HALF MARATHON)
Saturday 13th September 2025 – 3pm onwards
SUNSET TRAIL RACE IN THE BEAUTIFUL CLWYDIAN HILLS
Ysgol y Foel PTA proudly introduces Machlud – a new trail race to North Wales. Skirting the beautiful Clwydian Hills, the route meanders above the Vale of Clwyd before runners start to climb up onto the Offa’s Dyke footpath which brings them finally to the summit of Moel Famau. Covering a full half marathon distance of 13.1 miles / 21.1 km the route includes 2500ft/750m of ascent.
The race will start and finish in the village school with runners setting off with staggered start times with the idea being that all runners will be on the slopes of Moel Famau at sunset – note: sunset not guaranteed – we are in Wales after all… in September!
With snack and drink stations along the route and homemade cakes and beer at the end, forget the Mass Start races – come join the only trail race with a planned Mass Finish…. well a Mass Summitting and somewhat condensed finish.
Raising funds for the Ysgol y Foel – Primary School in Cilcain.
RUN TOGETHER
Run with your mates, on your own or with a furry friend.
Another difference with Machlud is that we think that the folks who share the journey are an essential element of the experience so if you want to run with a mate or in a group of friends we will even give you an entry discount (and promise to cheer louder at finish). As some folks prefer a more solitary life, solo runners will find easy-running beautiful stretches to allow you to lose yourself in the environment if that is your thing or just space to make new friends along the way. As we will be operating a staggered start we can also allow CaniCross runners to take part (dogs on leads throughout).
RUN, WALK, CRAWL
Race Route
95% of the course is run on good quality tracks & paths with the only tarmac being marshalled quiet sections leaving & re-entering the village. Waymarked throughout the course offers some good running with stunning views but don’t relax too much as the second half the route contains most of the height gain – one short section in particular will bring most to a walk or crawl. Obviously with a sunset target on Moel Famau mandatory kit will include a headtorch to get off the hills safely with the last section marked with reflective arrows.
ONLINE ENTRY
Early Worm – Early Bird Entry Discounts
There are good discounts available for early sign-up.
- Early Worm – until end of June – £20
- Early Bird – until end of July – £24
- Standard – Aug/Sept – £28
Add the early sign-up discounts to a group discounts for a real bargain.
We are using Fabian-4 for online entries & timing system on the day. No entries on day.
- Race limit 200.
- Age 17 and over.
- Start times from 3pm for the slowest runners until 6pm for the fastest runners.
- Canicross entries allowed (dogs on leads at all times included start/finish area).
Please ensure you read the full Terms & Conditions prior to entry.
Fabian-4 Online Entry Link
Entries OPEN !
CAN YOU BEAT THE SUNSET?
On the entry form you will be asked for your approximate run times for your previous (recent) trail runs, road runs or Parkruns. I am not just being nosey – I will use these to help calculate your start time/wave. The deal is if you are honest & run true to form and my calculations are somewhere near then you should be running on the slopes of Foel Fenlli & Moel Famau during the golden hour of sunset. Of course sunset cannot be guaranteed but a warm welcome back to the school at the finish is!
About us
The race delivery team are a group of parents, volunteers from the local area and running clubs & of course the children from the school helping to raise funds.
Ysgol y Foel is a wonderful warm friendly learning environment for early years learners & explorers. If your child is struggling in the bigger local schools then please consider Ysgol y Foel to enjoy one of the lowest pupil/teacher ratios in the area.
Limited edition tech t-shirts
Coming soon – Custom Tech-T’s made from old bottles (hopefully not glass ones). WATCH THIS SPACE.
WHY MACHLUD?
Machlud translates as ‘to set, go down (of sun)’.
Is there anything better than running in the golden hour before sunset? Well apart from running against a cold wind whilst being peltered with rain maybe….. but golden hour running is at least the next best thing! So what a better thing to do than a race on the hills at that special time with friends old & new.