The Three Peaks Yacht Race

The Three Peaks Yacht Race combines demanding sailing with long-distance running. Teams travel up Britain’s west coast, stopping to reach Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis — the highest peaks in Wales, England and Scotland.

In 2016, Welsh adventurer Elin Haf Davies invited Lowri to join Team Aparito Digital Health. Elin, Pip Hare and Nikki Curwen would handle the sailing; Lowri and Jo Jackson would run. Jo had rowed the Indian Ocean with Elin in 2009 and had experience of the Marathon des Sables and Ironman events. Channel 4 and S4C cameras followed the team for a documentary series.

Only Elin knew everyone before the race. The five women had 24 hours to get to know one another. Lowri was nervous: she had not competed in a team event for nearly two decades, since playing rugby against England. But the crew shared their concerns and ambitions openly, with no room for competing egos. Pip, a member of the race’s winning team in 2013, skippered the boat.

The race began in Barmouth. The first sailing leg to Caernarfon lasted nine hours, ending with a tense passage from the sea into the river shortly after midnight. The crew reached shore about 100 metres behind the second-placed boat.

Lowri and Jo set off at 1.30am, required to stay together and navigate for themselves on the Snowdon leg. Jo was suffering with a painful back, but continued with remarkable determination. They completed the mountain run in four hours and 54 minutes.

The crew left Caernarfon for Whitehaven in seventh place, with only 40 minutes separating them from the leading boat. A brief grounding near the Menai Bridges caused a scare. Then, without enough wind, they rowed through the Menai Strait for six hours.

By the third day, reaching Whitehaven’s tidal lock before it closed was crucial. The team arrived in time, allowing Lowri and Jo to begin the longest land stage: cycling towards Black Sail Youth Hostel, crossing Black Sail Pass into Wasdale, then climbing Scafell Pike.

Heavy, persistent rain and strong winds made it especially difficult. Lowri struggled on the gravel cycling route and fell repeatedly; Jo helped her recover both physically and emotionally. Reaching Wasdale and changing into running shoes was a relief.

Lowri had reconnoitred the course in deep snow a few weeks earlier, preparing detailed notes and maps. In thick fog on Scafell Pike, when the path disappeared from sight, that work became invaluable. The runners gained places on the return and reached the boat battered, bruised and grateful to see their teammates.

Back through the lock, the team was in fourth place, six miles behind the leading boat, Wight Rose. Early light winds offered little chance to gain ground. Then the wind shifted, and the crew began racing towards the Mull of Galloway.

They sailed close to shore to avoid the tide. Wind funnelled through gaps in the cliffs, suddenly heeling the yacht and turning it towards the wind. Elin, Pip and Nikki worked intensely through the night, constantly discussing course, sail trim and speed while keeping the boat safe.

By dawn on the fourth morning, their strategy had taken them to the front. Wight Rose and Moby J were more than six miles behind, with Pure Attitude visible on the horizon. Then they entered a windless patch among the Scottish hills and watched Pure Attitude close the gap.

At 6.02am on a wet, blustery fifth morning, the team arrived in Corpach, taking sailing line honours in the 2016 Three Peaks Yacht Race and winning the Daily Telegraph Cup. The race was not yet finished: Lowri and Jo still had to run Ben Nevis.

Four hours and 36 minutes later, the runners crossed the finish line together. Team Aparito Digital Health had become the first all-female team in the race’s history to take line honours. The final handicap result was a separate calculation; the original account does not confirm an overall handicap win.

Lowri and Jo finished hand in hand at Corpach Sea Lock and ran into the embrace of their teammates. After a long hug, the crew celebrated with champagne. When asked what had made the difference, skipper Pip Hare credited teamwork.

For Lowri, the achievement was about more than individual fitness. Each person had a clear role, specialist skills and the confidence to depend on someone else. The sailors worked through the night; the runners relied on each other on the mountains; preparation supported decisions when weather and visibility deteriorated.

Her account closes with a reflection on strong teams: complementary abilities, open communication and trust are what help a group weather difficult periods and find new possibilities. On this journey, those ideas were tested on the sea and the summits before the team reached the finish together.