Jasmin Paris is still running strong in second position. Photo: Ian Corless

Half of the runners in the gruelling five-day mountain race down the spine of Wales had retired by the end of the third day.

Favoured competitor Jez Bragg was among those not to make the Berghaus finish on Wednesday as Jim Mann increased his lead.

Jasmin Paris remained in second place, 90 minutes behind him, with Konrad Rawlik about an hour behind her in third.

The longest day of the race, over 68km (42 miles) took its toll on the field, along with the cumulative effect of the previous two days’ running. The route included six serious climbs over peaks along with stretches of runnable terrain.

Jasmin Paris said: “It was all about staying in one piece today, as two days is still a long time to get through.

“If you’ve got the energy left, then you can put in a challenge or try and push yourself harder in those last two days, but I think that today was a little bit more about conservation.”

Jim Mann extended his lead on the third day. Photo: Ian Corless

There were two other women in the top ten: Beth Pascall, who was the fastest female on the day, in fifth, and Lizzie Wraith in ninth. Many of the women in the event ran very well on day three and there are now six in the top 20.

Race director Shane Ohly said: “The race certainly confirmed its reputation on day three with the longest stage reducing the number of competitors by around 25 at the last count, all in just one epic day of mountain running.”

Runners set off at 6am today for day four of the race. Live tracking and leaderboard positions can be seen on the Berghaus Dragon’s Back Race website.