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Paddy Buckley Round

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Coordinates: 53°06′N 4°06′W / 53.1°N 4.1°W / 53.1; -4.1
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53°06′N 4°06′W / 53.1°N 4.1°W / 53.1; -4.1

Capel Curig to Moel Siabod

The Paddy Buckley Round, also known as the Welsh Classical Round,[1] is a long distance fell running challenge in Snowdonia, Wales. The route is a circuit of just over 100 km long, taking in some 47 summits. The Round has the reputation of being somewhat tougher to complete than its English Lake District equivalent, the Bob Graham Round.

Although no official time limit is set, an arbitrary 24 hours is applied, although the first completer exceeded the original aim of 24 hours.

Runners may start at any point on the circular route (finishing at the same place) and may run the course in either a clockwise or anticlockwise direction. The route takes in the well-known high mountain ranges of Snowdon, the Glyderau and the Carneddau, as well as the slightly less visited ranges of Moel Siabod, the Moelwynion, Moel Hebog and the Nantlle Ridge. The route was devised by the eponymous Paddy Buckley and first completed in 1982 by Wendy Dodds.[1] The selection of summits that must be visited is somewhat arbitrary and no rules appear to have been applied in selecting them [according to whom?]. Generally, it takes in the major peaks of the ranges that are being crossed, then any minor tops that are passed along the way are also included. Some of these tops really are just bumps on the ridge and not really summits in their own right at all.

The fastest known completion of the round was, for many years, by Mark Hartell in 18 hours 10 minutes. On 4 May 2008, this time was matched by Chris Near of Eryri Harriers.[2] This old record was broken in July 2009 by Tim Higginbottom, who completed the Round in a time of 17 hours and 42 minutes.[3] This was further reduced in 2019 by Damian Hall with 17 hours 31 minutes,[4] and again on 30 August 2020 by Matthew Roberts, with a time of 16 hours 38 minutes.[5] Kim Collison set a new best time of 16 hours 20 minutes in April 2021.[6] A year later, in April 2022, a new record was set by Finlay Wild, who completed the round solo and unsupported in a time of 15 hours 14 minutes.[7]

The women's record is held by Lizzie Richardson, with a time of 17 hours and 22 minutes, set in 2023.[8]

A double Paddy Buckley Round was first completed by Nicky Spinks in May 2019 in a time of 57 hours 57 minutes, completing her trilogy of double rounds of the UK's big 3 rounds.[9] The double record now stands at 52 hours 52 minutes set by Ajay Hanspal in June 2024, being the second person to successfully complete the double.[10] Both double rounds were supported but differed in both direction and start point: Nicky Spinks opted to start in Capel Curig going anti-clockwise, then clockwise; whereas Ajay Hanspal opted to start in Llanberis, going clockwise, then anti-clockwise. The double Paddy Buckley Round is considered to be 2-4 hours slower than the double Bob Graham Round.

The book "The Welsh Three Thousand Foot Challenges: A Guide for Walkers and Hill Runners" [11] describes a version of the route which avoids the slate quarries, which the fastest line utilises, and also suggests attempting it as a four-day backpacking (lightweight camping) excursion rather than a one-day run.

Route

[edit]

Below is a list of the summits to be visited, in a clockwise direction, if starting from Llanberis.

Summit Grid reference Altitude/m Approximate cumulative distance/km
Llanberis SH582598 105 0
1 Elidir Fach SH603613 795 3
2 Elidir Fawr SH612613 924 4
3 Mynydd Perfedd SH623619 812 6
4 Foel Goch SH628611 831 7
5 Y Garn SH630595 947 8
6 Glyder Fawr SH642579 999 11
7 Glyder Fach SH656582 994 12
8 Tryfan SH664593 917 14
Ogwen Cottage SH649603 300 16
9 Pen yr Ole Wen SH655619 978 18
10 Carnedd Dafydd SH663630 1044 18
11 Carnedd Llewelyn SH683643 1064 23
12 Pen yr Helgi Du SH698630 833 25
13 Pen Llithrig y Wrach SH716623 799 27
Capel Curig SH721582 200 32
14 Carnedd Moel Siabod SH705546 872 36
15 Clogwyn Bwlch-y-maen SH679542 548 39
16 Carnedd y Cribau SH676536 591 40
17 Cerrig Cochion SH662510 550 43
18 Moel Meirch SH661502 607 44
19 Ysgafell Wen SH664487 650 46
20 Mynydd Llynnau'r Cwn SH663485 669 46
21 Three Tops SH667481 672 47
22 Moel Druman SH671476 676 47
23 Allt-fawr SH681474 698 48
Bwlch Cwmorthin SH665462 470 51
24 Foel Ddu SH669459 458 52
25 Moel-yr-hydd SH672454 648 52
26 Moelwyn Bach SH660437 710 55
27 Craigysgafn SH659444 689 55
28 Moelwyn Mawr SH658448 770 56
29 Cnicht SH645466 689 60
Aberglaslyn SH594462 5 67
30 Bryn Banog SH576457 529 70
31 Moel Hebog SH564469 782 72
32 Moel yr Ogof SH556478 655 73
33 Moel Lefn SH553485 638 74
34 Y Gyrn SH552500 452 76
35 Mynydd-y-Ddwy-elor SH549504 466 76
36 Trum y Ddysgl SH544516 709 78
37 Mynydd Drws-y-coed SH548518 695 78
38 Y Garn SH551526 633 79
Rhyd-Ddu SH570525 190 82
39 Craig Wen SH597508 608 86
40 Yr Aran SH604515 747 87
41 Cribau Tregalan SH605536 931 90
42 Snowdon SH609543 1085 91
43 Garnedd Ugain SH610551 1065 92
44 Moel Cynghorion SH586563 674 95
45 Foel Goch SH570563 605 97
46 Foel Gron SH563565 629 98
47 Moel Eilio SH556577 726 99
Llanberis SH582598 105 104

Route profile

[edit]

Below is a profile of the route, again starting and finishing at Llanberis, running in a clockwise direction.

Paddy Buckley Round profile

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "The Paddy Buckley Round". gofar. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
  2. ^ The Fellrunner Magazine, Summer 2008, pages 108-110 - Record matched 2008
  3. ^ Tim Higginbottom blog Archived 2009-11-18 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ "Damian Hall Breaks Paddy Buckley Round Record | inov-8". www.inov-8.com. July 2, 2019.
  5. ^ Martin Stone, "Long Distance Round Up", The Fellrunner, Autumn 2020, 88-93.
  6. ^ UKClimbing: New Paddy Buckley Record for Kim Collison.
  7. ^ Finlay Wild breaks Paddy Buckley Record: April 26, 2022.
  8. ^ The Fellrunner, summer 2023, 23-26.
  9. ^ "Nicky Spinks runs double Paddy Buckley Round to complete ultra-running trilogy". BBC Sport. 2019-05-20. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  10. ^ "Ajay Hanspal - Paddy Buckley Round (Wales, UK) - 2024-06-02 | Fastest Known Time". fastestknowntime.com. 2024-05-31. Retrieved 2024-06-10.
  11. ^ "The Welsh Three Thousand Foot Challenges: A Guide for Walkers and Hill Runners", by Ronald Turnbull and Roy Clayton. ISBN 0-9515996-6-6
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