Paddy Buckley Round

2020 was never meant to be a big year of defining races.  I had planned a couple of 50 milers and a flat 100 miles for the year punctuated by a second attempt at the Paddy Buckley Round in July.   At the start of the year training was going well but I skipped the first race (the Green Man Ultra) because I had a nasty cold.  To be honest, it was quite an easy decision – the Green Man is a great local race but it was not a big goal for me and clearly not worth the risk of pushing through an illness.  Two weeks after this we were all locked down by Covid-19 and all bets for the year were off.

It soon became clear that the July Paddy Buckley was unlikely to happen and the two reccies I had planned came and went whilst we were still unable to leave our local area.   In late June it became clear that restrictions were starting to lift – I decided to go for it and set a date for an attempt without any further reccies.  I knew the route but wouldn’t have seen any of it for a year and some of it for over two years – this was a risk but one I thought worth taking to salvage the main objective from my running year. 

Come July I was in good shape and knocking off 50 mile weeks with 10,000ft of climb.  I clocked up a fair few hill reps of Blorenge after work on week days (it’s 45 mins from Bristol and has approx. 450m climb within 1 mile of horizontal distance straight out the car park).  The main block of training culminated in supporting Nick on his South Wales Traverse.  It was a big day out for me (10hrs, 40 miles in the Beacons) but sadly Nick pulled out less than 10 miles from the end as there was a misunderstanding with road support.  Having completed this I was set. Now to start winding things down and looking tentatively at the forecast!

With Nick on Blorenge

Frustratingly I never felt recovered in the period between the South Wales Traverse and the Paddy Buckley.  My RHR was up and I just felt tired and irritable.  In my mind this was concerning but with no signs of a cold/other infection I decided to stick to the plan and crack on with the attempt.   I also excused this to some extent as just being excited to have another crack at the Paddy Buckley.

I’ve got some history with this challenge.  After completing the Bob Graham in 2017 I quickly scheduled a Paddy Buckley attempt for April 2018.  I spent time on the route and got to know it reasonably well.  However, both my training and desire for the round were way out.  I had not struggled on the Bob Graham like I had expected to and got back to Moot Hall in 20:38 and having just had a pressure free, awesome day with mates.  I figured that the Paddy Buckley would be “fine” and would just work my way through it even though I had not done nearly the same training as I had for the Bob Graham.  Sadly, the wheels came off about 10hrs in.  I started to struggle and found myself slipping behind the splits I had found on the Go-Far website (in hindsight I think that these splits are way out from an even effort round and I was probably still up on a 23hr schedule but I was definitely slowing down). The problem was also that I didn’t really care, I wasn’t willing to push hard for this and hadn’t invested much in the attempt.  This was strange for me as I’m used to preparing really well for big goals – obviously this wasn’t important enough for me.   After pulling out I felt empty – not tired just frustrated with myself.   However, I think that this was ultimately an excellent lesson – you need to train for these things and you need to really want them.  I’m not some super-human that can live in the south flat lands and waltz up to the hills and knock off big challenging routes without a second thought.   This gave me new resolve to train properly and return.   In 2019 I supported Nick on his attempt from Capel Curig to Pont Caer Gors starting at 6pm.  12 hrs through the night was tough and going up Bryn Banog yet again proved to be a struggle (this is where I canned the first attempt) but I delivered Nick to the final leg of his round in time for him to go under 24hrs.   After this I was just desperate to come back and have an attempt for myself.

 A lot of kit for one attempt at the Paddy Buckley!

Fast forward to 9.30pm in Llanberis on Thursday 3 September 2020.  The weather was looking good – windy but clear and no rain forecast.  The two supporters who had nearly pulled out earlier in the week were on and I was bouncing off the walls excited.  I’d gone for a 10pm start so that I only had one night to deal with and because I had a local friend pacing the first section taking the stress out of the navigation on what can be quite a tricky leg in the dark.  We set off on the nose at 10pm.  I love this first climb – it’s full on but efficient and it climbs through the incredible Dinorwig Quarry.  I’ve often heard people describe it as a “scar on the landscape”.  I understand that but my take is that it’s full of history, an incredible construction built over more than a hundred years by thousands of people.  I’m pleased that restrictions in the national parks mean this couldn’t happen now but I think that it is now part of Snowdonia, part of its history and part of what makes the round so special.

The climb up Elidir Fach was at sub-20hr pace, just what I had wanted.  I felt like I was working a bit too hard but I hoped that would settle down.  It started to settle over the next few peaks and we continued to be just under 20hr pace.  The navigation and route choices were all nailed on – my mate was vindicating my decision to go for a 10pm start time.  Then coming off Glyder Fach we were chatting away and not concentrating.  We took a gully the wrong side of Bristly Ridge.   Neither of us noticed for some time.  After 10 minutes of descending I checked and it was clear we’d gone wrong.   We were on some awful terrain, loose, steep and no idea what was below us.  We made a quick decision to try to traverse around to Bristly Ridge rather than climb back up – not a good call in hindsight.  The next 45 minutes were spent slowly working our way around to the bwlch below Tryfan.  In past adventures I’d have been stressing out about this but I knew that wouldn’t do any good.  I just stayed calm and got through it.  I’d reassess everything at the check point in Ogwen.

We got to Ogwen after descending off Tyrfan around 45-50 minutes later than we would have been with clean lines over the last two peaks.  We were also outside the 24hr split.  My mate was gutted and felt awful.  I was just trying to take it all in my stride.   

I had a quick stop, ate the first two of my twelve pots of instant porridge I’d get through that day and cracked on over the Carneddau.  This leg was great.  Nothing spectacular but nothing wrong.  We weren’t going fast but that didn’t matter, it was just a case of getting it done and trying to slowly eat away at the deficit.  James looked after me well and just did a great job of chilling me out and taking my mind off everything.  Coming into Capel Curig at about 6am I was starting to get some confidence back.  I was still feeling strong, porridge was going down really well and I was about to start running with Nick.  Nick and I know each other so well and have had many adventures together.  He was due to be with me until Pont Caer Gors (as I had been for him just over 12 months ago on his round).  He’s a phenomenal runner with different strengths than me.  Immediately, climbing Moel Siabod I could tell something was wrong – he wasn’t happy.  Pushing ahead and no chat.  He had nearly pulled out mid week because of his ankle and this had come back to bite him hard on this section.  The Moelwyns are pretty unforgiving – so easy to turn your ankle and not a nice place to be if you’re struggling.  Nick stopped at the quarry 3hrs in to his expected 10-12hr shift.   Paul and Tom were there with porridge and a friendly word.  Paul stepped in to support around the Moelwyns loop before I headed up Cnicht on my own.  I was still feeling good, eating well and moving well too.  I took a few bad lines but ran well off Cnicht and arrived in Aberglasyn for more porridge back on 23hr schedule for the first time all day!  I had this, just as long as I could keep moving well. 

Approaching the quarry in the Moelwyns

Paul put in another big shift and we conquered Bryn Banog together (I’ve never enjoyed that hill!) he stayed with me until the Nantlle Ridge and I took the last few peaks on my own.  Still moving well I met Bel and her little boy Seth (4yrs old) running and biking through the forest.  It was awesome to see them and the few miles through the forest ticked by really easily running with them.  Seth was smashing it along on his bike faster than either of us could run!  I started out from Pont Caer Gors about 15 minutes under the 23hr schedule.

Final push up to Snowdon

Coming into leg 5 – the final big climb up Snowdon.  I was ready for this.  Still feeling good and little did I realise it but I had a secret weapon on this stage – celebrity support runner Chris!  He’d supported Huw Brassington on his televised round and he rolled his class A support over to me!    We went well steadily taking time out of the schedule I had set.  Tom met us on Snowdon with a cup of tea and we were off down over the grassy slopes of the Moel Elio ridge.  I had this!  My left knee was starting to get sore but I still felt good.  Bel came and joined us again for the final section of the ridge (from Telegraph Valley) as I’d forgotten to pick my head torch up from the last support point.  It was touch and go whether we’d need it but it was so good to have that stress taken out of the equation.   After coming of Moel Elio just before getting back to Llanberis it started to rain, not forecast but I didn’t care.  I was going to comfortably come in under 23hrs.

Sunset on the final leg

I made a mistake I often make and stopped eating too early when the end is insight.  As good as Mountain Fuel Jellies are, by that point I was after some proper food and didn’t take on enough fuel right at the end.  I was getting light-headed and slow as I came into Llanberis.   I touched the railway station and I was done – 22:29!

The end - needing some food

It was a round full of errors and problems.  I wanted to go faster but for a number of reasons I didn’t manage it that day.  The important thing for me was completing in sub-24hrs.  I view completion of the big 3 rounds as a huge achievement and this was a critical step on the way to completing that.  Having said that, it was much more than just getting a tick in the box.  I loved (nearly) every second of it.   I was explaining to someone half way through the round that, when I first went to the Lake District, I fell in love with it.  That wasn’t the case with Snowdonia but it’s grown on me the more time I’ve spent there and now it’s a hugely special place for me.  The variety of this round and different characteristics of each leg is what sets this apart.  It’s super tough in places and absolutely beautifully effortless in others.    I’ll be back next year for many reasons but definitely for the Dragon’s Back Race and will relish my time in Snowdonia again.  In 2022 I also have a special project I’m planning which will involve getting to know Snowdonia even better!

Great post run nutrition!

“Diolch” to everyone that supported me (in person or from afar) and helped me complete the round.  It means that despite all the cancelled races and shifting plans in 2020 I’ll look back on the year with satisfaction from a running perspective!

Finally I need to mention my shoes - the Scarpa Spin Ultras - they were amazing.  They dealt with everything and performed incredibly well on the full variety of conditions on the round. Some of the best and most versatile shoes I've ever worn. Also, Mountain Fuel Jellies - is there ever a time that they don't go down well?!