Paddy Buckley Round

The Paddy Buckley Round is a long distance fell running challenge in Snowdonia, North Wales. The route is a circuit of just over 100km long taking in some 47 summits. The aim is for participants to complete the route, on foot, within 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 well 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 [http://www.gofar.org.uk] .

The fastest known completion of the Round was by Mark Hartell in 18 hours 10 minutes. On 4th May 2008, this time was matched by Chris Near of Eryri Harriers [The Fellrunner Magazine, Summer 2008, pages 108-110 - Record matched 2008 ] .

The Round has the reputation of being somewhat tougher to complete than its English Lake District equivalent, the Bob Graham Round. Certainly, far fewer runners have completed the Paddy Buckley, however, relatively few have actually attempted it. The selection of summits that must be visited is somewhat arbitrary and no rules appear to have been applied in selecting them. 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.

In their book, "The Welsh Three Thousand Foot Challenges: A Guide for Walkers and Hill Runners" ["The Welsh Three Thousand Foot Challenges: A Guide for Walkers and Hill Runners", by Ronald Turnbull and Roy Clayton. ISBN 0951599666] , Ronald Turnbull and Roy Clayton describe the route and also suggest attempting it as a four day backpacking (lightweight camping) excursion.

Route

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

Route profile

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

References