Paddy Buckley Winter Round Is On…

I want to put this out there now, rather than tack it on the end as if it were an after thought. An old friend of mine, Chris Smith, died in October this year. He was running in the mountains of Scotland.

I felt a complacent warmth whenever I met Chris. He made me feel special, he always had time for me. I find out now, he made everyone feel like that. We began training and racing together 20 years ago. We moved from track to road to mountains almost in unison. We had a tight bond, forged through the fire of the suffering that coach Frank Horwill bestowed upon us.

I fully expected my life to continue running in tandem with Chris. Him always slightly ahead. Me always looking up to him. His eyes, sharp, piercing blue fire, betraying the power within that wiry frame. Always smiling. Never a bad word to say about anyone. Even when given plenty of cause. I miss him.

It shocked me to my core that Chris could die on the mountains. It turned a harsh mirror on all of our mortality. I will never be as strong and assured on the mountains as Chris. So maybe I should stay at home, where it’s safe.

But it’s all we have, this short sliver of time. What a waste of life to expend it so meanly. How could that inspire my children to grow up brave and proud? Chris’s death caught me when I was sleep walking through life. Waiting. As if I had all the time in the world. Wondering through the days and weeks rather than grabbing the hell out of them.

This blog, as silly and insignificant as it is, is back because of Chris. He asked me where it had gone. It is too late. But it is here. I am doing the Paddy Buckley Round because of Chris. To celebrate his coruscating light.

I have trained methodically for it, have eliminated all risk where possible. I’m not arrogant enough to promise I will finish. I’ve been humbled by these hills too many times. But I will do my best in his memory.

If you have enjoyed my build up so far, if you are keen on tracking me as I take on the challenge, then please consider donating £1 to The Chris Smith Memorial Fund.

https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/chrissmith

I will be starting at 4am, Dec 1st. Use link below to track my adventure.

http://live.opentracking.co.uk/pba2020/#

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Lets talk shop:

So, to bring you up to speed quickly, the Paddy Buckley Round is one of the ‘Big 3’ rounds in the UK. 62 miles and 47 summits round Snowdonia.

A winter round is completed during the months of December, January or February.

There is a general goal of trying to complete the round in under 24 hours, but this is not imperative.

Less than 250 people have completed the round

Less than 20 people have done it solo

Less than 10 have done it in winter

Less than 5 have done it anti-clockwise

Nobody has done all four of these at once, including me. But I’m going to try.

I’m not going out of my way to be deliberately difficult, honestly.

I am doing it solo (no pacers) and unsupported (no aid stations or assistance from anyone) because that is what scares the hell out of me. Enough to get out of bed at 4am on cold November Sunday mornings. What an adventure. To take myself 60 miles around the mountains, with only the food I carry on my back and the water out of streams. No one can help me with navigation, So I have been forced to get out onto the mountains, in whatever weather, way more than I normally would. In that sense, I have already won.

Memorising all 47 summits, some of which are more like bumps, has been difficult, but I have really enjoyed it. Because I’m going anti-clockwise, I have had to learn unique routes between peaks that work best for me. With the terrain so varied, everyone has personal preferences; Do I go for the shorter, steeper descent here? Do I go straight through, or around the bogs there?

I have divided the route into 3 levels of intricacy.

Navigation: The bigger decisions. I take Tryfan from the West face, rather than the East. Steeper, but faster and more direct.

Micro-Nav: The specific lines, too intricate to be seen on a map. Off Foel Ddu, keep going straight until big drop on your left, keep high and left around the quartz stones, then hard right round the big boulder to avoid bog.

Beta: In some parts, the route can be broken down into individual steps. From Moelwyn Bach on the ‘Gauntlet of Fire’ (Strava Segment), first slag heap, right foot must go down on big slate stone that slopes down to the right (left foot down results in a slip).

I often take out my book, ‘The Big Rounds’ and trace my finger slowly round the course, close my eyes and try to visualise the Micro-Nav & Beta. The book has scribbles all over it.

The reason I am doing the round anti-clockwise stems from Ras y Moelwyn. This annual fell race that starts and finishes from my home town of Blaenau Ffestiniog and makes up a small part of the Paddy round. I have done the loop countless times, can do it in the darkness comfortably, and it goes anti-clockwise.

It just feels wrong for me to go round it in the other direction, so much harder. It led me to question why I can’t do the whole round anti-clockwise. 20 or 30 recces later, I haven’t found a good enough reason. It will probably become suddenly clear to me at 2am this morning, what an idiot I have been, but until then, it does feel kinda cool doing it differently. As if I’m some crazy, maverick, pioneer or something.

The biggest problem of the winter round for me will be the lack of daylight. There is only around 8 hours of light, as we approach the shortest day of the year. The two areas that most need daylight are Tryfan and Nantlle ridge. However it is impossible to encompass them both within the 8 hour window, they are too far apart. So I’ve picked the hardest, Tryfan, and next to it, the bristly scree, the trickiest section of the round, and scheduled my challenge to reach there in daylight.

ROUTE GUIDE

I am starting at Aberglaslyn car park at 4am. Which means getting up at 3am, having my porridge, coffee, and driving for 30min.

Leg 1 – Moelwynion

The first mile will be the longest stretch of road on the whole round. I hate running on road after having spent hours on the mountain, the tarmac jars my legs. It is great to get this out of the way early, as it gives my body a chance to warm up, without any tricky moves to pull off, straight out of the gate.

Although I know the first half very well, and am confident about doing it in the dark, the 2nd half is tricky no matter how many times you do it. The most rarely travelled part of the round, and the wildest. Very difficult and frustrating underfoot which makes for slow going. There are lots of summits in quick succession that are easy to shoot right past, especially in the darkness. So I’m glad to be approaching this with a fresh mind. The bogs can be really nasty, and also hard to see in the dark. I have to try and remember where they all are, and make my way around without wasting too much time. When I get to the long climb up Siabod, the firm grass always feels like a welcome relief.

Leg 2 – Carneddau

The most remote area of England and Wales. The first climb up Pen Llithrig y Wrach (the slippery head of the witch) is incredibly energy sapping. Probably the hardest climb of the round for me. Boggy, long and increasingly steep. Hopefully I will have morning light to help me through this leg as the bare landscape can obscure tracks. The top section is rocky and relatively flat, quite nice and runnable if dry. The descent off Pen yr Ole Wen has become problematic in the winter, as the river has burst all over the path, making running down it at any pace really difficult. I hate to lose altitude without gaining speed.

Leg 3 – Glyderau

I can run up Tryfan in under 30min on fresh legs. If I get within 10 minutes of that I will be happy. The incline is 44%, almost exactly 1km of distance and 1km of ascent. Could well be the slowest mile on the round for me. But I am quite happy with that. I feel it’s not much quicker going down this way either (unless you are Mike Blake). Going anti-clockwise gives me an easier descent down the south side of Tryfan. I have practised it a lot and feel confident in daylight. Scramble up the Bristly scree. Coming down the slate quarry into Llanberis is a lot easier than going up it. Although it is very hard on the knees.

Leg 4 – Snowdon Massif

Should be in darkness by now. The easiest of the legs to navigate due to popular paths being well worn. Coming down off Snowdon I have never done in darkness, but have done a few times in heavy clag, so hoping it will feel similar. Can’t exactly remember the last descent off Craig Wen, there’s a wall on my left somewhere, sure it will be fine!

Leg 5 – Nantlle

I feel like this leg gives the biggest advantage of going anti-clockwise. Although the heave up Y Garn is very steep and hardly runnable in places (I will be grabbing long grass to pull myself up), it is eminently better than climbing up the other way to Bryn Banog in the bogs. It’s a tricky ridge on Nantlle which ever way you do it. Just have to take my time, no risks. Then I feel pretty confident of the nav for the rest of the leg, after a recent recce in the dark and rain. Hopefully I will be able to smell the finish line at this point and storm all the way home. Brush teeth immediately.

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Amateurs talk strategy; professionals talk logistics

There is not much strategy involved. Just try to keep a lid on my pace early, and hang on as I get tired. Take no risks. Take the easiest step every time. Eat 2 gels and a chocolate bar on the hour every hour. Shove some wine gums or peanut butter wrap in whenever I can. Drink from streams when thirsty.

Logistically, kit is so much more important in the winter. I have bought some new shoes, VJ iRock3, which don’t look or feel great but work amazing. My dad bought me some Gore Tex socks which work really well with another pair of socks underneath. I can’t fit the other pair underneath with my new shoes however, so have to try going without that luxury. I will be bringing 4 pairs of gloves. 2 x running gloves, 1 x work gloves (for scrambling) 1 x running mittens.

I didn’t manage to acquire a new backpack so will spend 24 hours or more constantly tightening the straps as they slip. But I’m getting used to that. I almost do it automatically now. I have got a new headtorch, £65 refurbished, it’s quite bright and lasts quite long. But not long enough. I will pack my old head torch too and spare batteries. I have no GPS watch. But I quite like not being told how slowly I’m going.

I’ve been getting up at 5am this week so the 3am alarm doesn’t sting so much. I’ve grown my hair and beard this past month, it keeps me warmer I swear.

I’ve been holding myself back on my runs all week. Sunday and Monday complete rest. Trying to be more present with the kids too, as when I’m away from them for any length of time, I always feel guilty for not spending more time with them.

My Redmi phone is amazing and I will have the OS app running on that. Can also use it for music and photos. I will bring map and compass as back up. Will bring emergency blanket and tracker.

Weather is looking good. Nearly a full moon, cloud and sunshine, above freezing, very little wind.

I would be remiss not to mention that the Winter FKT (Fastest Known Time) is 21hrs 30, set by Damian Hall last year (report here). I have no idea how close I can get to that, the primary goal is to complete the round. But training is going well, so it might be worth remembering that a 1.29am finish, would be a new record.

I am still scared shitless of the dark. When I drive to the track on Tuesday nights and look up at those black hills, my belly drops. I have learnt to stop looking. I also can’t wait to go and give it a hard crack and take the journey to your smartphone.

Thanks for all your positive comments, please share this with friends, relatives, pets. See you on the other side! Diolch yn fawr!

Massive llongyfarchiadau to Owain Williams, who completed the round on Sunday morning!

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If you want to track me, here is the link again…

http://live.opentracking.co.uk/pba2020/

If you would like to donate to the Chris Smith Memorial Fund, here is the link again…

https://www.totalgiving.co.uk/appeal/chrissmith