Damian Hall set a new winter record time for the Paddy Buckley Round. The 44-year-old INOV8 ambassador, who ran solo and unsupported, completed the 61-mile circuit over 47 Welsh mountain peaks in 21hrs 30mins. He beat the previous record, held by fellow ultra runner Jim Mann, by just 7 minutes.
Conditions for Damian’s winter round were brutal, with thick mist, strong winds and, on higher ground, deep snow (see photo above taken on Moel Siabod – peak number 14).
Starting and finishing in Llanberis, Damian, who also holds the overall record time for the Paddy Buckley Round (17hrs 31mins set last summer), ran in a clockwise direction, accumulating around 28,000ft/8,500m of ascent (a fraction less than the height of Mt Everest).
The dad-of-two, who carried all his own kit and food, and drank water from mountain streams, made his entire adventure as eco-friendly as possible, saying: “I tried to shrink my carbon footprint by fuelling without any plastic waste, so used no gels or bars in plastic wrappers, ate no animal products and used public transport to make the 450-mile round trip from my home in Wiltshire. I carried approximately 20kg of vegan brownies, and chose to do it solo and unsupported because I haven’t got any friends!”
Job done! Damian Hall at the end of his winter Paddy Buckley Round
Knowing he was close to the record time, Damian sped down the final descent from Moel Eilio and into the dark, deserted streets of Llanberis at 12:30am local time. It was only the fifth winter completion (dated between December 1st and February 1st) of the round, devised by Paddy Buckley and first run in 1982.
Speaking at the finish, Damian said: “Winter rounds are hard! I’m feeling top banana…. That might be a fib, I’m actually pretty wrecked! I had sort of given up on Jim’s time but then realised that it might be on and I pushed hard over the last few peaks.
“Conditions were tough, especially up on Snowdon (the highest peak in Wales and summit number 42 of 47 for Damian), where it was pretty atrocious. I’m very glad to be down from there. I’m ready for a cup of tea or something stronger!”
As Damian ran his round solo and unsupported, his Strava GPX file of the route had to be checked and verified by those who hold the record books. This verification was completed and his place in the books, as the holder of both the overall and winter Paddy Buckley Rounds, confirmed.
Damian in high spirits on the slopes of Foel Ddu – peak number 29 of 47
Q&A WITH RECORD-BREAKER DAMIAN HALL
Was a winter Paddy Buckley Round tougher than you expected?
If I’m honest, it was a bit. At the top of Snowdon (the 42nd of 47 summits) the idea not to bother with the last few peaks and just pop straight down to Llanberis and a nice warm bed did cross my mind. I’d bonked on the way up, got cold, the weather got angry with me and the wind stole a mitten, and the record looked unlikely. But winter rounds are meant to be tough. I ate more brownies, some snow to help stay alert and ran faster to warm up. Which seemed to work.
Earlier on the snow hampered me a bit, both hiding trods and just making progress slower. Plus the wind wasn’t always friendly and all those brownies weighed a bit. That isn’t meant to sound whingy. I loved it, all the more so because it was a challenge. I wanted a challenge.
Doing it solo and unsupported – did you ever question your sanity?
Yes! I didn’t sleep that well just before. Going over the snow and ice-covered Glyders and Tryfan (which are mostly rock) in the dark on my own didn’t seem especially sensible. But I ended up loving that.
The second night, when the wind’s howling around your ears, you’ve just plunged into another frozen bog, you know there’s another 5-6 hours to go and that most people are tucking into lovely warm dinners at home… that can play on your mind a bit. But then you can do that any night. I had to remind myself this was a special adventure I’d been wanting to do for a while. And to stop being a wimp.
He even found time to take this shoe selfie! MUDCLAW G 260 with Graphene-Grip.
Was it lonely out there? What did you do/think about to keep you mind occupied?
It was sometimes. But almost always in a good way. It felt exciting and a bit empowering too. I like feeling self-sufficient. It would have been good to share the adventure with friends. But I can do that another time. I can’t really remember what I thought about… Family, friends, bogs, stuff like that.
What was your best highlight and worst moment?
The worst was the Snowdon moment, when I was almost done, yet it felt harder than ever. The highlight was probably leg 2, Ogwen to Capel Curig. The sun had just come up, everything was white, I had it all to myself and felt skill. The conditions were edgy, but I was doing okay. Then my map blew away…
Why the eco-friendly approach to the challenge?
It was just an experiment, really. How hard would it be to fuel on a low-carbon diet (no animal products or plastic waste) and use lower-carbon travel (use public transport to get there and back, which still emits carbon of course, but less than my car)? And it wasn’t that tricky.
I’m genuinely terrified about our climate and ecological crisis and the jaw-dropping inactivity by those in power. But I must stress, the answers to our predicament are political not personal. Personal stuff is good, but politicians need to act urgently to make systemic changes. But we may need to nudge them along in the right direction…
MUDCLAW G 260 | STORMSHELL | RACE ULTRA PRO 2IN1 VEST | WINTER TIGHTS | TEE LS | GLOVES | MITTS | WRAG
DAMIAN HALL’S KIT SELECTIONS
I went for a test run the day before, which led to several last minute changes, which really paid off. With miles of snow, slushy snow and semi-frozen bog, the EXTREME THERMO SOCK was a toe-saver and I never had cold feet. On top of them I had the MUDCLAW G 260 shoes with Graphene-Grip – I trust these like no others in winter conditions.
The WINTER TIGHTS were ace, as was the MERINO BASELAYER and STORMSHELL waterproof jacket – that was all I needed on my top half till Snowdon. WRAGS are really versatile; one minute protecting my big forehead, the next a wrist and often my neck, nose and mouth too. The EXTREME THERMO MITT got plenty of use as did the TRAIN ELITE GLOVE. I carried all my kit in the RACE ULTRA PRO 2IN1 VEST – I love the side pouches, which are perfect for storing brownies.
