Paddy Buckley Round
Written by Catriona Adams. Published 10 August 2026
The Paddy Buckley Round is a 62-mile, 47-summit circuit of Snowdonia in Wales, traditionally run to a 24-hour target — though that limit is informal, not enforced by a governing club the way the Bob Graham's is. Runners can start anywhere on the loop, in either direction. First completed in 1982 by Wendy Dodds, it's widely rated tougher than its Lake District equivalent.
Key points
- 62 miles (~100 km), 47 summits, ~8,500 m (28,000 ft) of climb, 24-hour target.
- Snowdonia's classical round — start anywhere on the circuit, clockwise or anticlockwise.
- First completed in 1982 by Wendy Dodds — the round is named after its deviser, Paddy Buckley.
- Widely considered harder than the Bob Graham Round, with no equivalent formal verifying club.
The numbers
| Distance | 62 miles (~100 km) |
|---|---|
| Elevation gain | ~8,500 m (28,000 ft) |
| Summits | 47 |
| Time target | 24 hours (informal — the first completion took longer) |
| Start / finish | Any point on the circuit, typically Llanberis — either direction |
| First completed | 1982, by Wendy Dodds |
| Named after | Paddy Buckley, who devised the route |
Why it's rated harder than the Bob Graham
47 summits against the Bob Graham's 42, more remote terrain across the Glyderau and Carneddau ranges, and no equivalent of the Bob Graham 24 Hour Club's formal verification structure — the Paddy Buckley asks more navigation decisions of the runner with less of a support network built around it. The 24-hour figure itself is a target the community has adopted, not a rule a club enforces: Wendy Dodds, the first person to complete it in 1982, took longer than that.
Current records
| Category | Holder | Time | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men — unsupported | Finlay Wild | 15h 14m 45s | 26 April 2022 |
| Men — supported | Kim Collison | 16h 20m 40s | 17 April 2021 |
| Women — supported | Lizzie Richardson | 17h 22m 54s | 3 June 2023 |
| Double round — men (supported) | Ajay Hanspal | 2d 4h 52m 5s | 2 June 2024 |
| Double round — women (supported) | Nicky Spinks | 2d 9h 15m | 19 May 2019 |
| Winter — men (supported) | Russell Bentley | 20h 15m 49s | 20 December 2021 |
Navigation on the Paddy Buckley
The route crosses more remote ground than the Bob Graham, with longer stretches between recognisable features — a wrong bearing off summits like the Carneddau plateau costs more time to correct than an equivalent error in the Lake District. See our guide to self-navigation for fell and mountain running for how that skill transfers between the two Rounds.
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