Puddle Buckley Round - A SwimRun Adventure

I like the idea of a challenge lesser known, a challenge without the fame and glory of a finish line. A challenge that can go along silently and unannounced until you are ready, or never at all. A challenge without the highlight moments of edited race photos. The raw unfiltered adventure. Just you and your crew, in the wildest of conditions, laughing in the howling wind.

Choose your own path, don’t chase the paths you think you should be going down, just because everyone else is doing it. That race everyone knows of, that time that everyone wants to achieve doesn’t have to be for you. Find a challenge that sets YOUR soul on fire, then you have your WHY when times get hard.

This was a challenge to show people you don’t NEED to chase the big races in the headlines that cost the earth. I want to show people, women in particular, there are adventures to be had without a price tag and with the right people around you, heading off into the mountains doesn’t have to feel unsafe or daunting.

I have a bucket list of UK adventures I want to attempt and the Puddle Buckley has sat firmly in the middle of it for a while now. There were a million reasons NOT to do it but there were a few very powerful reasons to give it a good go.

It has been a year of watching family members show true heroism in their own battles. Watching people go through the unimaginable and coming out the otherside smiling and stronger than ever before. I find seeing ordinary people achieve extraordinary things the most inspiring stories out there. In the hard moments of these challenges I take on, I think of these people and say to myself, if they can face that head on, I can climb a goddamn mountain in the wind and swim across a few choppy lakes.

Nestled in a beautiful little terrace in Llanberis, the crew assembled on Friday afternoon. Last minute route checks and car admin complete, we settle down for the last big feast. Looking at the weather there was a little bit of a discussion of is it safe to go out in the morning. We decide before bed to go full steam ahead. Ready for a tough day, giddy with excitement. Alarms set for 2am and we are good to go. Vans are packed. Crew is in place and snacks are at the ready! It starts on the waters edge of Llyn Padarn, by a giant sword in the dark of night!

As we set off at 3am, we got the feel of what was to come, the rain started and the wind began to gently rage in the distance. Up, up, up we go, hitting Moel Eilio first, half way up with my girl gang Sarah Perry and Steph Knapman we laugh in excitement about what an adventure we are about to have. Nothing like a bit of bad weather to spark the fire in my belly. I knew I was in for a hard day, the wind swirled around us all day long, 25 - 40mph gusts, except one hour of pure bliss in the silence of no wind and visibility beyond the end my nose. On we continue Foel Goch, Moel Cynghorion, Yr Wyddfa, Cribau Tregalan and down to Elephant rock for a splash across Llyn Gwynant. I was about 30 minutes ahead of schedule here. Grassy, less technical train meant solid footing and with the girls by my side I had a little rocket fuel for leg 1.

The shores of the leg 1 swim are a dead land for phone signal and trackers alike. I knew the crew would not know where I was on the other side of the lake and my support swimmers might not be ready, however much you plan your timings and recce a route, it is impossible to get it right all the time, as so many factors come into play. I was ready to swim into the mist laden lake, with a wind that was whipping the lake into my mouth, alone. I am a confident swimmer but having just been in a wind tunnel for a good few hours in the dark and then inhaling a bucket load of lake water I admitted defeat on frontcrawl and began to breaststroke my way across to try and get my breathing back into a rhythm. That rhythm never did come that day. For someone who loves the water, the swims daunted me all day long from that point on.

My sister with a big grin on her face lept into the water when she saw my little head bobbing in the middle of the Llyn and for a moment I did relax and enjoy a little natter until we reached the shore. TEAM IS ALL HERE, a big hiphip hooray from me! I looked up and could see Tom, Emily, Ben, Niamh, Marie, Sarah, Steph and Mitch all cheering me on the jetty. LEG ONE DONE.

Leg one is a solid chunk of the day and in my tiny little brain, if I completed leg one, I was completing the whole thing.

Leg 2, we head from Llyn Gywnant to the Carnedd Cribau, Carnedd Moel Siabod and down past the woods to the shore of Llyn Mymbyr.

Leg 2 onwards, the terrain began to get more and more technical, the rocks slippy from the rain and the wind was a force to be reckoned with. But not once did spirits of the team drop.

Ben led us through leg 2 with such ease, he knew the land like it was his back garden, even in such poor visibility. Emily was snack QUEEN, we met in a pub on the Scottish borders eagerly awaiting our beloved dots to return from the depths of the winter Spine race. Fast forward 6 months and a couple of runs later, she is hand feeding me wine gums every 10 minutes, direct to mouth. She likened the weather to that of being inside a golf ball, I added with a water breathing dragon and a wind vortex.

As we drop down to Llyn Mymbyr, we see a man in the woods appear from under an umbrella, we all merrily say hellloooo and run on by. To our surprise, he shouts to tell us the llyn is closed for filming, you can’t go down there and swim across. My face dropped. Kindly we said but we kind of have to, it is a set route, we asked the alternative and it was to go back UP the mountain, it was an executive decision and a big no to that, so we ran down to the lake and promised to tell anyone we saw that we ran away from him and he should not get in trouble!

A lot of laughs and childish excitement followed. Like naughty school kids, the swimmers swam and the runners ran through the set of Dungeons and Dragons. All whilst I am asking my sister and Niamh if I am going to die in this lake, I am finding swimming impossible today, I have no oxygen, still with a smile on my face and head firmly above the water.

Leg 3, I was pretty cold after the swim across Llyn Mymbyr. Nothing a yorkshire tea couldn't sort. Fleecy hat and waterproofs were back ON.

Leg 3 was the boys leg, Tom and Ben fuelling me and navigating me endlessly in the relentless weather. I was sliding on rocks, hugging trigs and laughing my way through the day whilst eating a years worth of colin the caterpillars and percy pigs.

We had a good stretch of running at the start of this leg and it was most welcome, the warmth returning to my hands and feet….baring in mind this is the 28th June 2025….Pen yr Helgi Du, Carnedd Llyewelyn, Carnedd Dafydd, Pen yr Ole Wen and down to Llyn Ogwen.

The swim that I dreaded most, swimming across the current in a busy location. On this section I made the decision to take the path most trodden in the slippery conditions, with short legs this route down is already pretty precarious. Navigating huge boulders on a very steep descent.

Each decision like this is taken knowing extra kms are being added but safety and adapting to the ever changing conditions around you is of most importance. We were almost at the bottom when I had a little 'erm yes I would like kayak support nearby for this one'. Tom leapt like a gazelle down the mountain and round to the crew on the other side of Llyn Ogwen where the crew and his kayak were waiting.

We finally reach the waters edge and my sister is lying there basking in the sun like we have literally been on different planets! Us in winter on the tops and her firmly in summer by the lakes for what was a brief moment of weather rest bite. Marie, Niamh and Tom laughing along with me as yet again I struggle with my lungs in the water, this fish was having none of it that day. I felt the wind stole my oxygen on the runs and there was nothing to give on the swims. The swims became my leisurely downtime, regailing the mountain tales to the ever heroic mermaids.

Whilst on leg 3, a charcuterie board, a pot noodle and a tea were ordered. The crew (the real heroes of the whole day), provided the goods….with a coke can, fondly known as ‘Dean’ due to his labelling, tucked in for the ride of Leg 4.

Cold had really set in. Not one but two waterproofs and hat were worn and insides warmed for the last and final, pretty gnarly leg. At this point I knew we would be dancing with the prospects of darkness as well as slippery rocks of doom and zero visibility whilst surfing the slate mines.

I wanted to start and finish this adventure with my adventure ride or die. Sarah Perry, the woman who believes I can do anything and who supports every challenge I set out to do. The one that comes on the recces, kindly redirects some of my terrible route planning and silently looks out for me when times get hard and a little quiet is needed.

This leg was tough, the visibility was so poor, for a brief moment I lost the crew when they were quite literally standing in front of me. Tryfan, the place I felt least comfortable, the place on recces we never quite found the line, with giant boulders and places to fall into, it was tough going. Ben again, led the team through with zero hesitation.

I like to call this leg the giant slip and slide. The concentration needed all day was immense just to stay upright and make sure routes were not lost to the mist. My brain was tired and my mouth was bored of eating but I was still loving every minute of this crazy journey. Dean, the beloved coke can was decanted into my soft flask and he kept me strong to the end.

I would genuinely say there wasn’t a single point in the day I wasn’t happy to be there with these inspiring people helping me on my way. After Tryfan comes Glyder Fach, Glyder Fawr, Y Garn, Elidir Fawr, and down through the Dinorwig slate quarry…where there was almost a moment of sense of humour failure as the slate acted as a surfboard. Alas, we laugh it off and in the mist, appears a little white figure, it was Steph! She dashed up the quarry to bring me into the last swim with the rest of the gaggle. Her beaming face, clean clothes (very jealous at this point - it had been so cold and windy all day I didn’t want to derobe, I decided to go back to my triathlon roots and just pee in my suit all day long on the mountains, I was so pleased to see I still had this skill), witty sense of humour and just all round amazing friendability gave me life.

Steph reminded me that any adventure I have ever taken her on has been accompanied by the most severe weather conditions there is, memories of aborting missions in Scotland and hunkering down in the van for a solid 14 hour sleep instead were reminisced as we were nearing the edge of Llyn Padarn, the only thing between me and the giant sword.

Trudging through Gorsaf Ddu car park we hear some pumping tunes and what looks like teenagers dancing in the dark to Nicki Minaj. IT WAS MY CREW. The last hurrah, the final spirit lifter I needed to get me across the llyn.

Dark was falling and I was COLD, the Zone3 Vision wetsuit was ordered out for the last dash across the Llyn. I swam the rest of the llyns in my Zone3 Evolution Swimrun wetsuit which has short arms and legs. I wanted the comfort and safety of the full length suit in my tired state! Bike lights thrown into our Zone3 tow floats and fleecy hats still donned. I was so cold, sticky, soggy, swollen it was a group affair to get me in my suit.

As I was struggling to get my tired legs into my wetsuit, Tom reminded me of the time and I had about 50 mins to get to the other side and complete the round in under 20 hours. I went into an excited frenzy thinking I might or might not make it. All day, time had not come into the picture, the weather was wild and I don’t do these challenges for the times, I do them for a day in the hills with my pals, with a common goal of wanting each other to succeed in whatever we set our minds to. But when I sat being sloth like on the other side of the lake, hearing this got me moving! Suddenly, there was a little time goal to be had and a nudge to get in that cold water again.

I got in the lake with my sister and Niamh right by my side as they had been all day long and I just could not breathe well by this point. I tried to swim properly but my body was having none of it. So with tow float tucked under one arm and the other flapping like a frog, I start to move what feels like inches in hours to the other side of the llyn. In the dark we weren’t entirely sure where we were heading or if we were on target, but as if by magic a little cluster of lights appear, shining directly at us. Again, my crew, bringing us HOME. Dogs a plenty, team assembled, they stood there in the cold for one last effort.

To my surprise we beach like whales onto the rocky shore and jump out to touch the sword in 19 hours, 38 minutes and 41 seconds. Of the 14 successful attempts at this challenge this is the fastest female time and the only solo female time (with a heck of a helping from my crew). So take this as your sign girls, go and beat it!

I will forever be in awe of the people who surround me and show support. None of this is possible without the people that make the cogs go round. From my partner feeding us all a huge feast (on his birthday…sorry) and following me around all day in the van. To Marie and Niamh, who were SO patient and kind with me in the water, all whilst facing the elements of the cold water and feeling chilly themselves. To Tom, with the emergency peace of mind, safety kayaking and keeping my salts in check. To Ben and his navigation, whom without I would have taken a whole lot longer. To the gals, Sarah, Steph and Emily, who made me laugh all day long, who were up for the adventure and the 3am alarm to spend the day in the rain.

My advice for anyone thinking about taking on adventure challenges like the Puddle Buckley is to:

• Recce recce recce. Know the land like the back of your hand. Without that, if the clag comes in on the mountains, navigation becomes hard and a lot of time can be lost and dangers encountered.

• Trust your crew, know your crew, know their strengths and play to them. Plan your route around this, plan their roles around this. Also treat them like the kings and queens they are! They have given up their time for you, buy them a pint, give them a card, say thank you and be kind on the trails when times are hard.

• Plan, plan, plan, logistically without an event organisation these things are hard. Make a plan, check it, check it again and try to follow it. Have plan Bs and Cs. Provide as much info to the crew you can, download your checkpoints on google maps so road support can nav even without signal. Think of everything you can, to make the day run smoothly for everyone involved.

• Fuelling variety is the spice of life. For me having a huge variety of food on tap is essential. Different weather, different times of the month, different terrains seem to call for different things. To my surprise, I was almost entirely fueled off sweets which is rare, mixed in with realmeal bars, sausages, pork pies, cheese, pot noodles and anything else to line the stomach to protect it from the sugar. EAT OFTEN, never get hungry. And make sure you have electrolytes all day long!

• Respect the route you are on, make decisions to protect your safety. I added 9km onto this route on the day, to take the safer route and I would do the same again tomorrow to keep me and my crew safe.

• Have all the kit, just because it is summer does not mean the conditions will be summer like, be prepared!

• Read around your challenge, know the risks, know the biosecurity rules. Llyn Padarn has been colonised by two invasive species: Curly Waterweed and Nuttal’s Waterweed . This means we must take certain precautions to stop the spread of these plants. Even the tiniest part can form a new plant. I chose to do the route so that I swam in Llyn Padarn last to ensure no weed is taken from one lake to the next, the crew were informed and all kit and equipment washed down before next use.

• LAUGH A LOT, don’t worry about times, get out there, adventures can be done fast or slow. It is how much you enjoy them along the way that really matters.