Mike Buss on the summit of Snowdon during his record challenge
An endurance athlete made five ascents of Wales’s highest mountain in less than 24 hours – with an 18kg (40lb) rucksack on his back.
Mike Buss, dubbed ‘The Running Man’ accomplished the feat with three hours to spare to raise funds for the forces’ charity Help for Heroes, Project 65, a veterans’ charity, and Talking 2 Minds which helps with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The ascents and descents involved 5,400m of ascent to Snowdon’s 1,085m (3,560ft) summit from Llanberis.
Mr Buss said: “The accent started from the licensed cafe just at the foot of the mountain which was also base camp.
“I started at 10am with my summit support crew ascending with me for the first climb, made up of members and supporters of Talking 2 Minds and Project 65.
“I hit the mountain summit in less than 1hr 50mins in some of the most glorious weather I’ve ever seen on Snowdon. Having climbed the mountain more times than I can remember since I was 11, in all times of year, I was amazed having expected dingy and wet weather.
“The mountain temperature reached 25C by 1 o’clock that afternoon which made me work very hard for good times. I would have about 10 to15mins break at the bottom each time to grab something to eat and then attack the hill again.”
The 36-year-old former Army physical training instructor first climbed Snowdon at the age of 12, via Crib Goch and has completed more than 20 Three Peaks Challenges.
He has broken 14 world records since January 2010 and hopes to take on some of the toughest terrains and temperatures on Earth in 2011 from the Arctic Circle to the deserts of the Sahara and Death Valley.
Injured in Northern Ireland when a car bomb exploded just 6m (20ft) from him, he found adjustment to civilian life difficult and spent some time homeless on the streets of London before beginning his quest to become ‘the world’s fittest man’.
He now lives in his home town Swindon with his partner Kirsty and two-year-old son Ethan. Mr Buss has imbued both with his love of the hills. “I carried him up to the summit of Snowdon just after his first birthday in August 2009 with my fiancée Kirsty, who from meeting me has gone from hotel holidaymaker to loving the mountains,” he said.
He aims to raise £100,000 for charity with his record attempts.
In January, he plans to be the first man to run across the English Channel, with a specially adapted Zorb ball capable of withstanding the expected 4 to 6m waves. The Coastguard, which has still to approve his attempt, has likened his planned trip across one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world to running across the M1 at rush hour.
Details of how to donate to the charities are on Mike Buss’s website.
