On 1st August Donnie Campbell – a runner from Skye – set off to break the record for the fastest self-propelled round of the Munros. The current record – set 10 years ago by Stephen Pyke – stands at 39 days and 9 hours.
Yesterday Donnie put in a truly remarkable effort, climbing Slioch, the Fisherfield 5, An Teallach, the complete Fannichs, and Ben Wyvis in a single day. 18 Munros on the day brought his total to 272 after 31 days.
At the time of writing (4pm) Donnie has climbed the Beinn Dearg group and Seana Bhraigh, and is now homing in on Ben More Assynt. It appears that the record is about to be annihilated.
Donnie is cycling between the mountains, and kayaked to the island Munros earlier in the month. His support crew – including wife Rachael – enables him to sleep each night in a motorhome, and they have also moved his bike to pick up between running sections.
This remarkable feat of endurance involves 1,426 km of running, with an eye watering 121,709m of ascent, 1,252km of cycling with 18,683m of ascent. Donnie is raising funds for the Red Cross, with more than £6,000 raised to date.
You can donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/donniecampbell84
Thanks to Donnie for allowing us to reproduce the photos shown here – and good luck.
UPDATE: After continuing through the night, Donnie has completed the round on Ben Hope early this morning.