Jamie Aarons: Woman sets record for scaling Scotland’s Munro mountainson June 27, 2023 at 4:19 am

A woman has set a new time record for scaling all the mountains in Scotland higher than 3,000 feet (914m).

Ultra-runner Jamie Aarons finished the challenge in 31 days 10 hours and 27 minutes, breaking the previous record by more than 12 hours.

There are 282 mountains that meet the benchmark and they are known collectively as the Munros.

The challenge saw Aarons ascend 459,000 ft, the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest 16 times.

She also ran, cycled and kayaked between each of the Munros, covering a total of around 932 miles (1,500km) on foot and about the same distance by bike.

Aarons, who works as a social work adviser for the Scottish government, is originally from California but moved to Scotland in 2005.

She began the attempt at Ben More on the Isle of Mull on 26 May and finished at Ben Klibreck in Sutherland in the Scottish Highlands at 16:57 BST on Monday.

The previous record for a self-propelled Munro challenge was held by former marine Donnie Campbell, from Skye. He completed the feat in 31 days, 23 hours, and two minutes.

The time taken by Aarons was also less than half the previous record for the fastest woman, set in 2017 by Libby Kerr and Lisa Trollope, who completed the challenge jointly in 76 days and 10 hours.

She has climbed all the Munros on two occasions before, the first time alongside partner Andy Taylor and the second time with Mr Taylor and the couple’s two dogs.

As well as breaking the record, Aarons has raised £14,000 for World Bicycle Relief, a charity which provides bikes to children in poorer nations to increase their mobility and improve access to essential services such as schools, markets and health clinics.

Speaking at the start, she said: “My journey will take me across the length and breadth of Scotland, across sea and lochs, from remote glens to the highest point in the United Kingdom; and across more miles of bog than I care to think about.”

She added that raising money for the good cause would help to “motivate me through the tough miles”.

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