Arrochar Munros
A round of Ben Narnain, Ben Ime, Ben Vane, and Ben Vorlich from the main road. The route is 13 miles (7,500 feet of ascent) and was completed in 4 hours 29 mins in April 1985 by Brian Finlayson [Ref. MM].
Luke Arnott and his dog did a round of the Arrochar Munros (Narnain, Ime, Vane and Vorlich in that order) on Saturday 14 May 2005 starting and finishing at Arrochar in 4hrs 11mins 14secs road-to-road (splits available on request). He probably lost 5–10mins due to the heat but reckons someone good could take another 45–60 mins off it.
Luke Arnott is right that someone good could take 60 mins off his time. The current record for the round of the four Arrochar Munros is an incredible 3:07:39 by Billy Bland (set when he won the Arrochar Alps Race in 1987), but perhaps it's not completely fair to judge more recent challengers against his time when the race course (previously the toughest 'half-marathon' in the country?) gained an extra mile or so of forest track and road on its 2007 revival.
That said, potential challengers might also note that Billy Bland was virtually unbeatable at these long, rough mountain races and set many records that still stand, including the Bob Graham Round in 13 hours 53 minutes in 1982!
Page updated 21st February 2012