This is something I’ve been actively avoiding telling people the past few months, but apparently getting a week off work for a vague “jog in Scotland” doesn’t quite cut it when people are asking what I’m going away for, especially as it’s happening THIS SUNDAY. But finally I’m going to have to say it out loud. On Sunday, Fiona Ellie and I will take our first few steps onto the West Highland Way with quite a lot in our packs. Our plan: to run the West Highland Way self-supported and wild camping in our bivvy bags along the way. Why? Adventure. GULP.

I’ve wild-camped, hiked, camped, kayaked, climbed, cycled, swam, run and more in some pretty wild places. But I have never done something like this before, and it’s only now with 1 day to go that this fact is really hitting me. The combination and length and added challenge of running, whilst also contending with Scottish weather is all elevating my stress levels to a place that resembles something like the night before my first GCSE exam…

When I read the book that started all this, The Pants of Perspective, one of the things that irked me repeatedly was Anna’s ‘head in the sand’ attitude to her preparation – not running with her bag, not thinking about the distance/maps etc. HOW could she let herself be so unprepared?! I proclaimed shaking my head in judgement, oh how little I knew… And now here I am, not having run in weeks, never having run with a bag this heavy and trying not to think about what we’re going to have to cook for dinner each day or what we’ll do if it rains like hell… HEAD FIRMLY IN SAND. And all I can say is, Anna McNuff, I’m sorry for thinking bad of you – apparently this is just a thing that happens when you do something a bit big and intimidating.

So there, I’ve said it. It’s out there and we are doing it! 150km in 5 days with two of my best friends in one of our favourite countries. Here goes…