Runner Keri Wallace has set a new female unsupported Fastest Known Time (FKT) in winter for the West Highland Way in winter. The 45-year-old running guide from Glencoe completed the 154km trail from Milngavie, near Glasgow, to Fort William, in a time of 28 hours and 19 minutes. It is thought she is the first female to achieve this feat.
In January 2017, Neil MacNicol ran the route in 20:33 to set a male record for a winter unsupported West Highland Way run.
There have been many summer records set and a male and female winter WHW supported FKT by both a male – Andy Campbell in 19:54:25 – and a female, Caroline McKay in just over 24 hours.
Keri, who is co-founder of award-winning Girls on Hills, faced 17 hours of darkness – she confesses she is afraid of the dark – and sub-zero temperatures doing her ultra run on December 2 and 3.
Why attempt a winter West Highland Way run?
When Keri was researching her book, Running Challenges: 100 of the best runs across Great Britain, she noticed that there were not as many female FKTs on many of the long-distance UK trails compared to male records. The most glaring omission was solo and unsupported female ultra runs.
Keri says: “All this got me thinking about about why women do not attempt solo and unsupported long-distance runs and especially in winter. I imagine it is to do with various factors, such as available time in busy lives, the darkness and personal safety concerns.
“I am actually fairly afraid of the dark and my usual environment is in the mountains where I am much less likely to come across other people. So, I decided the West Highland Way solo and unsupported run in winter would be a big challenge for me.
“I thought I would be able to transfer many of my mountain running skills to the long-distance trail. It felt intimidating but possible.”
Keri was also new to long sections of the WHW. She said: “I had never been on the West Highland Way south of Crianlarich although I know the northern part very well. It added to the challenge to be doing something so new.”
Planning for the West Highland Way FKT
Doing a long-distance run solo and unsupported means runners can be fairly flexible with timings. However, getting to and from the start and finish of the route and carrying all your own kit, food and water, do need to be planned.
Keri has two daughters aged eight and 10 and she is currently single parenting because her husband is in Canada for work.
Her youngest daughter felt insecure about mum being away over night and while Keri has good friends who can help with childcare, she felt anxious about her children missing their mum.
The first plan, to set off before sunrise from Milngavie, had to change at the last minute due to her children.
Keri said: “My youngest daughter suddenly became upset about me being away and so I decided to leave my departure until later so I could make sure she was settled.
“I ended up driving to Milngavie later than I had wanted to . This also had consequences at the end of the run because I only just had enough time to get back, by taxi, from Fort William to the school gates to pick up my girls.
“It was a very last-minute decision to do this FKT, too, and a bit of missed communication meant that the friend I had thought would be at the end in Fort William to meet me wasn’t.
“So, I guess, there are advantage and disadvantages of a solo and unsupported run but when you are a parent it can prove tricky to even start such a challenge.”
Added to this, Keri realised there was a big difference between planning for a mountain challenge and a trail run because the WHW starts and finishes in more urban areas.
Kari says: “When planning a mountain challenge I try to make sure the easiest navigation sections and least technical bits are when it will be dark.
“Meanwhile, for the WHW, I wanted to be running in the light around the more urban sections. These parts are easier in terms of navigation but I was worried about bumping into people.
“I wasn’t so worried about hikers and other runners but the general public, maybe people coming-out of pubs or potentially unsavoury characters.
“I have some fairly illogical fears about the dark, although some of these do come from previous negative experiences.”
Challenges of WHW solo, unsupported winter FKT
In the event, Keri faced quite different challenges to those she expected. She says: “During the run, I didn’t worry about personal safety at all. I did freak out a bit in the dark when running through dense, deciduous woodland, past derelict buildings and when I ran past a graveyard but I think I have an over active imagination. I just put on my headphones to distract me.”
Another unexpected issue was frozen laces. Keri says: “It was very cold in the night, down to -3C, and my laces froze into a big blob of muddy ice.
“I had little stones in my shoes, which were starting to cause blisters and sore spots, but I couldn’t get my shoes off due to my laces. In the end, 120km in, I had to stand in a stream to thaw out the ice to allow me to untie the laces. Annoyingly, my feet got fully wet.”
Another problem was battery power due to low temperatures. Keri says: “I had not experienced issues with battery power before. I wondered if it was because I was wearing relatively fewer clothes compared to being in the mountains.
“While it was cold on the WHW, I was moving faster and so I wasn’t wearing as many layers. My watch, which was recording my route, stopped tracking at 126km. To show my time of the rest of the run I took photos of time stamps.”
The cold also caused the battery packs connected to Keri’s head torch to drain. She says: “Just four hours into the run, I was aware the head torch battery was failing. I’d needed to have the head torch on high brightness because the section along the eastern shore of Loch Lomond was technical and also slippery.
“It concerned me that I wouldn’t have enough head torch light to get through the run. I had spare head torches and, in the event, it was fine but it was an unexpected issue.”
Keri’s mobile phone was similarly affected. She says: “I did have a power bank with me but I had a lot of worries about batteries generally during the run.”
As a parent, Keri reveals she also misses her kids when she is away. She says: “It’s at the time when they are coming out of school or going to bed and someone else is looking after them that I start to worry. I just want to be there with them and I found it emotionally tough being separated.
“I did a lot of texting while I was on the run to make sure they were okay, which they were thankfully. Once I knew my children were in bed and settled, then I could crack on with the rest of the WHW with less worries.”
Highs of Keri’s WHW FKT
Keri greatly enjoyed the wildlife on the route. She say: “I hardly saw anyone else during the whole run, expect on Conic hill, so the route was vey quiet. This meant I saw lots of wildlife, including a fox, rabbits, a barn owl, Canada geese, deer and Highland cows and calves.
“The afternoon and evening light was also lovely. The sunrise in Glencoe was especially beautiful. I was thrilled to see the aurora as I run towards Tyndrum as well. That was very special.”
Lows of Keri’s WHW FKT
Keri suffered some tummy issues at the start and finish of the run. She also struggled with water supplies. She says: “When I am in the mountains, I take water from streams but I didn’t feel confident about doing this early on during the WHW run because it was urban, or near farmland.
“I tried to find water in public toilets but it wasn’t always possible.”
The terrain was also wet and icy at times. Keri says: “There had been a lot rain and so many sections of the route were water-logged. Then, when temperatures dropped, this turned to ice.
“The wooden board-walks and bridges had a thin layer of frost on them and this was very slippery, which slowed me down.”
Keri believes she chose the wrong running pack in retrospect. She says: “I had a larger pack than I really needed because I thought I would need to carry more of my clothing. In the end, I wore my clothing and I was carrying food, emergency kit and bits and bobs.
“I had a fairly big but somewhat empty bag and I worried I would end up with chafing. I didn’t, but I could have carried a smaller pack and that would have been more comfortable.”
Food for the trail
Keri describes her fuelling for the WHW as “one big picnic”. She carried “real food” including two sausage rolls, a whole pizza, four tiger rolls with ham, plus five Voom Pocket Rocket bars and some Hula Hoops.
Emotions of a long-distance run
Keri has been training for the Arc of Attrition so she was confident she had the physical endurance and stamina to complete the West Highland Way run. The toughest parts were psychological.
She says: “While it was great to reach Glencoe, because I know the last section of the WHW well, it was also tough being so close to home but still doing the run.
“Then, as I ran towards the end, the weather changed to sleet and more wind and I felt wet and I just wanted to get finished. The distance and time seemed to drag. One of my ankles was also sore.
“I feel a lot happier now looking back. I am pleased with my time and how I felt overall. This is good news for my journey towards the Arc.”
- Keri’s Running Challenges book is nominated in TGO’s reader awards 2025.