The suggested time to walk the West Highland Way and the Great Glen Way is 11 to 15 days. This month, a woman ran both iconic Scottish trails in just 63 hours and 43 minutes.
Freya Shepherd, of Inverness, completed the 287km (178-mile) route with 6500m (21,325ft) of ascent between April 6 and 8, 2026, in a non-stop supported challenge.
She is the first female to achieve the feat and only the third known person. In June 2009, Keith Hughes ran the same route in 49 hours and two minutes, while in June 2024, Paul Hammond finished in 45 hours and 26 minutes.
Freya said: “It was an amazing experience, although it was obviously very hard both mentally and physically.
“I was so happy to finish because I had tried the same route six months before and only got as far as Fort William.
“It had felt like unfinished business so to return – and also complete it – is a dream come true.”
Who is Freya Shepherd?
Freya is a 26-year-old physics teacher, originally from Tore and now living in Inverness. After a childhood of horse riding, she started to run aged about 17 and joined her dad Jon and brother Oscar in orienteering events. She is a member of Highland Hill Runners and has completed several mountain marathons and the Strathpuffer as a mixed pair. The furthest she had ever run before was 96 miles on the West Highland Way in October 2025 during her first attempt.
Training for the double trail epic including running around 50km each week and indoor climbing sessions.
She said: “On my last attempt, it was hip pain that stopped me going further than the West Highland Way.
“This time, I didn’t suffer any hip pain and I think this is because of the climbing had helped to improve my flexibility.”
Support for the challenge
Freya called on family, friends and friends-of-friends to support her. She said: “Last time, I kept my attempt on both the WHW and the GGW quite quiet because I wasn’t sure how I would do. As a consequence, I had less support.
“This time, I asked as many people as possible to help me. Some ran with me, others turned out to cheer me along, while others, such as my mum and dad, gave vehicle support. This meant I was only on my own for a total of about 30k.
“I was really grateful to everyone because it kept me going in terms of my pace, especially on the Great Glen Way, and also I had access to food and water without needing to carry it all myself.”
Tough times on WHW & GGW run
Freya, who wore Salomon Glides for most of the FKT, admits that fuelling became an issue in the later stages of the feat. She said: “In retrospect, I was silly because I had mostly only sweet foods available. This was fine in the earlier stages but, on the Great Glen Way, I found I was unable to stomach any more.
“I wished I’d thought about more savoury items. At one point, in the village of Invermoriston, I even abandoned my vegetarian diet of 15 years and ate a steak pie. I suddenly decided this was exactly what I wanted and it went down well.
“I was grateful to people who were supporting me, such as Rob Urquhart on the Great Glen Way, who managed to keep me eating and drinking small amounts.”
Freya’s feet became very painful during the challenge. She said: “My feet swelled up and I had some very bad blisters. I was in a huge amount of pain for quite a lot of the run.
“On the Great Glen Way, things became really tough. Strangely, I found the uphills better than the downhills but I really slowed down a lot.
“In the end, I took out the insoles of my running shoes and someone brought me some compressions calf sleeves to try.
“My hoped-for time overall had been around 60 hours. I ran the WHW two hours faster than last time but I lost many hours on the GGW.
“I did manage to keep running but it was a sort of slow shuffle-run at a pace that others could walk at.”
Freya slept for less than 90 minutes over the entire run. She said: “I had planned to get a couple of hours of sleep at Bridge of Orchy, some 95km into the WHW. I’d booked a hotel room and I was able to have a shower.
“But when I tried to sleep, I was much too wired to switch off and I think I got only about 20 minutes, when I’d hoped for two hours.”
The next sleep was a two-minute nap on the trail side near Fort William, at the end of the WHW. At Fort Augustus, about 55km along the GGW, Freya slept for an hour in the van driven by Jon and her mum Henri. She said: “I was almost unconscious while running a this point and I easily slipped into sleep.”
However, the lack of sleep overall led to hallucinations. Freya explained: “At times on the GGW, I was convinced I was going backwards. I could see a light ahead but as I ran towards it, it seemed to move away, so I felt like I was going backwards. It was very demoralising because I felt like I was stuck in a cycle of not getting anywhere. I was sure I was running away from the finish, rather than towards it.”
High points on the West Highland Way to Great Glen Way FKT
Aside from the sleep-deprivation, Freya reports she felt up-beat for most of the run. She said: “I was so happy to be doing the route again and the West Highland Way just went so well. Even on a section between Rowardennan and Inverarnan, along the shore of Loch Lomond, which many people describe as very hard, I was happy. I was on my own and just enjoying the experience and the views.
“The weather was also good, although hot at times and quite wet and windy later on, but for most of the route I felt very lucky.
“The first night, in particular, was a real highlight. I was running with friends Phil and Jack and we could see so many stars and satellites in the dark sky. The mountains were silhouetted around us. It was amazing.”
Freya also enjoyed being supported by so many people. She said: “I am very grateful to everyone who came along and supported me and it was great to have their company. I could not have done it without them.”
An emotional finish
After the long slog of the final 50km, Freya says she found the energy to run the last short hill to the finish in front of Inverness Castle. She said: “Suddenly all the pain seemed to go and I was running with friends and my brother.
“I realised I had reached the finish and there were so many people who had turned out to cheer me on and a finish line banner. I had thought it would just be my mum there!
“I was quite emotional but also so happy to achieve what I’d set out to do.”
She added: “When I first spotted the double trail route, I thought it was such a great challenge for me because of where I live and because they are two of Scotland’s most iconic trails. I was also aware that there was no FKT for a female and that gave me more motivation.
“I do not consider myself to be a fast runner but I do have good endurance and I thought it would be achievable.
“I am really pleased to be the first female to have completed it but I am sure other women will be able to go much faster and I hope that someone does set themselves the target to do it more quickly.”