I decided to sign up to The Race Across Scotland towards the end of last year. After lockdown mentally I felt like I needed a real challenge and some escapism. For those of you not familiar The Race Across Scotland is a non-stop 215-mile race following the entire Southern Upland Way from coast to coast. It's single stage and has a 100-hour cut-off. The RAS is a huge step up from anything I've done before - I've run a couple of 100-milers and the 135-mile Ring O Fire around Anglesey (a 3-stage/3-day race). The most common question people have asked me is will/when/where will I sleep. I definitely will be sleeping as want to remain semi coherent and avoid hallucinating. There are 12 checkpoints plus 4 emergency shelters along the way. I plan to grab 3-4 hours per night at whichever one I reach by the end of each day. I'll be stocking up/getting my fill of food at these as want to carry the bare minimum - every additional gram will be felt. Ideally I'd like to complete the RAS within 72 hours and will set off with this intention. However training hasn't been ideal (the furthest I've run in the build up was the 52.4-mile Race to the Tower) so it could well be a case of just trying to make the overall cutoff. I've never DNF'd (failed to finish) an event before and will do everything in my power to make it across Scotland. Besides I didn't pay the £497 entry fee not to get a medal 🤣. I will definitely have to dig into my fitness/stubbornness reserves, feed on any support from fellow runners/marshals, and remember that it's one long beautiful adventure. 

Why am I raising money for Saving Wildcats? I'm passionate about nature/conservation and love animals. The Scottish Wildcat is critically endangered. There is no viable population left in the wild - the only hope is the conservation breeding for release centre's project will work. More info can be found here: https://savingwildcats.org.uk/
And a video here: https://youtu.be/Jpr14tUKk9c

I'm hoping to visit the RZSS centre and maybe even do a bit of volunteering after the race (if I'm not too knackered/if there's time/travel logistics permitting). Seeing a wildcat in person would be awesome and definitely another added incentive to finish the race.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and for those of you who decide to donate. I'll keep everyone posted on how it pans out.