In July 2021, our team collectively plan to complete the West Highland Way in a completely new way. Instead of just hiking, running or cycling the 94 miles from Milngavie in North Glasgow to Fort William, our unconventional challenge will encompass all of the above (and adding a swim for good measure too). Our adventure is scheduled over 2 days, beginning with a 4-5 hour 22 mile trail run from the Glaswegian suburbs through the lowlands and rural pasturelands of central Scotland, past Drymen, through Balloch, up and over he iconic Conic hill and along the east coast of Loch Lomond. However at Milarrochy Bay, the our route breaks with the traditional path. Instead of continuing along the Eastern shore, we will trade running shoes for neoprene as we swim and/or kayak from East to West across the width of loch Lomond, the UK’s largest inland body of water. With Ben Lomond as a backdrop and Inchmurrin as a potential pitstop, this 3 mile traverse of the expanse of fresh water promises to land us on the shingle beach of Luss. Here we will again trade wetsuits for two wheels as we cycle parallel to the trails of the West Highland way. The route will start fast, flat and technically challenging as we skirt past the ever-narrowing Loch Lomond on one side and the densely packed Arrochar forests to the other. At Crianlarich, the lochside view is replaced by expansive, rolling hills. The climbing will start at this point, subtly at first, leading into the first of two big climbs from Tyndrum into Glen of Orchy and Glen of Orchy up to the Rannoch Moors. The reward for these gruelling ascents will be the eroded supervolcano of Glencoe, replicating the rigors of Devil’s staircase on the traditional route. From here will be a white-knuckle descent through Glencoe and crossing Kinlochleven ending the arduous route at Fort William.

On the second day we will take ourselves up and down Ben Nevis, hiking the highest mountain in the UK and staking our claim as having completed one of the toughest challenges – all in aid of Tommy’s the Baby Charity.

So why Tommy’s? The charity was founded by two doctors back in 1992, where appalled by the consequences of pregnancy complications and premature births, began fundraising to find ways to prevent and treat these life-altering complications that can result in consequences such as miscarriage, stillbirth and cerebral palsy to name a few. In 2021, Tommy’s has grown to become the leading UK charity helping make pregnancy safer. Through their parent education programme via the Pregnancy Hub, Parent advice line supported by fully qualified and compassionate midwives, funding research in Tommy’s accredited centres and by fostering caring communities, Tommy’s work tirelessly to support parents on their path to safer childbirth. Some of their landmark achievements to date have been:

• In 1997 Tommy’s opened the UK’s first ever pregnancy research centre at St Thomas’ Hospital, focusing on pre-eclampsia and premature birth.

• In 2001, Tommy’s opened their Maternal and Fetal Research Centre in Manchester to tackle stillbirth and investigate the role of the placenta in pregnancy.

• The Tommy’s Centre for Maternal and Fetal Health in Edinburgh in 2008, looking at how stress on mothers from conditions such as diabetes and obesity can affect pregnancy.

• In 2016, Tommy’s opened the National Centre for Miscarriage Research, the largest of its kind in Europe.

• Tommys have funded groundbreaking research into a freely accessible app to help healthcare workers predict a woman’s risk of preterm birth to offer interventions to help maintain the pregnancy, proven the effectiveness of vaginal progesterone to help reduce the risk of miscarriage in women who have had 3 or more miscarriages and are currently working on a series of studies to support mothers with diabetes in pregnancy.

So how can you help? Our goal is to reach £4000 raised towards helping make pregnancy safer. You don’t have to look far to find couples affected by the consequences of pregnancy complications – in fact several members of our challenge participants have first-hand experience of baby loss and pregnancy complications and their consequences.

Karl,

We’d love it if you could sponsor us with a donation of whatever sum you decide via this page. Alternatively you could give a recurring gift through the tommy’s website here.

https://www.tommys.org/donate/other-ways-to-donate

Feel free to get in touch if you want to help in any other way. Let’s come together for change and make pregnancy safer.