Prey

The Into the Dark project is the brainchild of Girls on Hills co-founder and Running Challenges guidebook author, Keri Wallace. Sponsored by Petzl and INOV8 the project seeks to understand what lies behind night running anxiety in trail runners - with an emphasis on the particular barriers faced by women during the longer nights of the winter months. To explore the relationship between fear of the dark and perceived personal safety, Keri ran the West Highland Way (Scotland's oldest and most popular national trail) solo and unsupported in the middle of winter. Not only did she set a first and therefore 'fastest' known time (FKT), she ran through 17 hours of darkness - while being afraid of the dark. ​Keri is an experienced trail runner and qualified mountain leader but previously she studied natural sciences, specialising in evolutionary biology and neural mechanisms of behaviour - and has a PhD in neurobiology. This scientific background led Keri to investigate the evolutionary origins of fear of the dark. She carried-out a survey of over 1000 trail runners, as well as considering the impact of her own personal/negative experiences, as a victim of harrassment and assault. ​You can discover Keri's survey findings and views on night running anxiety through the video Prey and article links at https://www.girlsonhills.com/into-the-dark Images available at https://collect.wetransfer.com/board/szp9c7b16wxaeieer20250107101110/latest?token=dbb3f076-cb93-477a-8f63-4d1e993fe638