Girls on Hills is the UK’s only guided trail, fell and skyrunning company designed specifically for women. They offer a wide range of retreats and courses, taking women into the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District and Snowdonia, and empowering them with the skills and knowledge to break free from the road or trail and head into the mountains.
Co-Founder Keri Wallace, based near Fort William, wanted to explore and challenge the fear of running in the dark, especially amongst women trail runners. Using her personal experience and scientific background (including a PhD in neurobiology), and a survey of over 1,000 trail runners, she examined the evolutionary and psychological roots of night-time anxiety and how it intersects with modern safety concerns for women. In her Runner’s world article, Keri explained “it’s thought that our fear of the dark evolved because humans have lived as hunter gatherers for over 95% of our evolutionary history, at a time when the dark would have been a very real threat to our survival. Predators hunted at night and due to humans’ relatively poor eyesight in the dark, we would have been vulnerable to attack.” This was part of Keri and Girls on Hills’ wider project; Into the Dark. Keri wanted to use the findings of her research to empower women to understand their physiological reactions to darkness and to approach night running with informed risk assessment and preparation, rather than fear-based avoidance. The project also highlights broader issues around harassment and violence against women, citing statistics on runners’ experiences and rising concerns, whilst offering related resources, events, and discussions to build confidence and community amongst female runners.
Afraid of the dark herself, Keri recently made history by becoming the first woman to run Scotland’s iconic 96-mile West Highland Way solo, unsupported and in winter, navigating challenging winter conditions and 17 hours of running in darkness. With only a few hours of daylight available, Keri had to consider carefully where to utilise them. Wanting to be in suburbia during the day (Keri notes that she felt safer being in the dark in more remote locations than suburban, inhabited areas, where she was more likely to bump into other people), she set off in the morning and arrived into Fort William 28 hours later. However, running at night doesn’t have to mean missing out on beautiful views, in fact, it offers the rare reward of witnessing both sunset and sunrise. Keri talks of the sunset she was treated to which began when she was on Conic Hill, just outside Balmaha, which then set around Rowardennan. In total darkness for the latter half of Loch Lomond and then all the way to Glen Coe, the sunrise started as Keri climbed the iconic Devil’s Staircase. If that wasn’t enough, Keri was also treated to a brief glimpse of the Aurora Borealis during the night.
For anyone wanting a taster themselves of running in the dark, on Friday 13th February 2026, as part of the Fort William Mountain Festival programme, Girls on Hills will be hosting the Petzl Night Run; a fantastic guided run up into Cow Hill behind Fort William, with Petzl supplying headtorches so you can try different models, swap them around, and see which you like best. Open to everyone (men and women!) and for all abilities and all paces, the Girls on Hills team are qualified leaders who will look after you – it promises to be a great way to spend a Friday evening. Tickets can be purchased here.
Photos credit Girls on Hills