Runner from Mull tries for world first

CAROLINE MCKAY, from the Isle of Mull, is hoping to become the first woman to run West Highland Way non-stop in winter to help girls in Africa go to school every day.

Scottish aid worker Caroline, 33, will set off from Fort William on Friday December 16, and aims to reach the end of the 95-mile route at Milngavie within 24 hours.

She hopes her groundbreaking run will raise at least £2,000 to support to support young girls in Ethiopia attend school.

Caroline, pictured, works for Edinburgh charity Link Community Development which provides educational support in sub-Saharan Africa, and has seen first-hand the challenges African girls face going to school.

She said: ‘ The run will be tough, I have no doubt about that. I have done it non-stop in the summer, but the winter conditions will be a real challenge, particularly if there is snow and ice.

‘Over the past decade a handful of men have completed the run non-stop in the winter, but if I do it, I will be first woman.

‘But running 95 miles non-stop in a Scottish winter is nothing compared to the challenges that young girls in Ethiopia face on a daily basis just to go to school.

‘I recently visited some rural schools in the Wolaita region in southern Ethiopia. The girls I met there will often risk real danger to get an education. They really inspired me.

‘Education is still seen in some parts of Africa as something for boys, rather than girls. And those girls who are lucky enough to attend secondary school often face very difficult journeys on foot every day just to get to classes.

‘They risk sexual assault and harassment on a daily basis but are willing take that risk to get an education. They are the real heroes.’