We asked the class of ’22 to describe their West Highland Way Experience in 95 words as they made the journey from Mingavie to the finish in Fort William. Here are some of the responses
Angus Alston
Organizing
Start
Excited, terrified!
Go
Well-wishers Milngavie
Headtorches trail
blether =friends,
Dawn Conic 
Tricky descent
Low path 
Will Inversnaid ever come 
Selfie Darrio’s post
Beinglass 
Auchtertyre -daughter support
BoO pot-noodle
Best jelly baby! 
GCoe 
cheese sandwich Devils – back!
KKL pot-noodle + tea
Lairigmor light, then dark descent, stubbling, flooding, 
Hills
Fire-track
Sore, tired
Tarmac, where lights?
Wish still leisure centre
Finish
Hug Ruth 
Tired,relieved, cold 
Clean sheets 
Sleep
breakfast
Prizing giving 
Smelly kit! 
Drive back 
Champagne + goblet 
Repeat? 
Lynne Lamont
Muggy Mudgock, slow and shaded
Quietly north to Drymen, cooler, climbing
Misty, muddy midsummer Conic morning
Lochside ups and downs, water calm
Welcome smile and coffee at Beinglas
John’s bridge, proud and strong
Stomach struggling, energy waning
Barren hillside to the crew at Auchtertyre
Rest time, then onwards beneath Dòrain
Jelly baby reward before the bleak Moor
Waterproofs, angry skies, welcome company
Struggle up to face the Devil,
Quartz fairies sparkling in torch to Kinlochleven
Harsh night, marching mostly forth on Lairigmor
Bonfire bright, up, then downwards
Eventually welcomed home by friends, we’re done.
Lois Simpson
Milngavie – hellos, hugs, love and nerves. Smiles galore, feels like home. 1am run into the night, settle in.
Dawn brings fresh legs. Run, eat, run, always North. Sunshine, welcome showers and gorgeous stinky goats. Auchtertyre for chips mayonnaise and stellar crew with me. Doubt creeps in with fatigue. Crew ignore my cunning exit strategies. Waterproofs on across Rannoch moor, lost humour on the march to Glencoe. Stellar crew suggest a 10 minute sleep – GAMECHANGER!! Happy stomp in with hallucinations laughs and falling asleep on the go. Prizegiving for goblet then pub. The WHW family together.
Michelle Young
10pm, Milngavie bound
Park up, register – this just got real!
No midgies, bonus
Race brief and a moment to remember those no longer with us…
1am – GO!!
Drymen already – that passed quickly!
Near headtorch fail!
Delighted to see crew!
Tummy issues start – Rowardennan!
Tea at Beinglas – bliss!
Pick up support Auchtertyre – so nice!
Tummy issues continue and now feel sick
Keep on keeping on…
Glencoe – weather warning
KLL – the struggle was real, not sure I can leave
Hot tea and Freddo got me outta there
Fire road longer than usual!
Finish line, ELATED!! ��
Lorna Mitchell
Wee dark hours, peaceful
Sharing space with companions, and bats
Waiting for day
Sunrise climb, determined
Wave to friends on a distant Ben
Running to refuel
Loch side calm, focus
Take pictures by the shady woods
Sticking to plan
Heat of day, faltering
Thrill ride that feet need to get off
Thriving on pain
Storm approaches, tense
Fear the journey could end here
Prepare for worst
Darkest hours, desperate
Crawl up and up never ending stairs
Thankful for crew
Sunrise climb, elated
The road goes on, until at last it is done
Where’s my gin?
Mike Hughes
From Milngavie in midst of night we weave our way along lochside.
A nod to old Dario we’re on our way, soon at Beinglas and almost halfway!
Along cow poo alley, continue our race and soon meet the crew at Auchtertyre place.
Climb from Tyndrum past Brodie’s shop we soon are descending to Orchy stop.
Jelly baby hill behind us across rannoch moor, before we know it we’re at Glencoe!
Up devil’s staircase, over the top now at Kinlochleven just one more stop!
Past Lundavra, Fort in sight, one more mile, now we can smile!
Derek Chambers
a nervous start and brutal conic hill through balmaha I settled down bacon sandwich at rowardennan
Conquered the tech section and beinglas and then the rain hit cow poo alley rollercoaster auchtertyre farm rice pudding cupa soup and off with support runner to BOO running smooth into checkpoint pineapple chunks cuppa soup n bread and off up jelly baby hill munched said jelly baby and then wind rain from every direction into glen Coe full change waterproofs managed the devils in daylight kinlochleven more soup then dark march through lundavra birds tweet sun up finish
Rod Wallace
Aberdeen, Milngavie, register, friends, Andrew, gutted, chips,
friends, nervous, hugs, start, friends, chatting, dark, clammy, new
friends, alone, worried, lights, friends, dawn, Conic, Loch, friends,
tough, slippy, technical, friends, knee, puke, pain, friends, soup,
seat, sunshine,friends, support, moor, rain, friends, rain, jacket,
troosers, friends, Devils, darkness, torches, friends, knee, pain,
thankfulness, friends, bewildered, fifteen, steep, friends, sleep,
monsters, singing, friends, second, dawn, hope, friends, Nevis, run,
pain, friends, slowest, ever, Parkrun, friends, finish, handshakes,
hugs, friends, elation, emptiness, tired, friends, dizzy, alone,
crowd, friends, safe, shower, sleep, friends, Donna, Bethany, Karen,
love, love, love
Jamie Aarons
I once heard a tale about some people who ran 95 miles on a trail.
Apparently it was a race and they did it in one go.
I said, “Nah, that’s not a thing. People don’t do that.” To prove the storyteller wrong, I went online.
Found this forum from these alleged West Highland Way runners.
Turns out, they were real; they had actually done this amazing feat.
I joined them for a social run – my first
trail running in Scotland.
The people, welcoming and encouraging; the trail a sanctuary.
I became one of them.