The sun sinks over Loch Linnhe as myself and around 20 others make our way up a steep section of single track in Fort William, carefully negotiating the odd icy patch. We pause at the top to admire the last of the sunset, which on a February evening in the Scottish Highlands leaves us in total darkness by 5:30 p.m.
Then we switch on the Petzl headlamps we’ve been given to test and begin running down a forested track, guided by two leads from Girls On Hills, who are organizing the event at the Fort William Mountain Festival. Without the need to navigate, I lean into the experience of running in the dark and it soon becomes meditative; the velvety dark spaces between the trees feel protective rather than ominous.
