
Into the Dark
The Into the Dark project is the brainchild of Girls on Hills co-founder and Running Challenges 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.
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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.
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You can discover Keri's survey findings and views on night running anxiety through the video Prey and article links below.
This project calls on women to consider the disempowering effect of the 'usual' personal safety messaging aimed at female runners, which encourages women to behave like prey. Instead, challenging 'unhelpful fears' and assessing one's own personal safety risk objectively, can help prevent anxiety/fear of the dark becoming yet another barrier to female participation*
'Into the Dark aims to empower and encourage women to embrace the dark through an improved understanding of human physiological reactions to darkness, as well as proactive desensitisation and preparedness out on the trail. Knowledge is power afterall' - Keri Wallace
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*Road and trail runners are considerably less safe in UK urban/city environments than they are in quieter, rural environments, which experience lower rates of crime. Other studies have shown that 60% of women runners have experienced harassment and 25% regularly experienced sexual abuse (with a focus on road runners in populated areas). As a nation, Violence against women and girls (VAWG) rose by almost 40% between 2018 and 2023, a situation which was described as a 'national emergency' following the first national analysis by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) in 2024.


On Stage
You can hear Keri talk about the Into the Dark project and her Running Challenges guidebook at the following live and online events:
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Girls on Hills online sessions, register to join via Zoom, Tuesday 20th Feb 7:30pm
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Into the Dark, RoamEd Winter Talks, Roam West nr Glencoe, Thursday 13th March 8:30pm - Keri Wallace (FREE)
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You can also join the Girls on Hills team and Petzl rep for FREE a guided night run and headtorch demo (Love to Run) as part of the Fort William Mountain Festival on the evening of Friday 14th February (register to receive details).

