Keris Marsden, the British Hospitality Association’s (BHA) membership and IT manager, raised £700 for Hospitality Action last month after successfully completing the grueling State Street Caledonian Challenge.

Her report follows below:

“I decided to enter the State Street Caledonian Challenge after reading an article in The Times which described it as one of the most rewarding yet challenging events, much tougher than the London Marathon.

“Over 1,400 walkers took part in the 54-mile trek which starts at Glen Nevis Forestry Track in Fort William and finishes at Loch Lomond. The challenge is to complete the walk within 24 hours.

“The Caledonian Challenge is Scotland’s largest corporate gathering: 70 per cent of all entries are from the financial, property, accountancy, media, recruitment, and legal sectors. The event raises over £1m, which is donated to the Scottish Community Foundation, I made a further contribution of £700 to Hospitality Action, the benevolent organisation for Hospitality People, which Bob Cotton, chief executive of the BHA, chairs.

“Originally part of a team of five girls - although two never actually made it to Scotland – our team was reasonably well geared up; preparation included a couple of 20 mile practice walks, training at the gym, and nearly £300 spent on socks, boots, sticks and waterproofs. However, nothing prepared us for the unbearable midges, who feasted on all the walkers from the start line. The terrain was much tougher than we bargained for, even the first 12 miles were pretty strenuous, although any complaints were soon silenced as we encountered runners from the West Highland Way Race passing in the opposite direction on their 95 mile run from Milngavie to Fort William!

“The ascent to the Devil’s Staircase was one of the toughest sections, at this point I lost my remaining teammates – one of whom is still on crutches. I continued walking alone, content with my Ipod for company although as night fell I decided this wasn’t such a good idea and luckily Henderson Global Investors adopted me into their team.

“From midnight until dawn we walked through storms with torrential rain, I was convinced I’d end up with either hypothermia or trench foot. The soup kitchen at 3am was a welcome sight; I have never enjoyed a Batchelor’s Cuppa Soup so much!

“Each walker burns off 8,000-10,000 calories and takes a total of 144,382 steps during the 54 miles. The walk ends at Ardlui, Loch Lomond, and by 8am Sunday morning I was happily tucked under a duvet in our support car with my Gold Medal and a well earned giant bar of Dairy Milk. Some people cracked open champagne but many just collapsed into the nearest chair and regretted it when they were unable to get up five minutes later. The fastest team finished in 9 hours and 38 minutes, well under half the time it took me; but who knows, maybe next year…”