Innes & Mackay director Laura Cormack swapped her property law caseload for a backpack this week, as she traversed 26.2 miles of stunning Scottish countryside raising funds for Leo’s Pride.

Laura and 16 other volunteers tackled the Great Glencoe Challenge, raising over £8,000 for Leo’s Pride, a fundraising group set up in memory of Laura’s nephew.

The funds raised by the group are donated to charities that helped Leo and his family – and those in similar situations – with money this time going to Held in Our Hearts, which provides counselling and support to bereaved parents.

The sun was shining for the first half of the marathon trek from the heart of Glencoe to the foot of Ben Nevis – even if the ground underfoot was a different story. And even a 5am breakfast didn’t dampen Laura’s spirits!

“At the start line I was excited and ready for what was ahead,” said Laura, “or so I thought.

“We set off at 6.30am and the terrain was much more difficult than anyone on the Leo’s Pride team anticipated. That first half of the route was really very boggy, and it took a lot out of you getting through it.”

Despite having previously tackled Ben Nevis for Leo’s Pride, a walk of this magnitude was still completely out of Laura’s comfort zone. And with a medical condition preventing her from training as much as she would have liked, the challenge increased.

She said: “When we stopped for a break in Kinlochleven, I popped on some blister plasters. But within five minutes, the pain was too much again and I had to change from my walking boots into my trainers.

“Water was coming from all directions during the second half of the walk. Streams and burns were forming all over the paths and at first I was trying to avoid them all. But then I realised I was going to get wet anyway, so I just marched through them in my trainers!”

As Laura approached the finish line, she was overcome with emotion – at the 13-hour walk she had just endured, and the reasons behind it.

“There were a good few tears as I crossed the finish line,” explained Laura.

“It was very emotional for all of us – there were five of us on the walk that had also completed the first challenge on Ben Nevis.

“I thought about Leo a lot on my walk, and that got me through the toughest moments.”

With the group having already raised an incredible amount of money for such a worthwhile cause, there is still time to donate through JustGiving.

We are beaming with pride at what Laura has achieved, but it only seems fair that we let her sum up the whole experience:

“Three days later, I’m still exhausted,” concluded Laura, “but I’m so proud of what the Leo’s Pride team and I achieved.”