One of the oldest people in last year’s Kiltwalk is strapping on her shoes again to raise money for Dundee Women’s Festival.
Prue Watson, 78, is also pushing herself to complete the full 25-mile Mighty Stride this year, having triumphed on the 11-mile Big Stroll in 2017.
And while last year she raised money for the Kiltwalk’s chosen charity, this year she is supporting her own charitable cause of the Women’s Festival, for which she is committee chairwoman.
She has been confirmed as the oldest entrant to date.
Prue said: “Doing the 11 miles last year was fine – it took me about three and a half hours – but this will be challenging.
“I’ll be hoping for a nice day. I was walking down in Suffolk earlier this month and it was 34C – I don’t want that.”
Dundee Women’s Festival enjoyed a buoyant year in 2018, with between 2,500-3,000 people getting involved.
People turned out for a variety of talks, film screenings and creative events, following a troubled spell the previous year which had thrown the festival’s future into doubt.
Prue hopes that 2019’s festival, which has the theme of Women’s Voices, can match, if not improve on, those numbers.
“Last year we were very lucky, because we got grants from the Rosa Woman to Woman fund, which had a tremendous effect,” she added.
“We also had support from Dundee City Council, who I hope will support us again next year.
“We were able to put on a few things we weren’t able to in the past thanks to funding like that, which is why I’m hoping doing the Kiltwalk will help.
“The fact you get an extra 40% on top of what you raise (from the Hunter Foundation) and they don’t take any sort of cut is amazing. It will help us to continue the festival for the foreseeable future.”
The programme for 2019’s event is yet to be finalised, but dates have been set for March 2-16.
The festival has already secured funding from the Scottish Government to put on a conference targeted at young women on its first day.
A number of speakers are being booked for the event, which will take place at the Gardyne campus of the D&A College.
The V&A has also expressed an interest in getting involved.
Prue added: “The fundraising page set me a target of £200 but I’m over that on paper already. I would like to raise at least £500.”
Her page can be found at dundeekiltwalk2018.everyday hero.com/uk/prudence.