So I was planning something special for the 10th year of doing the kiltwalk - celebrating our beautiful daughter Zoë being alive after those awesome doctors and nurses at Yorkhill saved her life 10 years ago. But then something happened which has made it even more personal for me this year.

One of my closest friends in the world, Aidan, passed away suddenly at the end of last year. He was the person who got me to do the Kiltwalk in the first place, to try and support my family and raise our spirits when our baby Zoë was in Yorkhill hospital having life-saving surgery. Aidan had seen a sign about “a 26 mile walk in kilts” which would go past his back garden, finishing at Loch Lomond, raising money for the hospital where Zoë was. When the surgery had happened and we had just got her home, we got a team of friends and family together and did the walk from Glasgow to Loch Lomond to celebrate Zoë being alive and thank the whole team that saved her life.

The hole it has left in our hearts is huge. He had always tried to get me to do the “Big One” - doing a kiltwalk in LA (which I’ve been doing every year since we moved here 8 years ago), hop on a plane and then join him doing the Kiltwalk in Glasgow. Well, he’s not here anymore, but I thought how better to celebrate Aidan’s life than to take him up on his challenge! So I’ll be getting up early on the Friday morning, running around LA and along the beach to LAX Airport, get on a plane to Glasgow (arriving Saturday night), then getting up early, a few hours later,  on the Sunday morning to meet up with all of Aidan’s wonderful Irish and Scottish friends who are going to do the 26 mile Kiltwalk with me from Glasgow to Loch Lomond. Before I collapse on a plane back to LA the next day!

Aidan would always joke about my crazy challenges over the various kiltruns of the years - paddle boarding, running 66 miles & visiting 66 film and music studios for the 6th one, 55 miles for the 5th one, etc - but I think this one takes the biscuit!

And this year it's going to cost you $10 / £10 - it's getting expensive now that Zoë's reached 10! We want to see a whole load of 10’s on the page! (Plus I gave you all the year off last year and did it for free, so no excuses!) Andie and I will match whatever you give (up to £2000 for Glasgow Children’s Hospital) and we will also be matching it (up to $2000) for LA Children’s Hospital as we live here now and they’re pretty awesome too!

Life is short, we have so much to be thankful for with Zoë, and I want this to be a celebration not just of her being alive for 10 years, but also a celebration of one of the most incredible friends I could ever have hoped to have had. I lucked out getting to know him for 30 years. He’ll be up there somewhere laughing at every cramp that I get along the way, just like he did on the first Kiltwalk ❤️

Thank you Yorkhill, for letting us have Zoë in our lives. Can't imagine (and don't want to imagine) life without her. You're forever in our hearts. ❤️😍 And thank you Aidan. For everything. You’re missed. But never forgotten.