Getting 'Shreddy' for the Great Scottish Run

As Eve Walker continued towards the finish line of her medical degree, the world she was set to graduate into changed dramatically. 

While on her final placement at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, the Covid-19 pandemic took hold. 

In such a challenging time, Eve took solace in the work of Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity. 

She had fundraised for us before. Now she was seeing our impact in real time during an unfolding crisis. 

It’s why, two-and-a-half years later, she’ll take on the Great Scottish Run wearing our name. 

“I started looking for ways to get work experience in the healthcare field in my final years of high school,” Eve told us. 

“Luckily, I met someone on a leadership course who was a volunteer with Yorkhill Children’s Charity, later to become Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity. She invited me along to a fun run where we were to help out with whatever tasks were needed to support the incredible walkers and runners raising money.  

“I never expected that my first role would be to stand in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume, but it was a sign of the amazing memories to come.

Eve On her first experience with Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity

“Like the children’s hospital itself, the Charity just oozes joy. It wasn’t until I had progressed through to my final year of medical school that I saw first-hand how the charity is an integral part of the children’s hospital.  

“As a medical student on my paediatric placement, in the March of 2020, the world quickly turned upside down.  

“In a time of Covid-19 uncertainty, the children’s hospital remained an oasis of positivity, support and care, and I knew that I would love to continue supporting in any way I could.” 

Eve would then transition from fun runs to the Stirling Marathon in the summer of 2018, before taking on our virtual challenge, Lap the Map, last year. 

She said: “Stirling was the first and – so far - the only marathon I have run. It remains one of my favourite runs to date. I immediately knew I wanted to fundraise for Glasgow Childrens Hospital Charity, but I had only started running roughly six months earlier. I didn’t know if I had bitten off more than I could chew.  

“On race day, I didn’t set a pace or time goal, I just wanted to finish. I would like to take credit and say it was my inner determination and relentless training that got me over the finish line but that would be a huge lie – it was everyone else.  

“It was the other runners, families lining the streets to cheer you on, the charity singers, drum bands, pipers. Even when the sky opened and we all got soaked to our skin in true Scottish fashion, there was not a moment when I thought I should stop.” 

Eve has also amassed a sizeable following on social media with her online alias, @ShreddyInScrubs. Her feed combines a love for exercise and wellness with the joys and challenges of becoming a junior doctor. 

“I began my Instagram page at the beginning of the first lockdown in 2020, purely as a hobby to record some of my fitness and wellbeing journey when all sense of routine and normality was taken away.  

“To my surprise, it began to grow gradually. I now use it very much like a diary, showing my exercise habits, my journey through FY1 (foundation year one, which is followed by FY2), and connecting with people who are on their own journey.  

“I have met people passionate about exercise, medical students who are advocates for mental health recognition and support in the NHS, and businesses pioneering the way in sustainable wellbeing.  

“I have been lucky enough to write student articles for the Medical Defence Union, been featured on other fitness pages and documented my running endeavours e.g., Lap the Map and the Stirling Marathon.  

“While it is still a tiny corner of social media, I very much believe in the big importance of little things, and the thought that my wee page may give someone some encouragement, education or entertainment makes me happy – it also provides a nice bit of escapism which we all need every now and again.” 

Eve is preparing for a big move from Ayrshire to Glasgow’s QEUH for FY2 - just next door to the Royal Hospital for Children. 

“My first year as a junior doctor has been incredibly rewarding,” she said. “The learning curve from medical school was huge but knowing that all those years of studying are finally being applied to real patients is extremely exciting; seeing acute pathologies in practice beats a textbook. I spent my first year in a district general hospital, and as a smaller hospital team you build extremely close interpersonal working relationships with those around you. 

“It has not been without its challenges, many relating to Covid-19. However, being receptive to and embracing challenges helps you improve as a clinician, as a colleague and as a person, so staying a positive team-player is vital.” 

Good luck to Eve and all of our amazing Fundraisers at the Great Scottish Run!