Joining the Army for the day, Press and Journal feature writer Sarah Fraser took on the Scottish Infantry Challenge to see what their new recruitment drive has in store...

TIME: Fourteen hundred hours. PLACE: Royal Highland Centre, Edinburgh. STATUS: Nervous.

Sitting in the reception area with my baggy sports clothes and waterproofs on I found it hard to believe that I was about to launch into an Army experience.

I'll be honest from the outset. I'm not the most athletic person and I have never considered a career in the forces, so the idea of climbing walls and tumbling across fields had never really entered my head.

When the invitation to take on the Scottish Infantry Challenge landed on my desk, my first reaction was to laugh. I kept revisiting the idea of the challenge though and decided it was the perfect opportunity to see what the Army's recruitment strategy really is.

Huddling under a tarpaulin once the event was under way, we tried to keep out of the torrential rain while Lieutenant Colonel David Steele, MBE, Commander, Recruiting Scotland, talked about the Army's recruitment drive.

After the brief, I was kitted out with a helmet and a laser gun and thrust into a pitch black tent. I was a bit humbled at first crouching behind the wooden boards with my gun cocked.

Me, and a small band of journalists from across Scotland were pitted against a professional solider and we had to hunt him down.

I saw a flash of red from the soldier's helmet and decided to get up, aim and fire but all of a sudden my helmet and gun made an alarming noise and lights flashed. I'd been hit already.

I quickly learned that I should never stand up fully to shoot and I soon got into the competitive spirit. I rolled around on the wet grass inside the tent not caring about my wet knees and made a few good hits but when my laser gun no longer fired and I had taken too many hits, it was time for the dramatic ending.

I lay on the cold grass for minutes while my team mates leaped over me taking that soldier down.

Then it was time for refreshments before the next exercise was unveiled.

A rotating climbing wall that whilst constantly moving in conveyer belt motion, it tips over at almost horizontal angles to test your limit.

I feared this exercise with memories of PE humiliation rising within me. I watched as fellow challengers monkeyed up the wall with confidence and made it look easy but when my turn came I was useless.

I realised that it didn't matter though. The point of these activities isn't to show anyone up or to point out how unfit someone is but to give you a taste of a challenge.

The rain was persistent and with military precision and care the soldiers started to dismantle the inflatable assault course for safety reasons.

I have to admit, I had my reservations and nerves at the start of the day but when I saw the assault course coming down I was a bit disappointed. The day had brought out the adventurer in me and I wasn't ready to stop.

This was simply a taster of the army's recruitment efforts, which have certainly impressed me. I'm going to make a point of attending the public events, after all, I need to get a shot on the assault course.