Six teams of university students have taken on their own version of BBC show Race Across The World with Race Across Norfolk. Their epic quest from Norfolk to Suffolk was all with an aim of raising money for Inspire.
The teams of two all started at the University Of East Anglia (The UEA) at 10am on Wednesday 28 August, and had to arrive at Inspire’s Colville House office in Lowestoft by 3pm the next day.
If the 26 miles between the two points wasn’t enough, they also had to visit five checkpoints, and travel through as many villages as possible, taking photos on along the way as evidence.
The rules were they couldn’t use technology to help their journey, so they could only use a map and compass, and cashless payments were banned.
Arriving at Colville House on little sleep and many, many blisters, the students said how delighted they were to finish their challenge, and raise money for a good cause.
Prizes were given out for the team that visited the most villages, the social media post with the most likes, the most money raised on the way and the most innovative camping spot.
It was Team Three who took the crown, with Freya Standing and Jess Cunliffe being named the overall winners after going through 26 different towns.
“We had a vague plan,” the pair said. “Day one we knew we had our legs on us, our fitness and our energy so we decided to do as many as towns as possible.
“We went a different route to everyone else so I think we picked up a few extra towns that they didn’t manage to get too. It put us in quite a good position today. We wanted to use the train stations as our checkpoints and see the towns.”
But all teams put in noble efforts, including getting inside Norwich football ground for a photo, sleeping out in the open, walking through the night and throwing away their hiking boots after they destroyed their feet.
Their incredible effort raised over £1500 for Inspire, money which is crucial in continuing all our work.
The event was thought up by UEA student and social secretary Mia Everitt. Speaking of her own journey in the race alongside teammate Josh, she said: “We always planned to walk through the night, so we knew that if anything went wrong, we’d have some leeway with being able to make up the time.
“We did end up laying down for three hours, but we didn’t sleep because it was so cold. We were right by a river which aesthetically is really lovely, but in reality the draft it brings is freezing.”
She added: “I feel like if you don’t have blisters, you don’t appreciate how challenging it is.
“They are like a medal without having a medal. It shows how difficult what you’ve done is.”
To donate to their JustGiving page, visit here. You can see their whole journey here.
