Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

So what am I doing , and why?

You may have come across the idea of a "Jailbreak" challenge...whereby participants have to travel as far as possible for free from the original start point usually for a period of 24/48 hours....the winner being declared to be the team that travels the furthest. Sometimes this results with participants ending up 1000's of miles away depending on how generous airlines have been.  

Well my charity event is I suppose slightly inspired by the above, but instead of allowing travel  to anywhere by any form of transport, my challenge is to travel as far and as fast as possible across the UK for 24 hours continuously through only using public transport and my own 2 feet.

The aim then is 1400 miles......averaging nearly 60 mph for 24 hours non stop.......to travel faster and further than ever before across the UK by train and other methods of public transport.

The current plan is to start in Kent, then via London, Manchester, Sheffield, London (again), Edinburgh, Birmingham and then London (again!!).... ending up somewhere in the wilds of the West country 24 hours later.

In the process, the aim is to break the unofficial UK record for most unique miles travelled in a 24 hours period....1400 miles is the objective!

Why do it?..

...you may ask?....well...I've done one or two charity bike rides in the past, but nothing with as large a fund raising target as this....and then it occurred to me that why not try to be the fastest person in the UK ever...(for 24 hours on land that is!!)

From that idle thought, it then prompted the how to do it question?...


The obvious answer is to use the trains, since they're fast and frequent. So trains it is then ...however I felt it necessary to up the level of difficulty in this challenge, to put an element of risk around the challenge. So for my challenge, the miles travelled that will count towards the record must be unique..i.e., no backtracking...so once I've passed along one route , I can't double back! This prevents just travelling backwards and forwards repetitively say on the Eurostar between London and Kent...there's no challenge in that. 

As a consequence of the "no backtracking" rule, this will mean during the challenge there will be some very tight connections from one train to the next different route of a train and so they'll need to be some degree of me running to catch the next service...this all adds to the challenge.

So 1400 miles it is then...in a 24 hours period....so please give me your backing to see how far I can travel before the 24 hours times out on me! 

When?

This is still in planning, but with all being well the challenge is to occur on 1st June this year.

Personal Reason for Challenge

However, I do have a personal motive for the challenge and the Charity - NSPCC - I've chosen.  Last year, I lost a close personal friend who I worked with at my former employers - Rolls-Royce. Steve Smalley was his name, and he tragically died far too young at just 57 years old from lymphoma.  Me and Steve, were close for many years, particularly when I started out my career at Rolls-Royce, and a truer friend I struggle to think I've ever had...his loss is still deeply upsetting for me and was all too sudden and it's in his memory that I feel compelled to do something. The NSPCC was a charity close to Steve's heart, and a charity whose work in protecting children I also find thoroughly inspiring. 

http://www.nspcc.org.uk/fighting-for-childhood/

So please, please donate to my challenge...1p per mile = £14...2p per mile = £28 .....any sum large or small will be gratefully accepted.  On top of which, my employers - QA Ltd - have pledged to donate £250 to my goal if I achieve my target.

When you donate, please use the Gift Aid scheme...since everyone wins that way.

Follow me on my blog 

and facebook and I'll keep you up to date on how the actual challenge is to take place.