Teenage Cancer Trust is one of Dumball Rally 2025’s chosen charities and teams will be raising money for young people with cancer. To date, participants of the Dumball Rally have raised over a million pounds in support of the great work TCT does.

Thunderbloke2's story

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Some water has flowed under the bridge since we Dumball'd our way to rally glory around India (2017) and to Eastern Europe (2018) raising almost £22k in the process. Now it’s Southern Europe’s turn to feel the force.

Fielding changes to the team from the last outing, we are doing it all again albeit as a duo this time. As last time, this year we get to choose the wheels. With a budget of just £500. Yes Guv'nor, that's Five Hundred Pounds Sterling in this post pandemic, ULEZ world.

It’s a bit like a Top Gear challenge (remember those??). And you know that doesn’t always go very well. (especially seeing as we won't have a BBC support crew along with us!)

The Event

Last time we started in Margate's "Dreamland". This year it will be a 'to be announced secret location' on the South coast. From there, we set off on a 4,000+ km hack over 7 days, heading south through France, across the Pyrenees, down into Portugal, a pit stop in Gibraltar and ending our journey on the island of Majorca. Quite what happens to the car at this point remains unclear.

On the way we expect to encounter breakdowns (mental and mechanical), mountains and quite a few potholes. And all of it on the wrong side of the road.

Oh, and we have to do it all in fancy dress. Just, well, just because that's the Dumball way.

This year our fancy dress theme will be resurrecting Thunderbirds. The car will be dressed up like Thunderbird 2. Its occupants Virgil and Brains, attired in smart International Rescue uniforms complete with sashes. Can't be forgetting the sashes.

As a reminder, the Dumball isn't a race. There are no prizes for finishing first. And as much as it may not seem like it, it is a test of Endurance. In the last event we were averaging 10-12 hours of driving per day as a team of four - and this time there are only two of us. And we know some of you may be thinking that we will be having fun. This is probably true, for at least part of the time. But keep in mind that this is all for a great cause. And we have also already shelled out considerably more than the value of the car (each) for the privilege of taking part. And we’re all using up our leave entitlement and spending the better part of two weeks away from home and family. And it is likely the fancy dress attire will be 100% Polyester. P o l y e s t e r. To be worn in a vehicle in which the fan is likely to fail and we have already discovered the AC doesn't work and three out of the four windows currently don't function. In the middle of June.

It’s a carnival of mayhem on wheels - a true test of idiocy and endurance! Sold?

So help us to beat our last total in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust, which provides specialised nursing care and support to teenagers suffering the nightmare of cancer early in their lives.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Every day, seven young people aged 13-24 hear the words you have cancer. Teenage Cancer Trust is the only UK charity dedicated to providing the specialised nursing care and support they need to get through it.

Cancer doesn't just devastate a young persons health. It threatens to take away everything they care about their identity, their independence, and their dreams.

Teenage Cancer Trust fund specialist nurses, youth support teams and hospital units within the NHS to provide the very best care and support during treatment and beyond, making sure cancer doesn't stop young people living their lives.