Nearly three full weeks into our WaterAid challenge, and we’re steaming ahead!
Since February 15th we’ve been walking, running, cycling, rowing - and even skating - to make the 5,777 mile virtual journey from Manchester to Madagascar to raise money and awareness for our client and partner, WaterAid.
With 42 challengers across both the Access and WaterAid teams, we’ve been logging our miles to reach 5,777 miles as a group. But we’ve also added in an element of competition with two teams we’re calling Team Manchester and Team Madagascar competing to reach the middle point first.
Travelling half way each to complete 2,889 miles, Team Manchester is starting from Manchester, and Team Madagascar (as you might have guessed…) is starting from Madagascar! Meeting in the middle near Mecca, you can see below the routes each team is taking to race to get there first.
Currently the total miles travelled as a group is 2,582 miles (so very nearly at the halfway point!), and team-wise, Team Manchester are in the lead with 1332 miles completed. Team Madagascar are following closely behind with 1250 miles too - so the race is still very much on. To keep an eye on daily progress, head over to our challenge blog to keep up to date.
While the maps might state we’ve gone through cities such as Napoli, Mombasa, and Athens, in real life we’ve been out in parks and the countryside to log our miles. From lunchtime bike rides and strolls, to morning dog walks and sunset runs - both teams have been exploring and getting fresh air.
To keep team encouragement going, we have also assigned two team leaders. For Team Manchester, we have Account Executive, Abby, and for Team Madagascar the leader is Richard, one of our Senior Developers.
"Getting up and out is so important to me as it has so many benefits physically and mentally, so heading up the Manchester team really puts my Mr Motivator alter ego to work! I'm also super competitive, and although this is all for charity and the wonderful things WaterAid are doing... my team will win!"
"The camaraderie in the Red Team (aka The A Team or the Winning Team) is very high, and everyone is reaping benefits from getting out in the fresh air. Our cyclists in particular are doing an amazing job, in difficult circumstances (looking at Ben Ryder and his puncture). And Bob Prothero is really racking up the miles."
On top of that, weekly team prizes are keeping motivation high with prizes for keeping going, exceptional achievements and individual wins.
There are many reasons we embarked on this challenge, from getting out more to support our physical and mental health, to encourage team collaboration after a year of working remotely, and of course, to fundraise money for WaterAid and to raise awareness of the amazing work they’re doing, especially in Madagascar.
To read about why we’re doing this challenge, our MD, Simon, has written a mission blog to explain more. And if you want to support us on our challenge, any donations would be greatly appreciated.
#MCRtoMDG #WaterAidChallenge #WeAreAccess
