Split into two groups, the 12 students are cycling the equivalent distance from Lincoln to Monaco and take part in a virtual 603-mile Land’s End to John O’Groats run.
And it’s all for charity – with the money raised from cycle going to the Ethan Maull Up Yours To Cancer Foundation and money raised from the run heading to the Sophie’s Journey charity.
“Our tutor, Andy McEwan, suggested that during these times it would be a good idea to try and give something back to the local area and community,” said Sports Studies student Jamie Roberts. “Moreover, because we don't have work experience this year due to Covid, it has allowed us more time to be able to do these fundraisers and after Andy suggested the idea of raising money for a local charity, the entire group quickly supported the idea and got behind it.”
Jamie said they decided to split into two groups to help more than one charity.
“We came to this decision as we have some good cyclist and some good runners and thought we should use our skill sets to help more,” said Jamie.
“For both teams, the preparation stage before was trying to complete a few miles and get more active before the challenge again, after not being able to do much during Covid times.”
Jamie says that the challenges have also helped both mentally and physically.
“Because many of the students were struggling during lockdown time, with not a lot going on or a lack of normal exercise, I am sure an element of mental health was affected during these times for different people.
“However, with these challenges it has given everyone a goal to complete and boosted our moral, as we now have something to try and achieve and work towards. Furthermore, it is also good exercise for us all and with us not having been in college and working from home, it has given us all a reason to get out the house and it’s especially good when we are helping a good cause by doing this.”
Tutor Andy McEwan, said the work of the students has been ‘fantastic’ and said organising and taking part in the challenges had enabled them to develop their skills further.
“I think the charity work the students have been doing recently has been fantastic. It has been very rewarding to see how the groups have worked together in these difficult times to create something positive to contribute to local and national charities.
“Physical activity and regular exercise is something we have really promoted within the department over the last year, to help students cope physically and mentally with lockdown. This charity work has developed many skills such as communication, team work, creativity and planning skills. I am really proud how the students have responded to this project.”
You can visit the JustGiving pages for each of the challenges here: Land's End to John O'Groats - virtual run/walk and the Lincoln to Monaco challenge
For details on the National Extended Diploma Sport Coaching & Education Level 3 course - click here
