Students and staff from the Royal National College for the Blind (RNC) are taking part in a virtual March to Madrid to raise funds for the College and boost their physical and mental health this Mental Health Awareness Week.

The team’s initial target was to reach the French city of Lyon, as the College participates in a regular exchange programme with pupils from Lyon’s Cité Scolaire Rene Pellet. With international travel currently on hold, RNC staff, students and families opted to participate in a challenge to cover the distance to Lyon by exercising in their local area instead.

Participants were asked to take a daily walk, run or cycle and then submit a record of the kilometres they have covered that day, with the team hoping to cover the 1154 kilometre route from Hereford by half term. However, when they smashed their target, arriving in the French city five days ahead of schedule, the team decided to press on to the Spanish Capital Madrid.

By Wednesday 20th May, just over a week after setting off, the team had already covered a total of 1,734 kilometres, with 430 to go. To find out whether they make it to their final destination in time and hear more about their checkpoints along the way, visit the team’s blog.

Image: Sophie Corness, RNC Marketing and Student Recruitment Manager, with  her deerhound, Morag.

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