If you follow our socials or have spoken to literally any member of our team recently, you’ll know that we held our most recent fundraising challenge at the weekend, The Big Nu Image Lap of The Lake, which saw us walk and run around Whitlingham Lake in Norwich for 24 hours, all to raise money for local charity The Feed.
Yes, you read that right. 24 hours. You should know by now that we have a penchant for a challenge involving minimal sleep.
If you didn’t know already, last year we had two teams of four cyclists rotating hour-long stints on two stationary bikes for 24 hours to raise money and awareness for Endometriosis UK. We loved how this challenge pulled the team together to dig deep and lean on one another, as well as the connection it provided with strangers in the community who either weren’t aware of Endo or who had also been affected by the disease. So, this year, we came up with the idea to complete as many laps of the 2.5 mile loop around Whitlingham Lake as possible, starting at midday on Friday and not finishing until midday on the Saturday.
Once again the team’s effort, support of one another and sheer determination throughout was inspiring and moving to see. It was the perfect way to raise awareness and money for the heartwarming and important work that The Feed does for our community here in Norfolk.
Let us talk you through the event from start to finish, so you can relive the rollercoaster journey right along with us.
Friday 12pm – 6pm
Prior to the event starting, it was all hands on deck to get set up. The day before we collected and hung up our event and donation banner that was kindly printed and donated by our favourite local signs and printing solutions company, CIM Signs, thanks guys! So the morning largely consisted of setting up base camp with tents, our firepit and chairs whilst limbering ourselves up for the challenge ahead. By 12pm, we were raring to go.
The first few hours were full of chatter and energetic documenting of our walks, friends and family popping by and joining us for a few laps and even a hello from Rhino Security’s director James Hamerton, who clocked up an impressive 8 laps in 2 hours. When the team did take a break in between laps, they were able to enjoy a cup of tea and some rest thanks to the camping stove, kettles and chairs kindly donated by our friends at Norwich Camping & Leisure back at base camp.
We were feeling good, strutting our stuff and riding high on the positive vibes and confidence.
Friday 6pm – 12am
We kicked off the second quarter with a BBQ, the ultimate fuel for our troops (hats off to Ian and PJ for keeping the team sustained). Unfortunately, it was a case of who picked the short straw in the team to decide who would have to keep clocking up the miles whilst the rest of the team filled their boots (sorry Ellie, Molly and Emily). But, once the food had digested, the sun began to dip below the trees, and friends and family headed home for the night, the tough hours were fast approaching. We knew they were coming, we were familiar with this from last year, but when niggles start to arise and eyelids start to get heavy, it still didn’t make it any easier.
The head torches were donned, additional layers were chucked on and the smell of bug spray became a permanent scent in our noses. Naturally, for some the first few laps in the pitch black were a novelty and was akin to wandering around a museum after hours. For others, it was eerie, to say the least. The gravity of the 24-hour aspect of the event finally sank in.
Saturday 12am – 6am
We’ll be honest with you, these hours were the roughest. The team was exhausted, niggles were turning into discomfort, and the temperature had dropped. For safety measures, we ensured at least four of us were walking round the lake together at all times. This meant taking it in turns resting and walking, it was admirable to see certain individuals pitch in and pick up extra laps when other members of the team were struggling and needed more rest.
We just about lost our minds in this third quarter, delirium was setting in. They may have been the toughest hours, but they were the silliest too, which kept the team going. Especially fun was Alex, our social media exec and 24 hour cycle veteran, making the journey from a saxophone gig in Stoke-On-Trent to Whitlingham, arriving at 1am. From previous experience, Alex knew how mentally and physically challenging the early hours of the morning were, he made it his mission to host a quiz to keep the walking four entertained between the hours of 1am-4am. We honestly can’t commend him enough for getting us round in those tough hours, from the bottom of all our hearts, thank you Alex.
5am brought the first soft grey tinge in the sky, heralding the imminent arrival of the sun, and the promise of the challenge coming to an end soon. The sunrise brought with it a second wind, and we were determined to use that boost of energy to the best of our abilities. Determined to complete the challenge but also raise as much awareness for The Feed as possible, we shared important information about the work The Feed does for our community and where the donations will go to provide continued support for this work. (If you missed them, check out the Lap of the Lake highlight on our Insta)
Saturday 6am – 12pm
By this point, some members had pulled all-nighters, many of us were hobbling (oh, the blisters), and the lack of sleep was doing weird things to our minds. Did we mention Mo hallucinated a dog in the night?
What could possibly keep the team going for this final stint? The daylight, the arrival of friends and family and the promise of breakfast helped to give our final laps an extra push. Lauren (that’s me) made bacon and sausage sandwiches for everyone stopping by in between laps, along with a coffee and tea for that final caffeine kick (thank goodness for Norwich Camping’s stove and kettles), and we were quickly feeling a renewed sense of motivation.
Our Operations Director, Nicole set out to catch up with the team on our socials about how they were feeling nearly 24 hours on and to document the huge achievement they’ve all been a part of. Clocking up some serious miles, pushing themselves to their limits and raising awareness for an incredible cause. We couldn’t be more proud of the team and their accomplishment.
At 11, Chris from The Feed arrived to walk the final lap with the team. It was great to have him there and to talk to him about the charity we were raising money for while on the go. Spirits were sky-high as we limped to the finish line, celebrating with a cheer surrounded by geese and swans.
We’d done it. 24 hours of walking, 24 hours of minimal to no sleep, 24 hours of doing what we promised we’d do to raise money for The Feed.
Between the 12 of us, we accumulated 345 miles in total. That’s the distance from Norwich to the West Coast of Wales. (Inspiration for next year’s challenge?)
Check out the the video recap of the 24 hours here.
An incredible 24-hours raising money for an incredible cause
So yes, in summary it was tough. Yes, it was for 24 hours, but let’s take a moment to say that again. It was just for 24 hours. The people that are currently unable to make ends meet or feed their families, the ones that are helped by The Feed, are dealing with levels of uncomfort that we cannot begin to imagine. Day, after day, after day. That’s why we want to help.
It’s not often we get this serious, but please if you can afford to support the Feed, even with just a few pounds, do so, so that they can support as many people in our local area as possible.
https://www.justgiving.com/page/nuimagefundraiser
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