Pictured are Mary Doyle from Hospice’s fundraising team with Katherine Watling, Amy Senogles, Sam Waters and Ben Barlow who are four of a group of nine people taking part in a 3,500km pan-Indian adventure in a 7 horsepower glorified lawnmower – in other words a motorised Rickshaw!

The group are taking part in this trip for Hospice Isle of Man and will set off from the Isle of Man on Boxing Day, 26th December heading for India – they will travel from Kochi in Kerala, up the west coast of India, to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan.

The trip starts in earnest on 1st January 2016.

Other members of the groups are Adam Callister, Fern Waters, Kaitlyn Rodgers, Rachel Murray and Kimberley Janye. Some of the group are travelling from Australia to do the trip but Adam and Fern are originally from the Isle of Man.

They intend to travel between six to eight hours a day; the ‘race’ needs to be completed within 14 days. No accommodation is booked – they literally sleep somewhere along the route depending where they get to! No mechanical support is provided so they will learn how to fix a rickshaw if needed to!

The team hope to raise ?3,000 between them all with some of the funds going to protecting the rainforests – Coolearth https://www.coolearth.org/ 

The Australian Team are also raising money for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, who work to brighten the lives of seriously ill children and their families.

They have funded all the costs of getting to India via the UK and all costs attributed in taking part in this adventure so all donations will go directly to Hospice with a percentage to Coolearth.

To donate visit Just Giving – https://www.justgiving.com/Team-MadManx-Hospiceisleofman/

To find out more about the adventure visit their Facebook page on https://www.facebook.com/groups/teammadmanx/ 

Details of the trip are available from The Adventurists website on http://www.theadventurists.com/rickshaw-run 

Some of the details are described as:

“easily the least sensible thing to do with two weeks.”

“At each end of the Run is a party of earth shattering proportions but what is between them is all down to you. And luck - good or bad.”

“There is no set route, no back-up, no way of knowing if you're going to make it. The only certainty is that you will get lost, you will get stuck and you will break down.”

“It's just you and your mates in a wholly unsuitable vehicle, traversing the subcontinent enduring whatever s...t the road throws at you.”

The guys have organised a couple of on-island events; they will man a stall at Hospice’s Christmas fair on Sunday 22nd November at Tynwald Mills marquee where they will sell cakes and Christmas craft items which they are busy making – please support them!

They will also be holding an Indian night and another cake sale to raise even more funds for Hospice and Coolearth.

Mary thanked everyone for all their endeavours for the local charity adding: “this will definitely be an adventure – they hope to raise ?3,000 – if they do that will equate to over 10 days of care in our In-patient unit – roughly around the duration of the rickshaw run”. “I think it will be amazing – thank you to them all.”