Inaugural 727 24-hour endurance challenge raises over £8k for charity

Twelve participants in a 24-hour charity endurance challenge ran, cycled, rowed and skied their way to a collective distance of more than 5,000 miles.

The inaugural 727 challenge, which took place at Inner Athlete Gym at Ash Park Business Centre in Tadley last Friday, raised £8,270 for good causes.

Those who took part had four months of training to prepare for the challenge when 727 was launched back in the spring.

Inner Athlete gym owner Jessica Lavender said: “Charities across the board have had a difficult time during the pandemic and we’re so excited to give back this year.”

Proceeds from the event will go to the mental health charity Mind, the Chris Donovan Trust, which helps victims of violent crime, and the British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH).

The event was organised by Newbury businesses Ortho Consulting Group and Osteotec in partnership with the team at Inner Athlete Gym and the SoPhysical sports injury clinic in Basingstoke.

Ortho Consulting Group founder Matt Woods said: “We’ve been lucky enough to experience the power of community and togetherness during the pandemic and we knew we wanted to give something back.

“Our charity beneficiaries do amazing work to support people locally, nationally and in low-income countries worldwide. We hope our contribution can help wherever it may be needed.”

Including the challenge participants, there were more than 100 people on site on the day helping the event run smoothly.

The organisers wanted to thank supporters such as Concept2, Love My Cake, John Burton’s Foodmarket, Transformation Chef, Green Bean Coffee Co, 1st Class Logistics, Huel and Range Meal Bars for their “generous assistance”.