Trailwalker Champions Make History!
Trailwalker is the flagship event in our fundraising calendar and this year is a record-breaker; 2024 saw the largest GWT Trailwalker ever, with over 1000 participants taking on the formidable but epic course.
Early on Saturday morning, over 270 teams embarked on a 100km trek across the rolling hills of the South Downs, aiming to cover the distance within 30 hours. As well as being the distance of almost two and a half marathons, the altitude gain is the equivalent of scaling both Mount Snowdon and Ben Nevis!
Breaking records
Huge congratulation to the winners, Gurkha Allied Rapid Reaction Corps who came through the finish at an incredible time of only 9 hours and 23 minutes! Breaking the 20 year record of 9 hours and 50 minutes.
Team Balaram came in second place, not far behind, completing the course in just 9 hours and 42 minutes.
Third place went to the winning civilian team, Nepal Run UK and Rushmoor Nepali Running Club with a time of 10 hours and 20 minutes.
An event to remember
Queen Elizabeth Country Park was buzzing with anticipation on Friday evening as teams arrived to register and collect their event packs. Participants and their support crew were met with an outstanding performance from The Band of The Brigade of Gurkhas and fuelled up at the infamous annual Pasta Party.
The event began before sunrise on Saturday morning with the first teams taking to the start line at 6am, filled with adrenaline and excitement for the challenge ahead.
The Gurkha Pipers piped the final teams across the start line at 8 am and the event was well and truly underway.
In the hours that followed, teams made their way east across the South Downs, tackling challenging terrain and some tough hills. The fastest teams, both military and civilian, made incredible progress finishing before sundown on Saturday. Teams of walkers valiantly trekked on through the night, relying on their Support Crew to meet them at checkpoints and provide all-important food, hot drinks, and moral support! A huge group of volunteers and proud supporters awaited at the finish line at Brighton Racecourse, cheering every team through. Finishers were rewarded with a Trailwalker medal and of course the legendary Gurkha curry cooked up by QGS.
“Watching the teams come through the finish was very emotional, as the pain of walking so far was overcome by the elation of finishing! It truly is a monumental challenge, and participants dug in deep to ignore blistered feet, aching muscles, sore knees and exhaustion, determined to reach the end. What is even more incredible is that many of these teams have been here before… and no doubt many will return next year! This event plays a vital part in our fundraising, so it’s not just a physical challenge. As well as months training and preparing, teams put in a huge effort to raise vital funds for GWT. It has been an amazing weekend.” – Keta, Event Organiser
Amazing achievements
To each and every participant – you have done something truly incredible! Walking or running 100km is no mean feat. Whether you made it to the finish in record time or just kept going when you thought you would never make it, just to take on this challenge is awe-inspiring. We are immensely grateful to all of you.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Queens Gurkha Signals, GWT volunteers, and support teams for all their hard work in ensuring that Trailwalker 2024 was such a success. Thank you also to Queen Elizabeth Country Park and Brighton Racecourse for giving us access to these wonderful venues.
But above all, a massive thank you to all of the Trailwalkers! Together they have raised over £217,000 for The Gurkha Welfare Trust. This is a huge contribution to our work in Nepal supporting Gurkha veterans, their families and communities. Thank you!