Over the weekend of 11th and 12th June, members of the K2 UK team completed the 2022 Race to the King ultramarathon challenge, alongside clients and service partners from Aon, FRA and Situ.
The route, which took participants in a figure of eight loop from Goodwood Racecourse, across the South Downs and along Chichester Harbour, was an intense 100km in total.
With temperatures reaching highs of 23 degrees over the weekend, the enthusiastic band of walkers were up against difficult weather conditions, increasing the sheer endurance required to complete the route, but they managed to stay in good spirits throughout.
K2’s Executive Business Director, Richard Rutledge, who led the Race to the King team explains:
“The route was demanding, the weather was hot, and the distance was daunting, but we dug deep. Thanks to an amazing team effort and the inspiration of the challenge, this event has once again shown us what we can do as an organisation when we embark on adventures such as these.
Taking part in fundraising activities like this in partnership with clients and service partners is not only a thoroughly enjoyable experience, but it helps to further strengthen long-standing working relationships.”
Since March this year, K2 have been actively supporting the humanitarian efforts of Ukraine Appeal charity partner, Proem, so they were the natural choice when it came to selecting a charity to partner with for this year’s Race to the King.
Richard continues:
“We have already been working closely with Proem, arranging for essential items to be shipped over to their base in Poland, along with containers for storage. We have also supported with the provision of temporary accommodation and transport, but fundraising is an incredibly important piece of the puzzle, to enable them to continue to carry out the crucial work they’re doing for those who need it most.
We’re over the moon to have raised more than £5,000 to add to our fundraising total by taking part in Race to the King, and we hope that donations will continue to come in now that we’ve successfully completed the event!”
The JustGiving page remains open for anyone who would still like to sponsor the team.
Luke Charter, K2 Billing Co-ordinator and Race to the King first-timer, felt a great sense of personal achievement upon completing the challenge:
“I wanted to take part in this year’s Race to the King as I saw it as a great opportunity to step outside of my comfort zone and really push myself, whilst having a chance to build friendships with colleagues, clients, and service partners, in a unique setting.
The overall experience was even better than expected, and the incredible sense of achievement you get from completing the challenge definitely outweighs the difficulty of walking 100K. That said, it was a lot tougher than I had anticipated – especially the last 20k!
Even though it did feel as though my feet might fall off at times, the stunning views throughout the route, and getting to chat to lots of different people along the way, provided a great distraction and helped to take your mind off how many kilometres were left to go.”
Despite the gruelling nature of the event, there is still enthusiasm amongst the ranks to come together to take part in future challenges.
Joel Pergande, who joined the team from Aon in both 2021 and 2022 comments:
“I had the privilege of taking part in Race to the King as part of the K2/Aon team for the second time this year. Throughout the whole process, the arrangements that were made by K2 on our behalf and the support they gave us as a team and as individuals was nothing short of sensational. Never has the expression ‘you are in good hands’ been so appropriate. Thank you so much to one and all and despite the blisters which are very much still with me as I say this, I would have no problem signing up for next year’s challenge today.”
K2 is committed to raising a significant annual amount for our nominated K2 global charities and offering ad hoc support to other causes as the need arises. Race to the King is just one of a huge variety of events in our annual fundraising calendar.
Read more about our corporate social responsibility strategy.
