- Date: 23rd March 2018 (Fri)
- Time: 6p.m.
BBC presenters Rebecca Wood and Richie Anderson are setting off on the ‘Peaky Pentathlon’ – a five day mission across the West Midlands for Sport Relief.
Dressed in 1920s Peaky Blinders peaked caps and costume, Rebecca who presents for BBC Midlands Today and BBC WM’s Richie Anderson will push themselves to the limit on and around the very canals Birmingham gangsters the Peaky Blinders made famous.
Rebecca and Richie will walk for 25 miles – lasting around ten hours a day – then attempt a different event at the end of each day. They will be putting their own spin on the modern pentathlon by swapping traditional pentathlon events for challenges around local landmarks.
Day 5 Ends in Vine Park Droitwich Spa
Day 5: Birmingham – Droitwich (Worcester & Birmingham Canal) – 22 miles – Start at Alexandra Stadium for running challenge.
09:00 Start challenge
11:00 Start walk
Aim to finish during 18:30 live Midlands Today programme
The challenge kicks off next Monday 19th March where they plan to walk for around 10 hours a day including through the night. They are setting off from Market Drayton on the Shropshire Union Canal and aim to end up in Droitwich Spa by Friday 23rd March for a live appearance on BBC Midlands Today at 1830.
They’ll be joined by a clan of celebrities including Olympics medallist Kristian Thomas, Glynn Purnell and BBC Midlands Today’s Nick Owen.
Rebecca says: “I’ve never done anything like this before – it’s going to be really hard. The training in the rain has been tough enough, nothing like presenting the bad weather from a warm TV studio but I am so excited to meet everyone along the way. We are going to need lots of support to get us through!”
Richie says: “I’m always up for a challenge for a brilliant cause like Sport Relief but this one is going to be tough even for me and Beccy. I’m glad we have each other to get through it and hopefully we will raise lots of money for Sport Relief. We just need her to make the weather behave for the week!”
For Sport Relief 2016, the generous people across West Midlands raised and donated more than £2.3m. This money has been hard at work in the local area, with nearly 230 projects funded across the region.
Rebecca and Richie aren’t the only ones getting involved in Sport Relief, as the entire nation is to take on a huge collective challenge – beating a billion steps a day, every day, from 17th-23rd March. A host of famous faces including Zoe Ball, Greg James and Alex Jones have already taken on their own epic challenges to raise money and inspire the public to make their steps count as part of Team Sport Relief.
Running, dancing and even dog walking all count towards the step total as the nation comes together to raise money and help vulnerable people, across the UK and the world, to live happier, healthier and safer lives.
To help the nation keep track of their hard-earned steps and ensure they count towards the national total, the brand new Sport Relief App is available to download for free. Packed with innovative challenges, exclusive celebrity content and a national step tracker* to keep count towards the billion, it also includes countless ways to get active and raise money for Sport Relief.
