Take on our Marriott's Way Challenge!

Author: Chris Elliott
Posted: 24.01.2022
Posted in:

Marriott's Way Challenge: Saturday 14 May 2022

Event kindly sponsored by Breakwater IT

What is the challenge?

  • A 26 mile walk along the complete Marriott’s Way footpath from Aylsham to Norwich.

  • The route takes you through beautiful Norfolk countryside.

  • It’s a marathon distance but we’re definitely walking not running. 

  • The route follows former railway lines. It’s a good quality footpath, well-signed and is largely flat (we don’t have hills do we?).

  • Our main event sponsor is Breakwater IT who are supporting The Feed as their charity of the year for 2022. Thank you for your continued support.

Why are we doing this?

  • To raise money for The Feed’s supported work experience programme for people who have faced issues like homelessness, poor mental health and addiction. 

  • The programme provides each participant with 40 hours' support over four weeks in our cafés. 

  • It develops new skills, grows confidence and makes them better prepared for their move into employment. 

  • The cost of providing this is about £900 per person.  

Event date and timings 

  • Saturday 14 May 2022; we will start walking at 8.00am.  Arrive by 7.45am please.

  • Meet in Aylsham at the start of Marriott’s Way. This is next to Tesco and opposite the Bure Valley Railway on Norwich Road. 

  • The Marriott’s Way ends next to the roundabout by Halfords on Norwich’s inner ring road. 

How to book your place

  • Go to our page on JustGiving: https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/marriottschallenge

  • Click the orange Start Fundraising button.

  • If you have a JustGiving account already then sign in, if not create your account.

  • The event entry fee is £25. Once you've set up your fundraising page, make your payment of £25 onto this page.

  • The entry fee helps raise money and will also cover the cost of the delicious lunch we will provide including sandwich, cake, sausage roll and bag of Kettle Chips. (We will provide the choices near to the event day. Vegan and other dietary options will be available).

  • Start sharing the link to your page and try to raise £100 in sponsorship on top of your entry fee (if you raise less don’t worry, it will all help).

Our tips to prepare  

  • 26 miles is a long way - it's not called a marathon for nothing! We recommend doing some training walks in advance and building up to longer distances.

  • Make sure the footwear you will use on the day is comfortable for walking a long distance.

What should I bring on the day? 

  • We recommend a rucksack to carry drinks and snacks including the lunch you’ve pre-ordered from The Feed which will be given to you at the start of the walk. 

  • You may want to bring a waterproof jacket or sun cream and cap - maybe all of them given the British weather!

  • Good walking shoes, ideally ones which are waterproof.  Waterproof socks are another option if your footwear isn’t rainproof. 

  • A few lightweight layers will give you the choice of adding or removing a layer as you warm up or cool down. 

  • Download the Go Jauntly app which has a detailed route map with information and photos of the Marriott’s Way.

On the day

  • Meet in Aylsham at the start of Marriott’s Way by 7.45am. This is next to Tesco and opposite the Bure Valley Railway on Norwich Road.

  • We will give each walker their pre-ordered lunch bag, included in your entry fee, comprising a sandwich, cake, sausage roll (all homemade by us of course) and a bag of Kettle Chips. 

  • We'll brief everyone on key information for the event.

  • We are aiming for a prompt start at 8.00am. 

  • Everyone then sets off and can go at their own pace. It's definitely not a race.

  • The Go Jauntly app is a good way to track your progress and gives you lots of interesting information.

  • These are some facilities en route including The Station Cafe at Reepham, a cafe at the former Whitwell and Reepham station, Lenwade has a shop, pub and chip shop a short distance from the Marriott's Way and there is a range of facilities in Drayton. If you plan to use any of these we suggest checking in advance their opening times.

  • We're not having any activity at the end of the route as we expect people to finish at different times. Once you've completed it we think you'll want to head home to get your feet up!

How long will it take to walk the route? 

  • As a guide, 3mph pace would be 8 hr 40 min walking. If you had 35 minutes of breaks along the way your finish time would be 5.15pm. This would be a good, steady pace for someone who is used to lots of walking.  

  • If you've done some longer walks as part of the training we recommend then you will know your own walking pace.

 Any questions?

Contact Chris Elliott our Marketing Manager who is the event organiser by email chris@thefeed.org.uk or phone 07784 358932.

Thank you to Breakwater IT our event sponsor.

Any event where you need food use the Feed. It's amazing and everyone is always impressed.
Catering customer

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