I am delighted to announce the winners of the 2024 Next Challenge Grant.
A wonderful spread of walking, running, cycling, climbing, swimming and skiing. Some in far flung places like Guam and Armenia, and others all done on by bus and train. And all uplifting to read about.
Here they are in their own words…
Running the Trans Caucasian Trail – Katya & Lucia – £300
Katya, 25, Climate Officer
Lucia, 26, Video Producer
Both living in London but met while studying in Armenia 10 years ago
In June Katya will be attempting to run across the newly constructed Transcaucasian Trail, which spans 861 kilometres across Armenia from the border with Iran to the border with Georgia. The aim is to run it in 3 weeks- so around a marathon with a little over 1200 meters elevation a day!
Lucia will be documenting the journey in the form of an adventure film which we hope to show at outdoor film festivals in 2025.
We met in Armenia around 10 years ago when we were in school, and it is a place that remains close to our hearts. The aim of our project is to both show Armenia for its great beauty, and also increase the visibility of women in ultra running and in the outdoors.
We will be fundraising for Free to Run, a fantastic charity that supports women in areas of conflict to strengthen their leadership skills through sport, primarily running.
We are so grateful to be recipients of the grant – big thank you to Tim and everyone else who donated – now we can make our dream adventure a reality! We are also a little terrified, as now there are no excuses not to do it, but we are definitely more excited- and we believe the best adventures are those that ride the line between being terrifying and exciting,
Walking the Length of Malta – Ali Mahoney – £150
Ali Mahoney, a soon-to-be-50-year-old Civil Servant from South Wales, UK
To celebrate the milestone of turning 50 in 2024, I’ll be walking the length of Malta. This little island in the middle of the Mediterranean was the place where I took my first steps, so it’s quite fitting to return there for this challenge. Whilst it’s not the biggest challenge I’ve ever done, its probably the most meaningful as I have Maltese family and have lived there for 2 years.
I’m absolutely thrilled to have won this grant. It means so much to me and will go a long way to supporting the costs of this adventure. Can’t wait to share my journey with everyone! Thanks to Tim and all the grant supporters for making these unique adventures possible.
Climbing the Peak District ‘Ethels’ by public transport – Hannah Boaler – £150
Hannah Boaler, 31, based in Sheffield, UK.
I work in a school, and back in August 2023 I was starting to think about how I could deal with the stress of the new academic year and look after my mental and physical health. I decided to walk the 95 Ethels (prominent Peak District hills), as these are local to me and I was excited to explore new areas of the Peak District as an ongoing challenge.
I have slowly been chipping away at them since, with the aim to finish by the end of the school year in July 2024. The added challenge is that I do not drive, so am using public transport to access them, which is providing a lot of fun logistical planning (and lots of early starts!).
Thank you so much to all those who have contributed to the Next Challenge Grant, and to Tim for running this scheme. I feel so excited to have received this grant, and the opportunity it gives me to continue to challenge myself whilst exploring my local area. The grant will go towards the transport costs, and I am so grateful to you all!
Three weekend climbing trips by overnight train – Jenny Gehlen – £150
Hey! I’m Jenny, 27 years old and super excited about the grant and my upcoming adventures!
I grew up in Germany and after a couple of years in Sweden and Switzerland I’m currently in London as PhD student in diabetes research.
This year, I’m planning a few micro adventures to the best climbing and mountaineering locations in the UK. Getting out of the big city and into nature has always been extremely important for me after a long week at in the lab and I want to show that sustainable low-cost weekend trips from London are possible, even without access to a car.
I’m hoping to maximise outdoor time while wasting as little time possible on travelling and logistics with the combination of sleeper trains, bicycles and wild camping!
Cycling between and skiing across 21 resorts – Tara Forstner & Naomi Brooks – £100
Tara & Naomi – Canuck & Kiwi (Canada & NZ), 34, Christchurch, New Zealand
Thank you so much to Tim and the support from The Next Challenge Grant – it really helps bring us closer to the start line!
In August 2024 (in the southern winter), Naomi and I will be ski-bikepacking between all 23 ski fields in New Zealand over 45 days promoting and supporting our amazing ski club cultures, outdoorsy women and pushing ourselves to complete this next challenge! This trip is women-powered, we plan to bike and ski tour for the entire trip :) This money will help cover some of the costs of the trip – and help us be the first ones to do this Ski/bikepacking Tour in NZ!
Swimming around Guam – Robin Lang – £200
I grew up partially on Guam and my grandpa was there in World War 2. I want to swim around Guam and write corresponding pieces about the environment and history.
Fastpacking from the Alps to the Dolomites – Hannah Blueis – £200
It’s my 32nd birthday this year. I was born with Cystic Fibrosis and in 1992 the life expectancy for someone with CF was 32.
Next year I’m undertaking a series of adventures to celebrate the previous 32 years and the wonderful life I’ve been afforded. Most adventures are closer to home, but one of them is a “fastpack” that starts at the base of the Alps and finishes at the base of the Dolomites. The trail is roughly 450km long and will take me about two weeks.
