At first glance, Joseph Adams’ plan to run ten 10km ‘races’ across Europe in five days would be challenging for anyone, but Joseph is not anyone. He was born with Down’s Syndrome and spent three weeks in intensive care with breathing difficulties when he was born. To date, the 21-year-old has raised more than £400,000 for Altrincham Football Club Community Sports, a disability sports programme in the North East. His ‘Race Across the World meets Hardest Geezer’ plan formed part of his No Limits challenge – a way not only to raise money, but also, in the words of Phil Adams, his dad: “to show what people with special needs can achieve.”
For Joseph’s running challenge, which took place from 27 August to 1 September, he ran 100km in five days (two 10kms each day, in different locations), with a huge amount of travel in between. That’s where Travel Counsellor Louis Morris began to work his magic and make Joseph’s plan a reality. This trip wouldn’t have been possible without a travel mastermind behind it. The fundraising journey was about more than simply creating a series of runs, it was doing an incredible challenge on a public stage. It also involved a tricky logistical cross-European journey during an Olympic summer – with seven people in tow. The different legs, combined with the runs themselves, would have been too complicated to untangle without a professional.
“My priority was coming up with a trip that worked logistically,” explains Louis. “It was an extremely hot summer and we were looking at days of 35-degree heat. We also had a few limitations, such as avoiding Paris because the Paralympics were happening.”
This meant Joseph, along with his dad Phil, his mum and three sisters who all ran with him, had to avoid running in the middle of the day. Louis says: “It was the hottest weather Joseph had ever run in, so it made sense to run in the evening and morning to get the coolest times.”
This added an extra challenge for Louis’ planning, because he had to make sure there was plenty of time for recovery in the evening too. “We didn’t want to find ourselves arriving at the next location after midnight leaving no time to rest,” he adds. The itinerary Louis devised started in Amsterdam and continued to Liege, Luxembourg, Stuttgart, Bregenz, Zurich, Lake Como, Monaco, Nice and then back to England.
Other than the final 10k run, which was in Altrincham in Cheshire, none of the runs were official races. This meant that not only did Louis have to plan the outbound and homeward flights and then the transport between the different European locations, but he also had to find good 10k running routes. As an Ironman and speedy marathoner, he knew exactly what kind of routes would work best.
“We wanted them to be flat, but also part of the travelling route,” he said. “For example, we ran a 10km along Liege’s river [in Belgium], which had a bonus of getting to the [next destination Luxembourg] hotel quickly for recovery after the run was done,” he says.
Despite the intricacies of the travel planning, there were no real hiccups. To avoid Joseph’s travel group experiencing delays, Louis booked a large Mercedes Sprinter van which transported the family (and accompanying physio) between the running locations and the hotels. “This cut out a lot of risk when it came to travelling between cities, which could have been stressful if they had had to rely on trains or planes.”
Louis even joined Joseph for the final couple of runs. Running through Monaco was particularly special where Louis’ route took them both past a Europa League football event that was taking place – Joseph is a big football fan. “We ran some of the Monaco F1 track, through the tunnel and by the swimming pool section too,” says Louis.
Accessibility is a big consideration for the Travel Counsellor, and although outwardly Joseph is an incredibly fit and healthy man, says Louis, it was all about being mindful of his comfort. “That was a big priority.”
He adds: “It was fantastic to see Joseph raise so much money for a great charity, which made all the tough logistical challenges at my end completely worth it.”
Resources
Joseph’s fundraiser:
gofundme.com/f/josephs-challenge-no-limits
Altrincham FC Community Sports:
altrinchamfccommunity.co.uk
Joseph’s Challenge
