Tattoos and tashin’ off: RAG #Lost2013

Tattoos, tashin’ off and tough challenges all featured in RAGs #Lost2013 challenge last weekend.

The reverse jailbreak hike for charity saw teams driven in a blacked out coach to a mystery location in the UK in the middle of the night.

The 12 teams then had to figure out where they were and race back to Manchester without spending a penny, trying to beat the other teams and complete tasks along the way to score more points.

Challenges included swapping an item of clothing with a stranger, building a sandcastle and visiting seven different pubs.

Two of the teams took to twitter to track their journey and search for support. Jonathan Phan and Lisa Williams of @TeamWheresWally?! prepared themselves the night before by ensuring that they had their essentials with them – Where’s Wally costumes and cereal bars, while Georgie Calle of team Blue Belles @Lost2013_ tweeted ‘literally have my whole life in my back right now.’

Dropped off just before 3 am. the two teams quickly realised their location. ‘We’re in… Newcastle! No buses until 6.00am, looks like we’ve got some waiting to do…’ tweeted TeamWheresWally, while Georgie and Charlie of team Lost2013_ took a less practical approach: ‘Have to get back via York. First plan: ‘tash on with a Geordie ’#Ready.’

Only nine minutes later this was followed with the tweet: ‘Challenge completed!’

Both teams made their way from Newcastle to York, TeamWheresWally tweeting a photo of Lisa stopping off to get a RAG tattoo on the way and team Lost2013 managing a free tour of York Minister, all before 10.30 am.

Trying to complete as many challenges as possible in York, Georgie and Charlie tweeted: ‘Big update: just got locked up, found a ghost, donated in a charity pot, crossed dressed and found a ‘celebrity’!!’

At 12.29 team @Lost2013_ tweeted: ‘Thank you SO much to the conductor on this train. We’re now on our way back to MANCHESTER!!’

But they were not quick enough, as @TeamWheresWally made it home by 11.20 am, just over eight hours after they found themselves in the mystery location, scoring themselves a bonus 100 points.

Team member Jonathan Phan tweeted: ‘Over and out! First team that made it back to Manchester! Amazing experience, loving my new RAG tattoo..’

Team @Lost2013_ burst through the barriers at Manchester Piccadilly at 1.50 pm, arriving in fourth position.

But once all the teams’ challenges had been taken into account and awarded points for, the Blue Belles of team @Lost2013_ pipped @TeamWheresWally to the post, scoring 750 to their 745, and winning RAG #Lost2013.

The Manchester RAG team followed the teams’ tweets from a base in Newcastle, hosting a live map of the teams’ progress and giving them new challenges on the way.

‘One team has hitched a ride back to Manchester in an Audi 2.5 TDI convertible! Livin’ the dream! #LOST 2013 #YOLO’ they tweeted at 10.49 am.

By the evening they were back in Manchester to welcome home the teams whose journeys had taken slightly longer.

At 9.50 pm team ‘I want it Weldon, I’m wild(er)’ made it back, having managed to score four free pints along the way.

At 11 pm the RAG team were waiting for only two more teams to return from the adventure, with only an hour of the challenge left.

Each team took part in the challenge in an attempt to raise money for MAG, the Mines Advisory Group, an impartial humanitarian organisation that clears the remnants of conflict for the benefit of communities worldwide

TeamWheresWally are still collecting donations but have currently raised £30, while winners team Lost2013 are currently on a total of £520.25, including an anonymous donation of £250.