45 Team Challenge Sell Out

All 45 team places in the 2007 Four Nations Challenge were snapped up before the June 30 deadline, giving the organisers a new headache: how to find places for the teams on the waiting list. Trustee William Naylor commented "we had to restrict the number of teams this year because there simply aren't enough hotel beds in the places we are visiting". Now the Extra Mile team is working overtime to find nearby hotels, but they have also hit problems with catering. "We were already close to capacity at most of our restaurants, so fitting in a few more teams may not be an option" he said. Team numbers are significantly up on last year's total of 37, so why is this year's Challenge so popular? According to Mr Naylor, the 2006 Challenge was a great success (despite poor weather) and the 2007 route through four different countries has captured peoples' imagination.

Can the Challenge continue to grow? "We always envisaged 50 teams as our maximum, and in our fifth year we're almost there" said Mr Naylor. Putting a limit on numbers means that teams get to know each other and the organisers, which adds to the friendly atmosphere often remarked upon by Extra Mile participants.

Filed: 26/10/2007 16:21:05