As March reading week kicked off for St Andrews students, some of us were dropped off in Edinburgh — prepared to embark on a multi-day hitchhiking race to Budapest. This year, with the organisation of the Charity Race 2 society, 50 teams travelled their way through the European continent by themselves by car, bus, train, ferry, and lorry.
In addition to the thrill of the challenge, this race also raises funds for charities. This year, over 55 thousand pounds have been raised by students, alumni, parents, and others, to be distributed amidst three charities: Solidaritee, which provides support to individuals fleeing persecution specifically focusing on their mental health, Richmond's Hope which offers support for bereaved children and, finally, Alzheimer's Research UK which funds research to combat Alzheimer's.
Credit: The Independent
This year, the winning team managed to reach Budapest in an impressive 38 hours. The duo, who decided to join the race to make memories on their final semester together at St Andrews, achieved this impressive time by sacrificing sleep to move.
Lia mentions that they had scoped out accommodation before leaving that they did not end up using. She says: “We just kept going and going. Drove the entire first night from Dover to near Dresden thanks to our Polish Saviour and didn’t sleep. And then when we realized we were actually making good progress we just decided to go for it."
Overall, they describe their experience as “incredible”, “unimaginable” but also “surprising”. They describe their time on the road meeting people from all over and overcoming language barriers, listening to their stories, discovering music, and just overall the joy that comes from people going out of their way to pick them up and bring them closer to their final destination.
As expected, not everything was glamorous, and they did face hardships while on their journey. Getting rides was not always an easy task, spending a lot of time on your feet with nowhere to sit or lie down, and cutting some journeys short to ensure their safety.
Credit: Race2Budapest Facebook
Now that they’ve arrived, they have been able to spend their days discovering the beautiful and peaceful city of Budapest. They wandered the streets soaking in the sun (after having none in St Andrews for the past 5 weeks) and appreciating the various castles and palaces. As the teams arrive one by one in the hostel, the students share their memories and adventures and continue to discover the city together.
For any readers wishing to join next year, this year's winners have decided to provide you with their tips and tricks. The most important one is to keep moving. There is no better way to move forward fast than to take little to no breaks. Furthermore, it is important to be strategic, not only in the areas you are trying to hitchhike from (they advise big petrol stations with a lot of traffic), but also in the cars you try and flag down.
It is more efficient to select cars that are going on long journeys (or that you can convince into dropping you off far) than to hop into any car for a short distance. Finally, security and safety of all members of the team must be assured : everyone needs to be fed, hydrated, and somewhat well rested to be able to function properly.
Congratulations to all the brave students who spent their week on the road and thank you to the Charity Race 2 society for organising this hitchhike every year, ensuring the students safety and raising money for well deserved charities.
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