Scroll down to see the final route we took
All 24 schools across Ebor Academy Trust have successfully taken part in our challenge to Run Around the World.
Across the 31 days of May 2020, children, staff, family and friends ran, walked, cycled or wheeled the distance around the planet.
Make no mistake, this has been an amazing achievement. Well done to the many hundreds of people who rose to the challenge. You can download a Certificate here as a souvenir.
There are many physical and mental benefits of being active and keeping fit. Regular exercise combats stress and helps you sleep at night.
For a little while longer we will maintain a sponsorship page (www.justgiving.com/fundraising/eborworldrun), for people who are able to donate. All donations will go to charities that support the NHS. We appreciate these are financially difficult times, however, and there is no expectation to contribute.
For the record, the story of our journey, step by step
This is where we are in the world as of Monday 4 May…
We’re off to a great start and after a hectic first weekend, we’ve collectively run 3,335 kilometres – which means we’re in Athens, Greece!
Our route started at York Minster, we ran to Hull and then kept running on the ferry across to Rotterdam.
Did you know:
- Rotterdam has many famous landmarks but we were impressed by the Erasmus Bridge, built in 1996 – perhaps you can Google to see a picture of this amazing construction
- The Netherlands are also known as Holland
- Carrots are now usually orange thanks to the Dutch farmers in the 17th century.
Next stop Brussels!
Did you know:
- Brussels is the capital of Belgium
- Famous comic book characters such as Tintin and the Smurfs came from Brussels
- Whilst famous for waffles and chocolate, Brussels also was the birthplace of brussels sprouts.
We decided to stop off in Zurich on our way!
Did you know:
- Zurich is the biggest city in Switzerland
- Switzerland is one of only two places to have a square flag (the other being Vatican City)
- The CERN Globe of Science is a visitor centre of the European Center for Nuclear Research. The site houses the largest particle physics laboratory in the world and six particle accelerators. The globe is huge, it is 27 metres high and has a diameter of 44 metres.
We decided to pop into Rome.
Did you know:
- Rome is the capital city of Italy
- Today, Rome contains 280 fountains and over 900 churches that tourists and locals can enjoy year round
- Italy is the country with the most volcanoes in Europe!
Let’s stop in Athens for a break…
Did you know:
- Athens is the capital of Greece and the third largest city there
- Athens is named after the Ancient greek goddess Athena, goddess of wisdom, handicrafts, and tactical warfare
- The modern Olympic games were inspired by the ancient Olympic games held in Olympia, Greece.
This is where we are in the world as of Thursday 7 May…
We’ve made it to New Delhi, the capital of India – that’s 8,338km in just under a week!
We decided to head nearer the equator and stopped off in Jerusalem (see new map below).
Did you know:
- Jerusalem is a walled city with walls about 2.5 miles long, 40 feet tall, and 8 feet thick
- Three major religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – regard the city as holy: Jews consider the Western Wall to be a holy place of prayer; Christians consider Jerusalem holy because of its connections with Jesus; The holiest Muslim site in Jerusalem is a monument called the Dome of the Rock
- Jerusalem is visited by 3.5 million tourists annually.
We then crossed Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf to land in Dubai.
Did you know:
- Dubai is the largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates
- Dubai’s most famous landmark building is the Burj Khalifa. It’s the tallest building in the world at 829.8m
- The Dubai Miracle Garden is the world’s largest natural flower garden featuring over 109 million flowers planted.
We decided to visit New Delhi on our way through India.
Did you know:
- Three World Heritage Sites – the Red Fort, Qutab Minar and Humayun’s Tomb – are located in Delhi
- Many different languages are spoken in India: the main ones are Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil, and Urdu
- India has about 65,000 animal species including elephants, pythons, river dolphins, and rhinos. It is the only country in the world with both lions and tigers.
This is where we are in the world as of Monday 11 May…
- At 8,848 metres (29,029 ft), Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world
- Have you seen the 2019 Dreamworks film “Abominable”? The Himalayas are a really important part of that story – check it out
- Everest has many names, for example “Chomolungma” by the local population, but for the British, it was named Mount Everest, after Sir George Everest in 1865.
- Chengdu is most famous for being the home of China’s magnificent giant pandas
- Chengdu is located in the Sichuan region of China, which is known to have the spiciest food in the country
- China’s tea culture originated in Chengdu more than 3,000 years ago. Chengdu has more teahouses than any other city in the world!
OK, soon we’ve got an ocean to cross, so keep up your great work and we’ll easily overcome it! Where to next? Come back at the end of the week to find out. Don’t forget to include family and friends and make sure you log your distances!
This is where we are in the world as of Friday 15 May…
We’re nearly half-way through our challenge and almost half-way around the world – we’re in Australia!
But before we start our momentous journey over the Pacific, we decided to stop off and have a little break in Cairns and see the Great Barrier Reef (see map, below).
Did you know:
- Australia is an island continent surrounded by the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It is the sixth largest country in the world, after Russia, Canada, USA, China and Brazil
- Cairns is renowned as the gateway to two of the world’s greatest natural attractions: the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics Rainforest
- Have you watched the film Finding Nemo? Marlin and Nemo live in the Great Barrier Reef. The Great Barrier Reef is the largest reef in the world measuring 2,011 km in length and 72 km across at its widest point, making it the world’s largest world heritage area!
Where to next? Come back on Monday to find out. Keep it up this weekend, everyone, and don’t forget to include family and friends and make sure you log your distances!
This is where we are in the world as of Monday 18 May…
Whew! After a busy weekend we’ve made it to Fiji! Next comes the long long long stretch over the Pacific Ocean!
Did you know:
- The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth’s oceans and covers about 30% of the Earth’s surface.
- Thankfully we were able to stop off on Viti Levu, Fiji!
Did you know:
- Fiji is an island nation with over 300 islands and approximately 110 of these are inhabited. There is no single island called Fiji
- The International Date Line runs through Fiji’s island of Taveuni, where you can stand with one foot in today, and the other in yesterday or tomorrow!
- Fiji was ranked the world’s happiest country in 2017 (Gallup International’s Annual Global End of Year Survey).
Where to next? Can we make it over the Tonga Trench? This is the deepest oceanic trench of the Southern Hemisphere and the second deepest on Earth! Check back here on Friday.
This is where we are in the world as of Friday 22 May…
- The population of the Pitcairn Islands is only 50 people – whilst it is a British Overseas Territory, it is considered to be one of the world’s smallest countries!
- The people who live there are descendents of Polynesians and the famous mutineers of the HMS Bounty. In 2010 there were only four surnames recorded.
- We’ve gone a long way – the Pacific Ocean is approximately 19,800km wide!
Where to next? We’re about to enter our final week of the challenge and luckily, as it’s half-term, there will be lots of opportunities to get out and about and clock up some impressive distances. This is our last big push – there’s a long way to go! Don’t forget to get your family and friends involved. Check back here soon to see how we’re getting on.
This is where we are in the world as of Wednesday 27 May…
We’re homeward bound, over 31,500 kilometres in and we’re sailing past the famous Galapogas Islands (see map, below). This is where Charles Darwin spent five weeks in 1835 which contributed to his “Origin of the Species” theory of evolution!
Did you know:
- The Galapogas Islands are formed by the juncture of three tectonic plates: the Pacific, Cocos, and Nazca. There have been several volcanic eruptions in the islands over the last 100 years
- The amount of daylight remains the same all year-round. Another cool feature of the Galapagos Islands is that the days and nights are equal in length.
- The average Galapagos giant tortoise can live for well over 100 years.
This is where we are in the world as of Sunday 31 May…
If we had gone straight around the world it would have only taken 40,000km. But, with the amazing work you all have done we were able to visit lots of interesting places on the way!
On the final stretch we travelled through:
- Panama city – home of the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World!
- Canaima Bolivar – the nearest town to Angel Falls, the highest waterfall in the world at 807m high!
- Barbados – the Caribbean islands are famous for their beautiful warm weather and abundant natural resources. We felt we should definitely stop off on Barbados for a well deserved break! Interestingly Barbados has the world’s third-oldest parliament and it has been in operation since 1639.
We ran across the Atlantic Ocean in one go! No stopping here!
- Marakesh, Morroco – a quick stop off at the 2020 City of Culture in Africa! Famous for gates, gardens and market squares, it is the home of the Jamaa el-Fnaa, which is said to be Africa’s largest market square.
- Gilbraltar – famous for the rock of Gilbraltar, a 426 meter high limestone rock rising out of the sea. The rock can be seen for many miles. It is home to the Barbary Apes, a type of tail-less monkey which are the only wild monkeys in Europe.
And we’re home! Well done us – phew!
Here’s the route we took across the world during May 2020:
