Rickshaw Run rally ends in Jaisalmer

Organised by UK company, The League of Adventurists, the Rickshaw Run is a three-wheeler event. With 104 teams and 275 participants, this edition is said to be the biggest since the first Rickshaw Run in 2006.

Team members from around the world gathered in Kochi and met their painted rickshaws for the first time. After a celebration to mark the beginning of the new year and the launch of the event, they set off on a journey to Jaisalmer. The teams had no set route and no back up along the way.

Event manager Matthew Dickens along with his team received the finishers at Jaisalmer. The participants representing 22 countries are reached rolling and wiggling their way across the subcontinent covering approximately 3500 kms to Jaisalmer. Each team raised at least £1000 for charity – with around half of it going towards the official rainforest preservation charity, Cool Earth.

The League of Adventurists International, based in Bristol, are at the helm of many similar events around the world.

Dickens said, “This event certainly has a lighter side, but the important message is clear. We plan to introduce our participants to the real India – this is not a typical package holiday. When the teams are lost, stuck and all hope seems futile, the generosity of the Indian people shall envelope them in a fondness that many would not have encountered before. We also like to bring attention to the beauty of lesser travelled places such as Kochi and Jaisalmer.”
“We are thrilled to be raising money for charities across the nation too. The Rickshaw Run has now raised well over ВЈ2,000,000 (around US$ 3.1 million). Each Rickshaw Run raises enough money for Cool Earth to save 150,000 trees in some of the most endangered rainforest in the world,” he added.

The Rickshaw Run has now been going to Jaisalmer for five years. The League of Adventurists International currently organises six events worldwide including the Mongol Rally and the Mongol Derby.