Explorer and Paralympic athlete Karen Darke is the founder of Quest 79 Inspirational Challenges. More of the story is available at www.karendarke.com/quest-79/ . After winning gold, the 79th medal for her country in the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Karen launched Quest 79 and her quest was to raise £79K for The Spinal Injuries Association charity, whilst cycling across 7 continents in 9 rides on her handbike. The last continent remains: Antarctica. Karen and he team are going to journey to 79 degrees latitude and longitude in the icy continent, a journey of 79 nautical miles each way, to create the POLE OF POSSIBILITY. The team will plant a flag there with the names of all the people: individuals, families, schools or teams who have joined in the Quest 79 Challenges. The most inspiring or unusual stories will also have the chance to feature on a TOP TRUMP card in a special edition Top Trumps Quest 79 card pack. Inspire yourselves and inspire those around you. We all need some of that right now!
A huge thank you to these inspirational people and teams so far…
Adam Gorsall – 79 burpees for 79 days, 79 days sugar free, 79 letters of sharing love
Alexandra Kriesche – meditating daily for 79 days, letting go of expectation & developing patience
Alexia Lewis – picking up litter every day for 79 days for a minimum of an hour a day & feeling grateful
Ally Meredith – 79 swims in 79 days in a sea often at 7.9 degrees!
Andy Murphy – 79 days doing the plank for 79 seconds a day
Ann Gash – 79 days of a different fruit or veg, no chocolate, cakes, biscuits or sweets to get fit for SPARTAN
Archie Darke – 79 miles cycle ride & 79 km running in lockdown
Broadford Primary School – varied challenges connected to no. 79
Bertie Darke – 79 miles cycle ride & 79 km running in lockdown
Carol Skill – developing skills for a difficult yoga pose by practicing for 79 days
Caroline Coles – A million steps within 79 days ending on the 79th day of the year, raising money for SIA
Cate Caruth – 79 days of sticking to a food plan, work plan and contribution to others plan
Cath Bunn – 79 miles running in a day
Catriona Macleod – 79 miles running in a day
Chloe Marriage – 79 miles cycling with Cerebral Palsy, raising funds for SIA charity
Christine Graham & Kevin Benstead – The Sacred Way Quest 79 ride following the River Ganges across India
Chris Darke – 79 days without any alcohol
Clare McCaffrey – 79 days of sharing top tips around building strong, connected relationships
Colin Fanning – 79 days of focused effort to create a new paddle-boarding business
Dalton-Morris Family – 79 km on a turbo non-stop
Darke Family – 79 mile cycle challenge
David Burgess – 79 magic tricks for 79 days shared on social media
David Hannam – 79 rounds of golf to help people have fun post-lockdown
Dezzie Willoughby – 79 days of meditation
Doug Low – The Water Way Quest 79 ride across Australia
Elaine Mochrie – 79 swims between winter & summer solstice
Emma Brookfield – 79 km cycling in a day
Fran Straw – 79 days of writing to progress (& maybe finish!) her book
Gairloch High School – a school Quest 79 to raise charity funds for SIA
Georgie Lewis – posting an uplifting song on her facebook every day for 79 days & feeling uplifted in doing it!
Glenn Valentin – paying 79 compliments to strangers in a weekend
Greg Holder – posting facts about marine conservation issues for 79 days
Hall-Crossley Family – 79 laps run on an athletics track
Helen Winter – 79 days of no refined sugar & 79 letters of kindness to residents in her local old people’s home
Helena Bellini – 79 times up ‘Montana Margaret’ mountain, Mallorca in 6 weeks & 79 days of litter picking
Jacqueline Norton – 79 days of running to recover and heal mind-body connection post breast-cancer
J.K. Frederick – 79 days to complete her book that will help others
Jean-Pierre de Villiers – 79 miles run challenge with an ‘iron’ body, raising funds for an animal sanctuary
Jenny’s Day, Jenetta Barry – using the arts to help mental wellbeing in a 79 day countdown to Jenny’s Day held on World Mental Health Day on 10th October, and in memory of her daughter Jenny
Jill Ladd – 79 animal flow instructors over 79 days to create an animal flow jam!
Karen Lee – 79 days of to write a new recipie book
Kim Godwin – walking for at least an hour a day & giving up chocolate & sweets all for 79 days
Kirsty O’Connor – offering 79 spin classes on a donation basis to raise funds for SIA
Launch Online – £79 for each employee of the business to start their own Quest 79
Laura Costello – 79 miles in a peloton on an indoor trainer
Lidia Peto – 79 days of 7 mins live on facebook and 9 mins on insta to help people with physical & mental tips
Linda Torbet – 79 days of a ‘3M’ challenge: letting go of material things, muscular tension, mindset (unhelpful)
Liz Quarrie – 79 days of running to lose 79 pounds of weight
Lucienne Ritzen – read for 79 minutes a day to educate self more
Luke Meeseman – 79 days building up to 79 press-ups
Luke Newman – 79 days of meditation
Lynne Joiner – 79 days of self-compassion
Mags Millburn – Try 79 new recipies to develop healthier eating habits & inspire others to do the same
Mark Murray – 79 days without Diet Coke
Mark Pitcher, Smash The Box – 79 blood donors & a marathon
Mandy-Jayne Lace – 79 days of indoor wheelchair training to take part in a charity relay across the UK
Mayah Riaz – 79 days of the plank for 79 seconds a day
Messy Rainbows Podcast – 79 podcast episodes by two sisters ages 7 and 9 to help other kids with messy heads during lockdown
Mike Armstrong – 79 days running a non-stop small social Clubhouse room
Mike Darke — 79 miles cycling for 79 years
Milo Darke – 79 miles cycle ride & 79 km running in lockdown
Moray Scouts – 79 miles of the Great Glen Way by bike / kayak
Niall Urquhart – The Express Way Quest 79 ride of the Pacific from Canada – Mexico & losing 79 pounds in weight
Nick Hounsfield – planting 79 trees, 79 acts of kindness & £79 to charity
Nichola Curran – 79 days of you tube videos to help people grow their fitness businesses
Our Messy Rainbows – 79 podcasts by two sisters (6& 9 years old) to help kids with ‘messy heads’ during Covid
Patel Family – 7.9 km kids cycle challenge
Pete Cohen – 79 days of ‘How to Create Your Fantastic Future’ Clubhouse room, transforming 79 people’s lives
Petrolene Roux – 79 pro-bono coaching sessions to help people make positive change
Precision Hydration – 79 hours of exercise starting at 7.09am on day 7/9 of the year, raising funds for SIA charity
Rachel Earing – 79 energy healings in 79 hours on the 79th day (March 20th 2021)
Reddiford School – 7.9 km kids cycle challenge
Robin Walker – Getting out of bed 5 mins earlier each day for 79 days (aiming to arrive at 4.45am) to create massive habit change and healthy morning routines
Roseanna Croft – 79 days of jewellery rendering techniques to produce a piece with 79 diamonds set in gold
Rowan Purrett – 79 peaks in 79 weeks, raising funds for an African children’s charity
Ryan Nurse – 79 thank you messages to people for helping & supporting him
Sam Sene – drawing people’s futures – future mapping – as many people as she can in 79 days
Sarah Seraphin – Learn to play the Ukulele within 79 hours
Simon Pankhurst – 79 km cycling in a day with diabetes and a degenerative nerve condition
Stefan Blom – an early, daily walk for an hour & taking a picture of the same view 79 times to create a collage
Stoneyhurst School – 79 laps of the athletic track by school x-country team
The Handlebras – 79 km women’s bike ride
Tina Davenport – 79 km walk
Tricia Thompson – 79 days of journalling & 79 seconds of press-ups a day
Walter Iturbide – 79 times cycling uphill to Bonanyes monastery in 6 weeks
Woon Tan – 79 days of journalling
Why not join in?! Read more at Quest 79 Challenges
Image source: https://www.vectorstock.com/6339755
