Wildheart Team Completes Isle Of Wight Ultra Challenge for Benji and Balu
- Dominic Kureen
- May 6
- 2 min read
The Bank Holiday weekend saw more than 1,600 brave adventurers take on the Isle of Wight Ultra Challenge, an epic 106km (65.8 mile) hike around the Island’s coastal path.
Among these intrepid walkers were a team from the Wildheart Animal Sanctuary, who
undertook this formidable challenge to raise funds for the Sanctuary’s rescue of Benji
and Balu, two European brown bears found living at the side of a restaurant in Azerbaijan.
The Wildheart team consisted of CEO Lawrence, big cat carers Mary and Sandra, and Wildheart supporter Graeme, who is also the in-house photographer for local estate agent, Pittis.
They set off from Chale base camp just after 7am on Saturday, May 3, and after walking for 34 hours and 15 minutes, completed their challenge on Sunday evening.
Unfortunately, team member Graeme had to pull out after 70km.
The Sanctuary shared updates from the team on social media throughout the weekend and encouraged their followers to donate to their Project Bear fundraiser online.
By the end of the weekend, they had raised over £3,000 towards their rescue of Benji and Balu!
When asked how it felt to have completed the Ultra Challenge, Sandra said:
“What a phenomenal experience for team Wildheart! Collectively we have pushed our bodies and minds to the limit of endurance and the highs and lows of mental and physical fatigue.
"When every fibre of our beings wanted to stop, kind words, and the generosity of every single donation, helped us power through right to the end.
"What can we say apart from our humblest thank you to every donor and supporter for helping us reach the end of this epic adventure!”
You can still donate to the Wildheart team’s JustGiving page by following this link:
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