BRIT Virtual Distance Challenge for staff and students – 10-16 May 2021

The Get Out, Get Active team are here to bring you another virtual challenge for the whole university community! This time, it is a little different as we are supporting the university’s participation in this year’s BRIT challenge in aid of young adult mental health.

What is the BRIT Challenge?

The BRIT challenge encourages universities from all over the UK to host their own inclusive 2,021 mile team challenge, whilst raising money for charities such as Student Minds, Papyrus, Nightline, British Inspiration Trust and The Charlie Waller Trust.

What’s involved?

Individuals taking part will work as a team to cover the 2,021 mile distance in whatever way works for them including walking, jogging, running, hand-cycling, cycling, wheelchair pushing, swimming, rowing or paddling (canoeing, kayaking or paddle-boarding).

The challenge will take place during Mental Health Awareness Week (10-16 May) and to make things interesting, we will be hosting this as a staff vs student event, with two separate strands running simultaneously to see who can cover the most distance during this week-long challenge!

We would like to encourage as many people as possible to donate upon signing up. We appreciate that this is not possible for everyone, so this is of course optional. If you would like to donate to the BRIT challenge in support of young adult mental health, you can do so via this link. Anything you can contribute is much appreciated.

The Rules

The rules are simple. As this is a staff vs student challenge, you will be participating as an individual in either one big staff team or one big student team, to see which group can cover the most distance. This is just a bit of fun to add some excitement into the challenge!

  • Upon signing up, you will be added to a MS Teams chat if you are a staff member, or a private Facebook group if you are a student
  • The challenge begins on Monday 10 May at 00:00. From that point onward, all participants will log their activities via our challenge form throughout the week. Each time you complete an activity such as a walk, run, cycle etc. we ask if you could submit this via the form (you can submit multiple activities in one form)
  • We are not asking for proof of activities, but we encourage you to share screenshots or photos of your activities and words of support to others on the MS Teams or Facebook group
  • We aim to provide daily updates of the distance covered by both staff and students
  • Donating is optional but anything you can contribute is appreciated
  • The challenge finishes on Sunday 16 May at 23:59. The winners and the final donation amount will be revealed on Monday 17 May.

There are a number of different apps you can download to track your activity including:

  • Strava- activity tracker and social network. Available on iOS and Android
  • RunKeeper- running app that can track your runs, including location, distance and pace. It also has training programmes if you need a goal to work towards. Available on iOS and Android
  • StepsApp- any wheelchair users can use this app if you have an Apple watch. Available on iOS and Android
  • Pacer- activity tracker, step counter and more. Available on iOS and Android

This challenge is a great way to keep active and connect with others across the university community during these remote times, as well as contributing to an important cause.

Sign up now!

Joining the BRIT challenge is easy – please fill in this short form by midday on Thursday 6 May. You will then be added to either the staff MS Teams chat or the student Facebook group.

If you’ve got any questions, please send us an email. We’d love to hear from you.