Race Across West Yorkshire challenge sees businesses around the county raise more than £42,000 for Forget Me Not children's hospice

The challenge, inspired by the hit BBC show Race Across the World, saw 20 teams of two from Yorkshire businesses race around six secret checkpoints, trying to find their way around without their phones or their wallets, all under the watchful eye of a support crew and fleet provided by event sponsors RRG Toyota.

The teams began their quest at Bradley Wood Scout Camp in Huddersfield, where Forget Me Not’s CEO Gareth Pierce handed them a set of maps, a travelcard, snacks and drinks and a small amount of money to buy food.

The teams had 12 hours to get around the six checkpoints, which would be revealed throughout the day.

The teams’ first port of call was a dash over to Calderdale, for a visit to Forget Me Not’s charity shop in Hebden Bridge to buy a mascot for their team.

Next stop was the picturesque village of Haworth, where team members had to paint portraits of each other, before finding their way to The Bingley Pub in Horbury where they took on a challenge to score 101 points with six darts.

Teams had to navigate back to Calderdale for their fourth checkpoint, a boating challenge at Shibden Hall, and then head to Huddersfield for a football golf challenge at Bradley Golf Club.

Throughout the day, teams collected letters of a password at each checkpoint which they had to assemble to solve an anagram reading “We are hospice heroes” at the final checkpoint at Russell House, Forget Me Not’s children’s hospice in Huddersfield.

The teams gathered at the Accu stadium in Huddersfield to share their stories and hear the winners. The teams also heard from Steve Lord, who praised the “outstanding” care that the hospice staff gave to his son, Ethan, who often spent time at Russell House following a diagnosis of a rare degenerative condition, aged nine. Ethan sadly died in 2025.

The combined fundraising total is currently more than £42,000, with donations still coming in.

Gareth said: “We couldn’t be more grateful to all the teams who reached out across their contacts and networks for sponsorship in this year’s Race Across West Yorkshire.

“Their efforts in the weeks leading up to this event, and the ‘purple wave’ we saw as teams wearing Forget Me Not shirts dashed around our communities, goes a long way to raising awareness about our work and the amazing difference it makes to families across the region, as well as much-needed funds.

“The hospice sector is in the middle of its biggest financial challenge in 20 years, but it’s much easier to navigate those challenges when you’ve got companies like RRG Toyota and our many business supporters standing shoulder to shoulder with us.

“Of the £7million we need to run our hospice and our services supporting babies and children with life-shortening conditions and their families across West Yorkshire, we must raise over 80 per cent ourselves.

“So we rely on events like this, people like our lovely competitors, all their sponsors and the many, many people across our region who support us.”