Mad Dogs And Englishmen

From Budapest to Bamako (and Ipswich, Brussels and Ouagadougou too)

We, "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", have signed up for the Great African Run 2009, which is scheduled to start from Heroes Square, Budapest on 17 January 2009.

The Great African Run or Budapest-Bamako is now the world's largest trans-Saharan rally and the biggest charity car race in Africa. The B2 is a low budget version of the Dakar Rally that goes from Budapest to Bamako through the Sahara. It passes through Hungary, Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania and Mali.

The Budapest-Bamako is primarily a charity event, that brings direct donations to communities in Mali and Mauritania. Many teams are delegated by firms as part of the corporate social responsibility program. In 2008 Budapest Bank donated an ambulance car after it was driven from Budapest to Bamako. The Bayer Red Cross donated a minivan for the Institute For The Blind in Bamako after it was driven from Europe. In 2005 money was raised for a Bamako orphanage. In 2007 participants adopted villages on route and delivered supplies to that community. In 2008 teams dug a well in the village of El Geddiya, donated medical equipment to a free clinic in a Bamako slum, including sterilization equipment and an incubator. Further educational gifts were given to schools in several Bamako districts. The team that performs the most outstanding charity work receives the Mother Teresa Charity Award.

The spirit of adventure brought us together for this once in a lifetime opportunity, where we get to experience the thrills and excitement of a Europe-to-Africa rally, not to mention the chance to do some charity work in some of the villages in Africa.

Completing the 15 day race will be least of our problems (despite some of the risks mentioned below), compared to being able to bear the insanity of the team members for a whole 2 weeks.