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THE RIVALS
ELIZABETH I VS MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
VIRTUAL RUNNING / WALKING CHALLENGE SERIES
Open for all of 2023 and 2024
NOW LIVE!
TAKE PART ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD
Stay motivated with our mileage challenges, wherever you are in the world. Each of the 6 challenges follows in the footsteps of Elizabeth I or Mary Queen of Scots on an important journey she made in her life. Were they really history's greatest rivals?
As well as a medal for each Queen, you'll unlock podcasts and postcards when you get to important places along the way and mapping technology that allows you to chart your progress along the route.
NOW LIVE
91 MILES THE ROYAL BASTARD
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Join Elizabeth I in May 1536 during one of the most tumultuous time in the Tudor Court. We’ll be toddling 91 miles with the young Elizabeth, aged 2 years and 8 months, in the immediate aftermath of her Mother, Anne Boleyn’s execution, and helping her get used to her new position in life.
£28.2 (Including VAT, extra shipping for those outside the UK)
169 MILES THE INFANT QUEEN
This journey explores the terrifying existence of the infant queen, Mary Stewart, born in 1542, and becoming Queen of Scotland at just 6 days old. We’ll follow Mary through Scotland for the first 5 years of life, as her Mother, Mary of Guise, struggled to keep her safe from forces near and far.
Cycling miles permitted
£28.2 (Including VAT, extra shipping for those outside the UK)
197 MILES THE QUEEN'S SISTER
£29.4 (Including VAT, extra shipping for those outside the UK)
We’ll pick up Elizabeth’s next journey in 1554, and follow the 20-year old to the Tower of London, where she was imprisoned for treason by her sister, and now Queen of England, Mary. We’ll explore how Elizabeth managed to escape the gallows and retreat to the country under house arrest, and we’ll stay with Elizabeth until, aged 25 years old, she discovered that she was to replace her sister on the throne.
Cycling miles permitted & can complete in teams
126 MILES THE WHITE QUEEN
£28.2 (Including VAT, extra shipping for those outside the UK)
It’s 1559 and Mary has been living in France for the past 12 years. She’s married to Francis II, the Dauphin and we pick up her journey on the deathbed of her Father-in-law, Henry II at the Palace of Tournelles. We’ll be following her to the coronation of her husband in Rheims, where Mary- now the Queen of Scotland and France - rather bravely wore white amongst a crowd of mourners in black.
500 MILES THE CAPTIVE QUEEN
OR
119 MILES THE CAPTIVE QUEEN
£30.6 (Including VAT, extra shipping for those outside the UK)
We know some of you love the long journeys and others hate them. So you can choose how much of Mary's 20 year incarceration in England you want to follow. The challenge follows Mary as she's forced to abdicate, begs for release and eventually to her execution at Fotheringhay.
Cycling miles permitted & can complete in teams for longer version.
75 MILES THE VIRGIN QUEEN
£28.20 (Including VAT, extra shipping for those outside the UK)
It’s 1588 the Spanish Armada threatened to destroy England as a huge fleet of ships set sail for the channel. In this journey we’ll follow Elizabeth’s movements during the successful English defence, ending up in Tilbury in Essex for her famous victory speech to the troops. We’ll be exploring why she never married and how symbolism and propaganda were used to promote her status as the warrior queen.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
We've partnered up with My Virtual Mission for this event so your whole journey is managed through their amazing tech platform - available through their website and in an easy-to-use app.
SELECT YOUR GOAL
When you sign up for each challenge, you'll be asked for your goal completion time for the challenge. E.g. How many weeks/months would you like to take to walk/run 91 miles for Elizabeth I's 91 Miles the Royal Bastard.
Wherever you are in the world, complete a running or walking activity - whatever distance you like. Measure it using a GPS tracking device or take a photo of your treadmill screen. Lots of people have fancy GPS watches but there are plenty of free apps (e.g. Strava) that you can download on your phone that work just as well.
RUN OR WALK
LOG YOUR ACTIVITY AND MOVE ALONG THE VIRTUAL MAP
Once this activity is logged in the My Virtual Mission app, you'll see your figure move along the virtual map. You can set it to automatically sync to some apps, or manually upload a photo of your GPS evidence in seconds. There will be a marker for your goal to keep you on track - but if life gets in the way, you can adjust it!
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UNLOCK PODCASTS AND POSTCARDS
When you reach certain places along the map, you'll unlock a postcard or podcast to tell you more about her time there. For example, Hever is about 22 miles along the route for Anne Boleyn. Once you've clocked up 22 miles of activity, you'll unlock a podcast telling you more about Anne's time at Hever. This will appear in the My Virtual Mission app/website and you'll also receive it by email.
At any time in your journey, you'll be able to check out your virtual surroundings on street view. You might even bump into someone with a matching ruff!
SEE YOU ON STREET VIEW
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH OUR AMAZING COMMUNITY
The Secret London Runs Connect Facebook group is full of like-minded walkers and runners. Come join us and share the fun.
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EARN YOUR MEDAL
Once you go over the finish-line we'll send you your medal in the post to celebrate your journey. There are 6 magnetic medals - will you collect them all? For this series, we're also working on a giant Finisher's Medal to host all the individual medals!
SEASON PASSES
6 QUEEN PASS
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Entry to all 6 challenges, whilst saving a few £££
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6 Magnetic medals, individually wrapped
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25% off the medal backing plate and any event-based merchandise (e.g. buffs)
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Motivation for all of the challenges!
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A fabulous community to share the challenges with
6 QUEEN PASS: PAY IN 2 INSTALLMENTS
We want as many people as possible to be able to benefit from our season passes. So we’re giving you an option to pay in two installments.
With the first installment you’ll get access to the first two challenges in The Rival Series, but no medals.
Once you’ve paid the second installment, we’ll send you all 6 of your medals, as well as access to the remaining 4 challenges.
You’ll also get all the benefits of full season pass holders, which includes 25% off the medal backing plate and any event-based merchandise (e.g. buffs).
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