Past contestants from Race Across The World are set to line up in this Sunday’s Great Manchester Run in memory of Sam Gardiner, the 24-year-old former contestant who died last year. The tribute will bring together runners from every series of the show for a 10k effort in his name.
The run has been organised by Emon Choudhury, who won the 2020 series with his nephew Jamiul and appeared on Breakfast this weekend alongside Harrison Devine. Choudhury said he had wanted to do something for Gardiner after learning of his death last year, and he has assembled what he called a star-studded cast from seasons one to six to race for The Christie Charity.
Gardiner’s story still resonates with viewers because of the run he made with his mother, Jo, in the 2020 series, when the pair travelled from Mexico City to Argentina. They were early fan favourites, but their trip ended in episode seven of an eight-episode run when their funds ran dry. The finish did not dull the affection many viewers felt for them; if anything, it fixed them in the show’s memory as one of its most recognisable duos.
Harrison Devine, who travelled with his sister Katie from Southern Europe to Northern Mongolia and finished third this year, said he had been a massive fan of the programme before appearing on it himself. He said Gardiner and Jo were among the most inspiring stories he had watched, and that when the call came from Choudhury, agreeing to run was immediate because the race and the tribute fitted together naturally.
Gardiner died in May last year following a car crash on the A34 near Manchester, a loss that clearly still sits close to the Race Across The World community. The Great Manchester Run gives that grief a public shape this Sunday, but it also leaves one question hanging over the effort: how much the team expects to raise for The Christie Charity has not been disclosed.
What is certain is that the tribute will not be symbolic only. With contestants from all six series taking part, the race will turn a much-loved television memory into a real-world show of support for Gardiner’s family and for the charity chosen to carry the fundraising effort forward.
