Race2Madrid 2026

Olivia Kendall

Race2 2026 saw 175 students race from Scotland to Madrid. With 69 teams in total, the event managed to raise over £65,000 (and still counting) for the union affiliated charities. Starting in either Glasgow or Edinburgh, the teams hitchhiked and blagged to the ports of England, through France, to the centre of Spain where the beautiful city of Madrid was waiting for them. The teams were expected to spend as little money as possible, keeping track of every time they did (not including food and water); so no hotels, no train tickets, and definitely no flying. If you’re lucky, you might score a good night’s sleep at the house of a kind soul who picked you up off the side of the road. Otherwise, it’s another cold night in the service station.

Credit: Race2 Hitchhike Coordinators

As a racer myself, I was very surprised by the distinct differences in attitudes towards hitchhiking across the three countries. In the UK, hitchhiking was done only at gas stations – your best bet was going to a busy service station and talking to people face to face. When you hit France, gas stations were not so hot; off the side of a road or roundabout was much more successful. The French were surprisingly generous, if not a little misguided, having dropped us off in the middle of a motorway so we had to carefully trek to the nearest pavement. When in Spain – particularly in the Catalonian area (including Barcelona) – getting a ride felt no easier than picking up bricks with your eyelashes. My top-tip to any prospective racers for 2027 is to plan the trip in advance. Had my team prepared a bit more, we likely could have opted for the route through San Sebastian rather than Barcelona, where hitchhiking seemed to have a much higher success rate. That said, at least I got to see the Cathedral of Barcelona and the Sagrada Familia.  

Race2 comes with lots of awards to commemorate the achievements of the racers. The most cherished award, as is the nature of the event, is winning the race. In first place, taking only 50 hours, was The ManSpainers. Next, Madras arrived a close second with 50.5 hours. At 55 hours, You Madridn’t See Us Coming came in third. 

Credit: Race2 Tracker (Tracking Madriddlers)

Other awards central to the heart of Race 2 are the fundraising awards. Sangria Sisters raised the most money with £2,448.15 overall; the most creative fundraising (team) was Madras2Madrid who held a Fight Night of their own; and the most creative fundraising (individual) was Dan Turkington: who ran 24 miles, ate 24 burgers, and drank 24 beers in 24 hours. Go check out all of their Instagram pages to look at their journeys!

Race2 is full of such valuable experiences: learning to deal with rejection, building confidence to talk to strangers, developing team-work, and countless other transferable skills. With these, you’re guaranteed to gain timeless stories. I reached out to a handful of the teams to share some anecdotes. Here are a few highlights:

“One of our favourite moments was overhearing the driver’s phone call to her son who was in prison. He was saying how he wanted to cut up his cellmate and she was telling him to at least wait until the court date. Another one was being trapped next to this man who had 15kg of cocaine in his backpack. He was telling us about how his girlfriend is saving orphan bears in Bosnia at the moment. Great vibes, just a bit sketchy.” (Hitcha la vista baby)

“Our ride got a flat tyre when we were about to board Le Shuttle, and then the spare also went flat. None of us knew how to change a tyre, so we asked another racer to help … We also did face masks to boost morale while sleeping on the cold hard pavement next to a roundabout in San Sebastian.” (Raz2Maz)

“We were standing outside a petrol station, nearby Burgos, for hours in the freezing cold. We had to walk next to the motorway, by tractors, past industrial buildings, etc. to get here — mind you. The lovely lady working at the station couldn’t speak English, so we communicated via Google Translate. After around 2.5 hours, she and her friend [configured a plan]  to drive us into Burgos and [find]  us accommodation for the night. About an hour later, two women from South America came to the gas station and [spoke] to the other women. They find out they were headed to Madrid and convinced them to take us with them! Tears were [shed] and hugs were given. We were really feeling relieved and are so grateful to them all!” (Three Amigas)

Credit: @charityrace2 on Instagram

“Our race was nothing shy of heart-warming. It really restored my faith in humanity and reminded me that the world is full of good people. We met some really great people along the way who I don’t think we’ll forget.” (2Madre)

“The race pushes you out of your comfort zone in the best ways. […] I wager any racer will say they ended their race feeling how powerful the kindness of strangers can be. It sounds dramatic, but it renewed my hope in people and reminded me of the good things we can do if we make the effort to connect with one another.” (Lucy Maitland-Lewis, a Race2 Coordinator)

Overall, I cannot recommend Race2 enough. Get ready for Race2 2027; prepare to fundraise (don’t just do a boring bake sale!), pick your team carefully (maybe don’t do it with your ex-boyfriend…), and have an incredible journey.