Edinburgh students take part in a charity hitchhiking race to Paris

This weekend 15 Edinburgh University teams are taking part in a hitchhiking race from Edinburgh to Paris to raise money for a variety of charities.

Race2Paris is an annual event organised by Edinburgh Raising and Giving (RAG), a student fundraising group at the University of Edinburgh.

Spending no money the teams have 48 hours to reach Paris and with no previous travel arrangements allowed, must blag their way to the French capital by plane, bus, train or hitchhike.

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Edinburgh Live spoke to some of the teams this morning, just after they set off from Pleasance at 10am.

Innes and Logan from team Kilts for a Cause, are raising money for Breast Cancer Now.

They told Edinburgh Live: “We are Innes and Logan, a maths and genetics student at Edinburgh University. This charity has been close to our hearts recently so we are excited to have the opportunity to earn some extra money.”

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Best friends Xandie and Lottie form another team, La Vie En Road, raising money for the UNICEF Sudan fund.

Speaking to Edinburgh Live this morning, they said: “We are setting off with high moral and a belly full of sarnies, excited for the journey ahead and the people we meet.

“The morning has already been incredibly exciting and people’s generosity towards our cause is really moving. Who knows what the next 24 hours will bring - we can’t wait to find out.”

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Many of the teams have been sharing their progress via Instagram, with some teams reaching as far as Leeds and York already thanks to lifts from strangers.

Innes and Logan publicly thanked a driver named Mark who had given them a lift.

One team, Escargogogo, had even received some free mince pies.

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Edinburgh RAG and the Race2Paris event is overseen by Edinburgh Student’s Charity Appeal (ESCA), an organisation set up by Edinburgh University students in 1867.

They told Edinburgh Live that in 2023, the Race2Paris event raised over £15,000 for a range of charities.