Trainee priests at Oscott seminary in Sutton Coldfield will be racing to cycle the 798-mile distance between the seminary and Lourdes, France in aid of Across charity.

Across is dedicated to helping sick adults and children enjoy the pilgrimage of a lifetime to the Christian shrine of Lourdes in Southwest France. They operate the Jumbulance®, a unique vehicle specially constructed to carry unable pilgrims.

The race starts on 4th November 2019 and will be live streamed on the college’s Facebook page. The seminary will split into two teams, each taking on 400 miles on the college’s exercise bikes, and they hope to raise £7980: £10 for each mile cycled.

The event’s organiser, seminarian Michael Barwick said: “Our busy timetable means we are not able to physically travel to Lourdes but we will be doing the journey virtually as a race between two teams of seminarians using exercise bikes.”

Watch live on Facebook

The Cycling Seminarians' Justgiving Page

Seminarians Michael Barwick and Sean Gough saddle up for the challenge