Manx fundraisers complete 24-hour canoe challenge

Martin Malone (left) was joined by his Expedition Limitless team-mates during the challenge

A team of Manx fundraisers have completed a 24-hour canoe challenge in the lead up to another test of endurance in Canada to raise money for charity.

Martin Malone, a team leader of the Expedition Limitless group, said he was "absolutely destroyed" after staying aboard the vessel in Mooragh Park in Ramsey for the entire task.

In June, the team will cover 444 miles (715km) over 12 days in the wilderness of the Yukon River, camping along the way.

While testing their own resilience, the group aims to raise £100,000 for charity Manx Mencap, which supports residents with a learning disability.

Mr Malone, who built the canoe from scratch for the fundraising event which started at 10:00 BST on Saturday, said the task he took on was "fatiguing because it was continuous".

However, he said "loads of people clapping and waving" had boosted him and the teammates who joined him for two-hour stints during the challenge, covering about 63miles (102km) while lapping the boating lake about 140 times.

The canoe used in the challenge was built from scratch by Martin Malone

The Yukon River expedition will be the second in a series of resilience-based charity challenges created by fellow team leader Phil Quirk.

Mr Quirk, who joined Mr Malone for three hours in the canoe, said he wanted to "take normal people and show them you can do these wild adventures" and "realise you can do much more than you ever thought".

The challenge saw the fundraisers row around the boating lake about 140 times

Last year a team of Arctic trekkers raised more than £60,000 for mental health charity Isle Listen.

Mr Quirk said the remote nature of the 2024 expedition, which follows the river starting at Whitehorse and ending in Dawson City, made it "very different" as the leaders would be "dynamically assessing" where to camp each night.

The group had selected Manx Mencap because it was "one of those quiet charities that does incredible work but doesn’t get recognition it deserves", he added.