Worthing pavement rowers pass ten million metres on the way to Tasmania

A group of Worthing volunteers who have rowed every single day for 468 days have passed ten million metres on their journey from Worthing to Tasmania — putting them, on the map at least, in open water in the Indian Ocean.

GO-RO began outside GoodOaks Homecare at 72 Newland Road with a simple idea and a rowing machine on the pavement. Anyone walking past is welcome to sit down and add their metres. A hand-updated board in the window shows the running total. The motto is blunter than most fundraising campaigns manage: give us your money or your metres.

This week that total reached 10,106,214 metres — a little under three-fifths of the 17.5 million metres it takes to reach Tasmania. Plotted along the route, it places the team some 250 miles off the west coast of Sumatra, which is a long way from a pavement in West Sussex. More than twenty local people have now taken a turn on the machine.

New banners go up outside the shop this week carrying an unusual request of passers-by: Spot us? Snap us! — an invitation to photograph whoever happens to be rowing and share it online.

Rebecca Drew of GO-RO said: "This isn't abstract for me. Saying goodbye to someone you love while they're still here is the cruellest thing I know. Dementia isn't a natural part of getting older, and we'll do everything we can to help find a cure."

The team are raising money for two charities. Dementia UK funds Admiral Nurses — specialist dementia nurses who support whole families through diagnosis and everything that follows. St Barnabas House is the Worthing hospice, providing palliative and end-of-life care across West Sussex free of charge. So far GO-RO has raised £7,298 towards a £20,000 target.

The milestone falls days before World Alzheimer's Day on Sunday 21 September.

Anyone can join in. Text the word ROW to 07788 249875, or simply turn up at 72 Newland Road and take a seat. Rowing is free; donations can be made at go-ro.co.uk.