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Rickshaw Run

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Driving along the road

The Rickshaw Run is an event where teams drive Auto Rickshaws along various routes across India. The first route in December 2006 was from Kochi, in the southern state of Kerala, to Darjeeling, in West Bengal.[1][2] In its inaugural run, 34 teams started the event, and 31 of those finished.[3] The rickshaw run has involved dangerous road incidents occurring during the 'race'.[4][5]

The Rickshaw Run is organised by the Adventurists,[6] who also organise the Mongol Rally.[7][8]

Where and when

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The Rickshaw Run takes place every 4 months in January, April and August in India. The route changes each time but starts from the finishing point of the previous run.[9] Initially the route just included India but by the second Run teams were going through Nepal.[10] Currently Rajasthan, Kerala and Meghalaya hosts the starting/ending points for each version of the run.[11][12]

Past Rickshaw Runs[13][14]

  1. 2006/07 Winter Run (26/12/06) started in Kochi and finished in Darjeeling.
  2. 2007 Summer Run (30/06/07) started in Kolkata and finished in Manali.
  3. 2007/08 Winter Run (31/12/07) starting in Kochi and finishing in Kathmandu, Nepal.
  4. 2008 Summer Run (01/06/08) starting in Kathmandu and finishing in Pondicherry.
  5. 2008/09 Winter Run (01/1/09) starting in Pondicherry and finishing in Shillong.
  6. 2009 Easter Run (04/11/09) starting in Shillong and finishing in Goa.
  7. 2009 Fall Run (13/09/09) starting on Goa and finishing in Pokhara, Nepal.
  8. 2010 Spring Run (28/03/10) stating in Kochi and finishing in Gangtok, Sikkim.
  9. 2011 Winter (2/1/11) stating in Jaisalmer to and finishing in Kochi.
  10. 2013 Spring Run (7/4/13) Starting in Kochi and finished in Shillong
  11. 2013 Autumn Run (8/9/13) Starting in Shillong and finished in Jaisalmer.
  12. 2016 Autumn Run (8/9/13) Starting in Shillong and finished in Kochi.
  13. 2016 Autumn Run Starting in Shillong and finished in Kochi.
  14. 2017 January - Kochi to Jaisalmer
  15. 2017 April - Jaisalmer to Kochi
  16. 2017 August - Kochi to Jaisalmer

74 teams started in the 2013 spring run in Kochi in the south western corner of the country. Out of those 70 finished. Most teams travelled along the east coast of India, taking the 'easy route' but a handful of hardcore teams went 'up the centre' passing through places such as Mysore, Nagpur, Varanasi and even making their way up to Darjeeling. The teams that went the central route travelled more than 4000 km in their rickshaws on some of the worst roads in India.

Charity donations

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Each team has to raise a minimum of £1,000 for charities working in India and Nepal.[15][16] The main charities for the Rickshaw Run are Mercy Corps, Frank Water and Save the Children, depending on where the Rickshaw Run takes place. Each team consists of one rickshaw and between one and four drivers.[17][18] The Rickshaw is a vehicle designed to transport light loads over small distances on paved roads, making it a challenge to cover long distances.

World Records

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During the 2022 Himalaya edition of the Rickshaw Run, two teams (Canadian and Swiss) set the record for the worlds highest auto rickshaw, over the Umling La Pass, at 5800 meters/19024 feet.[19][20]

References

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  1. ↑ "All the way to Darjeeling in auto rickshaws". The Hindu. Kochi. 28 December 2006. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  2. ↑ "Rickshaw Run". BBC Hampshire. 23 January 2007. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  3. ↑ Das, Antara (4 February 2007). "That's the Rickshaw Run". The Hindu Sunday Magazine. Chennai. Retrieved 28 October 2026. Thirty-four teams set off from Fort Kochi on Boxing Day 2006, with 31 managing to cross the finish line in Darjeeling after traversing over 3,500 kilometres across the subcontinent.
  4. ↑ Bell, Melissa (11 August 2007). "Road to Manali". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2026. Driving flimsy, unbuffered auto-rickshaws through mountain passes, road strikes, flash floods, and heavy highway traffic without mechanical back-up routinely leads to collisions, mechanical breakdowns, and rollover accidents.
  5. ↑ Rardon, Candace Rose (2 August 2012). "India's Rickshaw Run: get set for the ride of your life". TNT Magazine. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  6. ↑ :: The Adventurists :: Welcome
  7. ↑ Williams, Gisela (27 July 2008). "Driven to Extremes". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 October 2026. The Bristol-based outfit The Adventurists organizes eccentric low-tech endurance events around the globe, notably the 10,000-mile Mongol Rally and the Rickshaw Run across India.
  8. ↑ "The Adventurists: Fighting to Make the World Less Boring". The Adventurists. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  9. ↑ "Rickshaw Run India: Route and Edition Details". The Adventurists. Retrieved 28 October 2026. Held in distinct seasonal editions (typically January, April, and August), the starting city of each iteration commonly serves as the terminus of the preceding run to facilitate the repositioning of the fleet.
  10. ↑ Bell, Melissa (11 August 2007). "Road to Manali". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2026. Tracing a loop north from Kolkata, entering Nepal just south of Darjeeling at a town called Kakarbhitta... Mercedes-Benz lorries burned, boys and young men threw rocks at passing cars, soldiers patrolled the streets and UN convoys sped down the road.
  11. ↑ Rardon, Candace Rose (2 August 2012). "India's Rickshaw Run: get set for the ride of your life". TNT Magazine. Retrieved 28 October 2026. The classic Indian routes pivot between three geographical corners: Jaisalmer in Rajasthan, Fort Kochi in Kerala, and Shillong in Meghalaya.
  12. ↑ Rao, Mohit M. (12 April 2014). "Auto rickshaws on an odyssey". The Hindu. Mangalore. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  13. ↑ "Rickshaw Run Route History and Archives". The Adventurists. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Souri, Ranjit (1 June 2008). "2400 Miles in an Auto-Rickshaw". India Currents. Vol. 22, no. 3. pp. 36–39. ISSN 0894-3745. Chronological records of early editions linking Kochi to Darjeeling, Kolkata to Manali, and Kochi to Kathmandu.
  15. ↑ Garratt, Luke (17 September 2013). "Adventurers cross 3,000km of India in a tiny tuk-tuk". Daily Express. Retrieved 28 October 2026. As part of the entry criteria, every participating team must pledge and raise at least £1,000 for nominated international and local charities working in development, clean water, and rainforest conservation.
  16. ↑ "Fundraising Guidelines: The Adventurists". Cool Earth. Retrieved 28 October 2026.
  17. ↑ Frank Water Projects (2011). Annual Review and Impact Report (Report). Bristol: Frank Water. pp. 12–14. Highlighting charitable subventions received from participants in The Adventurists' Rickshaw Run to fund sustainable clean drinking water projects across rural India.
  18. ↑ Bell, Melissa (11 August 2007). "Road to Manali". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 October 2026. At the end of the trip, in Manali, Mercy Corps would donate the rickshaws to NGO programmes. Each team squeezed between two to four drivers into a single three-wheeled cabin.
  19. ↑ "Auto Rickshaws Set Highest Altitude Drive Record at 19,024 Feet on Umling La Pass". 22 October 2022.
  20. ↑ "Auto rickshaws drive on Umling La Pass, the highest motorable road, to set world record at 19,024 feet". MSN. 27 October 2022.
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