On Sunday 21st of June, a team of us from 1101 took on one of the wackiest challenges we’ve ever signed up for… the Sheffield Krazy Races.
What started as a fun idea quickly turned into weeks of graft. Evenings, lunch breaks, weekends, and plenty of trial and error all went into bringing our soapbox to life.
Photo of Jack, our driver, zooming down the track in 1101's soapbox
Nearly half the team got involved. From design and build to logistics and race day support, it became a proper team effort that brought people together from across the business.
Alongside the race, this was all about raising money for Roundabout, a local charity supporting young people facing homelessness.
Thanks to the generosity of our network, we’ve raised an incredible £1.6K and counting. We’re currently sitting at the top of the fundraising leader board, and while it’s looking promising, we’re not counting our chickens just yet.
If you’d like to support Team Backup Heroes, click here to donate.
Photo of the awards ceremony at the Sheffield Krazy Races
Race day didn’t exactly start smoothly. After failing the brake test four times, we thought it was over before we’d even made it to the start line.
But with some quick thinking, a lot of persistence, and help from Stagecoach (our very friendly competitors), we got through scrutineering with new brake pads. Once we finally reached the start line, it was all worth it.
Our superhero performance went down brilliantly - especially when the organiser cheekily extended it from 20 seconds to a full minute as we ran around in circles - and Jack, our driver, then flew down the course faster than any of us expected, securing 10th place out of 19 teams.
Photo of Team Backup Heroes performing their super dance
The atmosphere was unreal. Thousands of people lined the route, cheering every team on. We even bumped into the Deputy Lord Mayor, Andrew Sangar, and Lady Mayoress Sue Alston outside our pit area.
We’re really proud of what the team achieved. Not just on the day, but in everything that led up to it. The creativity, the teamwork, and the willingness to get stuck into something completely different.
Would we do it again? Absolutely. We’d just give the brakes a bit more attention next time.
Photo of the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress with team 1101