Please Stand Back from the Doors – The MTR Charity Challenge is Coming Through!

Big fan of the MTR? Even if you are, we doubt you love it enough to want to ride all its 84 stops on one fell swoop. There are, however, two people mad enough to do just that. Enter Tim Littlechild and Chantel Shafie of RTHK show Something For the Weekend, who are setting forth on The MTR Challenge to raise money for Operation Santa Claus. On December 30th, Tim and Chantel will attempt to break the official Guinness World Record by travelling through all Hong Kong MTR stations in less than nine hours. Now the pro MTR riders among us may think that this is a fairly simple task; plop your bum on a seat, go for a ride, switch trains occasionally, job done! But no such luck, as this challenge is set to be a tad more complicated for this daring duo. On the day, Tim and Chantel will have to plan the best stations to switch trains at, taking into account obstacles such as escalators, toilet breaks, train delays and, of course, the ever-dense post-Christmas crowds. The journey will be broadcasted live on RTHK by Steve James from Grappas, Pacific Place, and documented at every station with photos and a logbook entry taking note of the times in and out of each stop. Donators can get themselves on air and place donations. Talk about a crazy ride! Chantel Shafie says breaking a Guinness World Record is a lifelong dream and she’s always wanted a “certificate in her loo.” Who doesn’t? We’ve got our fingers crossed that her slightly off-the-wall Christmas wish comes true. Psst - December 30th is also Tim’s birthday, so maybe we should surprise him with cupcakes at each stop. That won’t slow them down much right?

The best of luck to Chantel and Tim! All proceeds from this crazy challenge will go to the 18 beneficiaries of Operation Santa Claus 2013, an annual charity drive organised SCMP and RTHK. Please dig deep, show some love for the needy and sponsor Tim and Chantel by clicking here.

UPDATE - December 30th 2013 Congratulations to Tim Littlechild and Chantel Shafie for setting the Guinness World Record in 8 hours and 18 minutes, and raising almost HKD$100,000! Such an amazing accomplishment!

---