Eugenie and Isabel
A mother and daughter team with clashing personalities and contrasting strengths, teacher Eugenie, 60, and trainee clinical scientist, Isabel, 25, hope the race will improve their understanding of one another.
Why did you want to take part in Race Across the World?
We walked around the park several times with weights in our backpacks!
Eugenie: Isabel came to me and said she was going to be putting in an application for us for Race Across the World, so I asked her “what is Race Across the World?” She said “you need to watch it” so I started watching it and thought “Yes, I’d love to be on that.” I also do anything to keep my kids happy so if it was going to keep Isabel happy, then I was ready to do it!
Isabel: I put in the application because although it seemed quite intense, I thought it would be something cool for us to bond together in the process. Mum and I are not as close as we could be so I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore.
Have you got a strategy going into the race?
Isabel: We learnt loads of languages that are now pointless!
Eugenie: Isabel was doing the Spanish speaking, then German between us, and I was doing the French.
Isabel: Just the who, what, where, whys. I think now, our strategy will be trying to utilise Mum’s Makaton and other communication tools that she’s had to use with the special needs children she works with. Mum knows how to simplify things better for people, so I think that’s where we’re going to go.
Eugenie: We were just thinking that in terms of the senses, people can be quite visual, so as well as using gestures, we’re going to have to speak English, but it might be that we could draw some visuals in terms of trying to find different modes of transport for example.
How have you prepared for the trip?
Isabel: We walked around with weights and backpacks, around the parks several times.
Eugenie: We put dumbbells and all kinds of things in our backpacks, but even so when we’ve got these rucksacks on our back, it's crazy. Absolutely crazy heavy.
