Brigade of Gurkhas officers complete demanding Doko Race-inspired ultra challenge

A group of British officers from the Brigade of Gurkhas have finished a charity challenge which was inspired by the Doko Race, an integral and gruelling part of the Gurkha recruitment since 1989.

The officers carried a 15kg Doko – a traditional Nepalese basket used for carrying items – over 50km with an elevation gain of more than 2,600m (twice that of Ben Nevis), across the foothills of the Himalayas, raising money for The Gurkha Welfare Trust in the process.

The legendary Doko Race involves Gurkha recruits in Pokhara, Nepal, having to run 5km uphill with a Doko basket, weighted with 15kg of sand, which they must complete within 46 minutes to have a chance of making it through recruitment.

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To raise money for The Gurkha Welfare Trust the team of officers wore the same weighted Doko baskets, but took it up a level by running 50km.

The officers' team, made up of Nathan Selling, Cameron McCall (Queen's Gurkha Signals); Sebastian Harris, Joseph Smith, James Windley (Queen's Gurkha Engineers); Alfred Shankland (Queen's Own Gurkha Logistics Regiment); James Fleming, Matthew Sutton, Peter Gardener (Royal Gurkha Rifles), were congratulated on X.

The eight Subalterns from the Brigade of Gurkhas decided to take on the challenge to "raise money for a cause that does so much work to help retired Gurkhas, Gurkha widows, and communities live in dignity with infrastructure that us Westerners take for granted".

Donations can be made on the team's JustGiving page.