Monopoly Run London 2023

On Saturday 4^th March, 15 scouts from Ravens and Harriers took part in the Annual Monopoly run in London for the first time; meeting at the train station at 7:00 am, to catch the train to London, for the pickup of instructions and race start at 9:30am.

This event is something we had heard of and decided this year it was time to try it, not knowing what to expect for the day we had ahead of us.

After hearing that this year they had over 8,000 participants taking part, we arrived at Jubilee Gardens (next to the London Eye) to pick up our race instructions, and check in at the start.

The main objective of this event is just like the board game with all the places you would expect to see on the traditional game board. The objective is to travel around London in groups of 7, in zones 1 and 2, going to the destinations set out on the official app. Plus completing challenges and quizzes on the way. All of our groups were put in the same game, so we were competing directly with each other.

The walk down to the starting location was a sea of uniforms and neckers, all eagerly waiting for their start time.

We got checked in, game packs handed out and apps logged into, then waited for the countdown to begin. Then we were off some groups running off to bag their first property and others taking a steadier approach.

As the day went on challenges were added to the official app which had a time limit to complete these. 1^st was to get a photo of the whole team with a double pillar post box. 2^nd was to go get a photo of the teams hugging a tree. 3^rd was a team photo at a bus stop holding the game pack and 4^th was to assemble the team in height order for a photo.

There was a live scoreboard which was constantly changing as the day went on making our teams more competitive.

Just before 5.30pm we realised that there was one more chance to get to a Free Parking and bag some extra monopoly cash. Suzi kindly led a sprint team off along Oxford Street and bagged the loot with 3 minutes to spare! We regrouped at Marylebone Station for well-earned burgers and chill time.  The scouts were tired but enthusiastically chatting about their day and experience with each other on the journey home.

With 8,000 children competing across over 1,387 teams, our number 1 team came in 101st – a fantastic result!

We would like to take this opportunity to Rob, Robin and Suzi for helping out with the scouts. A truly fantastic event that we are all looking forward to doing again next year.