In the beginning

It all started with a conversation. Richard was wondering aloud, "What Big Thing can we do this year?" The capitals B and T were practically audible.

We wanted to do something to raise a huge wad of cash for a good cause. The cause in question being Macmillan Cancer Support, our Charity of the Year. (More capital letters; it's clearly catching). For last year's charity, someone had cycled across the country visiting each of our nearly 50 branches in a week. They raised a lot of cash, but this time Richard was itching to get involved.

"How about Land's End to John o'Groats?" someone asked.
"Nah. Takes too long," replied another. "It's 900-odd miles - you'd need to be superhuman and even if you did eight hours per day it would still take too long."

Richard was thinking. He's my boss. I can tell these things.

"How about a relay?"