The remaining four teams continued their journey to the next checkpoint in Georgia
Two stars from Race Across the World encountered difficulties during the most recent instalment of the BBC programme.
The popular travel competition features five adventurous teams undertaking the journey of a lifetime, covering more than 12,000km across southern Europe and Central Asia. They must pass through seven checkpoints en route to Hatgal in isolated northern Mongolia.
Without mobile phones or internet connectivity, and equipped solely with the equivalent of the airfare to fly the route, they must depend on resourcefulness, determination and the generosity of strangers to cross the finishing line first.
After the departure of cousins Puja and Roshni last week, the remaining four teams pressed on with their expedition to the next checkpoint on Thursday (23rd April). They were required to travel to Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi – amongst the world’s most ancient continuously occupied settlements.
As they departed Halfeti, the teams faced a crucial choice. They could either head north towards the Black Sea coastline, or venture east through Türkiye’s parched interior, reports the Mirror.
Competition frontrunners Harrison and Katie saw their lead reduced to fewer than ten hours, with the pursuing teams detecting a chance to capitalise.
Following their departure from the checkpoint, Harrison and Katie became the only team to travel north, searching for their first homestay of the race, and undertaking an arduous 14-hour overnight bus journey that could provide them with a vital edge. In contrast, the remaining three teams headed east, encountering challenging bus connections that forced one duo to change their route to remain competitive.
As the episode progressed, the journey began to affect Mark, who suddenly became unwell – bringing his and Margo’s journey to a temporary standstill, just 200km from the checkpoint in Georgia.
“I’m not feeling too good, I must admit,” Mark stated, with his sister-in-law responding: “You’re the priority. Even if we lose like, you know, hours.”
She continued: “There’s no point in me sitting in the hotel while you’re ill, is there?” Margo subsequently ventured out to explore the local surroundings alone, while Mark rested in bed.
“We came here mainly, Akhaltsikhe, for Mark, but now it’s going to be Margo’s day. I am sorry Mark’s sick. It’s disappointing in race terms, and I do fear we’re going to be trailing in fourth place,” Margo revealed.
“Not a lot we can do about it, so I’m not going to get upset about it. I’m just going to go and eat some dumplings and drink some wine, because if you can’t do anything about it, you’ve just got to live your best life.”
Back at the hotel, Mark remarked: “I’m feeling pretty ropey this morning. I had TT troubles all night. Tummy trouble. So, I haven’t slept at all.
“It is frustrating. I would have loved to get to Tbilisi this evening. I don’t think that’s going to happen, but we wait and see if I can recover.”
Despite encountering difficulties, Mark and Margo successfully surged to the front of the pack for the first time at the midway stage, while former leaders Katie and Harrison dropped to the bottom of the rankings.
Race Across the World is available to stream on BBC iPlayer
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