Catch up with Tricia and Cathie, Race Across the World's 2023 winners

Last night (10 May), Race Across the World fans were glued to their screens as the hit BBC One series came to a nail-biting end. This year, best friends Cathie, 49, and Tricia, 48, were crowned the champions after being the first to complete the gruelling 16,000km journey across Canada, passing through eight checkpoints from Pacific to Atlantic coast.

Here, we chat to the winning team about their most memorable moments, while also finding out the challenges they faced en route, and what the two-month-long adventure really meant to them.

Why did you decide to apply for Race Across the World?

Cathie: It’s all Tricia’s fault!

Tricia: I wanted to because I watched series one and two and I absolutely loved it. I thought it'd be a really good laugh, and I couldn't have done it with anybody else apart from Cathie. I also love travelling, so I thought it was the perfect thing to do together. I also wanted to do it because I am losing my sight, and I'll lose it completely eventually. So, I wanted to just kind of experience everything while I can. And I knew that doing it with Cathie, that – when we grow old disgracefully – she can say ‘Oh, do you remember that?'

Cathie: We’ve been on holiday a couple of times but hadn’t actually gone travelling together. So when Tricia asked if I wanted to do this, my immediate answer was yes as it was a chance to spend time with her.

Had you travelled much before the competition?

Cathie: Not travelling as such – my default is definitely sitting on a beach for two weeks.

Tricia: I've travelled quite a bit, but I'm polar opposite to Cathie. When I go on holiday I like to explore. I can’t sit on the beach as I’ll get bored. I can't read a book. Myself and my husband would literally pick up a map and point to random places and go there, so we’ve ended up all over the place. That’s why I thought, why not travel with your best friend for eight weeks too?

This year’s series was slightly different, as you were racing across just one country compared to multiple. But did it feel like just one country?

Cathie: No, definitely not. Canada is very, very diverse. Each of the provinces or territories are completely unique from each other. Particularly when we got to eastern Canada. I don't know if people actually appreciate that Quebec and New Brunswick are French speaking – as in, it’s their first language and their instinct is to speak to you in French. But there was that complete diversity across the breadth of Canada. Vancouver in the west was a very different climate, and then we went north to Dawson in the Yukon. Then Saskatchewan was completely different again and had a very big Ukrainian community. Of course, there were lots of First Nation communities and we were very privileged to spend time with them. We learned a huge amount about Canada, and it feels as if you could have been travelling through different countries. It really was that diverse.

Tricia: You have the Rocky Mountains, which is obviously mountainous, and then you had Saskatoon, which I think somebody described it as so flat that you can watch a dog running away from home for three days. Canada is so vast that when I had the map up against Cathie, it was as tall as her. That's how far we've actually raced.

Out of all those incredible and diverse views, what was the most special for you?

Cathie: Jade City was just phenomenal. Tricia and I were knocking down a hut (this was one of the duo’s jobs during the trip) and I just took a moment and walked down to the lakeside and it was completely frozen. There were huge mountains covered in snow, and it was completely silent. That has now been burnt into my brain and is now my happy place. That’s where I go in my head when I need to escape the stress of life. I've never experienced anything like that place before. But my favourite place of the whole journey I think has to be Churchill. It was such an alien environment but I just loved it there. I was quite scared by the fact there might be polar bears around, but it’s just an incredible place.

Tricia: I absolutely loved Churchill. And my favourite view was when we went to watch the sunset one night. I think we walked about a mile out on the sea, so we were actually on the waves – it was mad! I decided that I had to take my shoes and socks off and paddle in the Arctic Ocean at midnight –  how many people can say they've done that? It was just a crazy, but stunning moment. However I would prefer to get a flight there and not a train. I was like a caged tiger and could not sit still for those 36 hours. Drove me nuts!

Cathie: Whereas, I loved going on the train!

Read next: Tracking polar bears and pioneers in Churchill, Canada

Is there anywhere you wished you went to that you missed, or anywhere that you wanted to spend more time?

Tricia: I definitely wanted to spend a bit more time in Jasper and Banff. Banff is absolutely beautiful but we were only at that checkpoint for a short time, so we didn't get to see much of it. We got caught in Jasper for a second night, and we ended up getting frustrated in the places we got stuck because we needed to keep moving. But Cathie and myself sat down, realised we were in a stunning place, and gave ourselves five minutes to actually appreciate it. I would love to go back there to spend some more time. Not on the gondola though!

Cathie: I just loved it all, and I’m looking forward to going back with my husband Gareth. The Banff area will be a priority for us too, and particularly I'd like to stay at the Fairmont on Lake Louise. That's my goal, because we didn't see that at all, we just saw the car park which wasn't quite as exciting.

Of course, Canada is home to some of the most remarkable wildlife. What was your most thrilling encounter?

Tricia: On the first leg, we had an amazing lady give us a lift who also gave us a job. When she came to pick us up in the morning, she said: “I'm going to take on a little bit of tour”. And there were eagles that stood so tall and huge! I think that same day we saw seals, and also a bear. Wildlife was literally on your doorstep, and everywhere you looked.

Cathie: I loved it when we saw the bison. You see bison in Canada like you see cows in the UK. At one point we were having a lift, and a mamma moose with her baby crossed the road in front of us. That was spectacular. We also got very close up with elk, and their antlers are just like velvet. 

How did you feel going into the final leg of the race? Did you think you could win?

Cathie: When we left Liverpool, we purposely held back some money, so we knew that we could take taxis if we needed. That had been our strategy all along. So we were feeling quietly confident that we could get quite a way up in Nova Scotia. But obviously, that would only take us so far. I had a little inkling when we got to the port that we might be in first position because when we got there, they made a big fuss about our camera crew and didn’t want us filming. It caused quite a consternation and I thought, no other camera crew must have passed through here yet. So we decided to go with the ferry that was already there, and to keep moving rather than spend money on a motel, and then extra money on a more expensive ferry journey. But obviously we had the risk on the other side. So I went from feeling quite confident, to then being extremely nervous, because we were genuinely relying on other people and we had moments of panic trying to get a lift. And then we got to St. John's.

Tricia: And when we opened that book after running up those steps – and I’m not sure why we didn’t put our rucksacks down at the bottom – it was bittersweet because we'd come first which was an amazing, amazing thing. But we'd finished the race, so it was really sad that we were going back home and back to our normal lives.

Cathie: It was a whole range of emotions in that final leg. But that was true throughout the whole race to be honest. You could go from pure elation to total despair within a few seconds. It was certainly a roller coaster of emotions.

You had to rely on the kindness of strangers for lifts, work, food, and accommodation. Do you think this interaction with the locals improved your travel experience?

Tricia: Yes absolutely. We got to learn so much about the Canada and its history first hand from locals. And when we got lifts, we would spend hours with people telling us about their lives. So it really made the trip, speaking to these random strangers that were so lovely.

These days, we rely on technology so much to get us from A to B. Was it refreshing or frustrating having to only use a map?

Cathie: From a technology point of view, I loved being without my phone and that didn't worry me. The only thing that was quite difficult was not being in contact with my husband, Gareth. But before GPS I used to use post-it notes and stick them on my dashboard, and peel them off when I got to places, so the navigation didn’t bother me at all. The only thing I would have liked to do was plan ahead, but the rules of the game don’t allow you to do that.  

Was the experience everything you expected it to be?

Tricia: Yes, and more. It has actually changed my life. From working in a bank to now working for RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People). My husband being poorly is now getting better. And I now have a much more positive outlook, but realise that it's okay not be okay. I’ve also learnt that asking for help is not a weakness. So it was definitely a positive thing.

Cathie: I second that. It was hugely positive for many, many reasons. Far more than I expected it ever would be. I had no expectations because I genuinely didn't know what to expect. I knew the format and had watched the previous two series, but ours was obviously going to be very different because the world was just coming out of COVID. So everything exceeded the expectation that I had. We were very lucky to work with some brilliant people. It was just amazing, and I feel like I don't have enough words to describe it.

So what's next? Do you have any travel plans for the future?

Tricia: When we got back from Canada, myself, Cathie and Gareth did the Inca Trail and walked up to Machu Picchu. And in October of this year, I'm going to be doing a five-day trek of the Great Wall of China. Fingers crossed, if the timing is right, Cathie and Gareth are going to come with me.

Cathie: I'm away right now! Gareth and I have managed to escape work, and we’ve come out to Thailand for a little over two weeks. We decided to abandon our original idea of an all-inclusive resort that was beautiful, but a slightly sterile environment. So instead, we're in Bangkok at the moment and have been for three days. We’re transferring to the Khao Sok National Park tomorrow morning and are going to spend four days exploring a rainforest. Then we're heading down to Phuket where we will be beach-side, but we've got lots of different trips planned. So it’s a completely different type of holiday for us. We are hoping to go with Tricia to China in October, but we've just bought a house, so that's why the timing is difficult for us. If not, Tricia and I will certainly be planning future trips together as soon as we can.

And finally, if you had any advice for people wanting to apply for the next series, what would it be?

Tricia: Do it, do it, and do it! Do it now. Don't think about it, just get it done. And enjoy every moment of it. Also take and write a diary because you will never remember everything.

Cathie: Be yourself. Because you don't want to be trying to be somebody else, especially when you come against difficult times. So be yourself and it'll be amazing.

Not yet watched the series? You can now catch up with Race Across the World on BBC iPlayer

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