Longest Distance Pulling and Pushing a 4.5-Tonne Van in 24 Hours by a Team
On 21 and 22 May 2026, the AJC Group team hauled a fully converted 4.5-tonne ambulance known as the HealthBus a total of 120.8 kilometres (75.06 miles) around Tarrant Rushton Airfield in Dorset without a single stop, establishing a new European world record and raising vital funds for The HealthBus Trust.
The Challenge
On the morning of 21 May 2026, a team from AJC Group assembled at Tarrant Rushton Airfield in Dorset with a clear and demanding objective: to pull a 4.5-tonne converted ambulance, the HealthBus, continuously for 24 hours. No mechanical assistance was permitted, the vehicle engine remained switched off throughout the entire duration and the bus was not allowed to stop at any point from start to finish.
The rules were precise and unambiguous. Teams of six rotated on an hourly relay system, each group pulling the vehicle and, on inclined sections of the route, providing additional push assistance to maintain forward momentum without halting. A calibrated timer and distance-recording device were activated at the start and ran continuously for the full 24-hour period.
The Route and Method
The circuit at Tarrant Rushton Airfield measured approximately 5.2 kilometres per lap, logged as 5 kilometres on the base-camp whiteboard for clarity of progress tracking.
Teams pulled the HealthBus through the heat of the afternoon, through the night and back into the following morning. Every completed lap was marked on the whiteboard at base camp and from the midpoint of the attempt, individual lap times were also recorded, providing pace data for both the team and the adjudicators overseeing the event.
AJC Group and the HealthBus team worked in continuous rotation throughout the 24-hour window. Relay teams were strategically organised so that fresh effort was always on the rope, ensuring the vehicle never slowed to a stop. The discipline required to maintain forward momentum through the overnight hours, in reduced visibility and with accumulating fatigue, was a defining feature of the attempt.
Independent Adjudication
The world record attempt was independently adjudicated by Blandford Rotary Club, whose representatives were present and monitoring throughout the full 24-hour period. Adjudicators confirmed the bus did not stop at any point and that no mechanical assistance was used at any time.
Monitoring was carried out using multiple methods simultaneously. Adjudicators walked behind the vehicle, followed in an escort vehicle and observed from fixed vantage points across the airfield. During daylight, the HealthBus was visible from the base camp for the majority of each lap. During the overnight hours, when visibility was reduced, a combination of an escort vehicle and a vehicle travelling directly behind the bus ensured the HealthBus remained in sight at all times. At the conclusion of the attempt, an adjudicator confirmed the final distance from inside the bus at the precise 24-hour mark.
I can confirm that the bus did not stop at any time and was pulled and in some cases assisted by pushing up inclines, without stopping the vehicle. On the final lap I was in the bus to confirm the distance at the 24 hour expiry, at exactly 75.06 miles or 120.8 kilometres.
Blandford Rotary Club, Independent Adjudicator
The Result
At the precise 24-hour mark, the final distance was confirmed: 75.06 miles, equivalent to 120.8 kilometres. The team had exceeded the declared target of 100 kilometres by more than 20 kilometres, completing over 23 full laps of the airfield circuit. The result was captured on the calibrated distance device and the adjudicators’ official records and is supported by Strava GPS data, video footage and photographic evidence collected throughout the event.
The achievement represents the longest distance recorded for pulling and pushing a vehicle of 4.5 tonnes or more in a continuous 24-hour period by a relay team, constituting a European world record.
The Cause
The record attempt was undertaken in aid of The HealthBus Trust, a charity that provides essential primary healthcare to people experiencing homelessness across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. The HealthBus itself is a specially converted ambulance equipped with all the facilities of a medical practitioner’s office, offering GP-led consultations, treatments and referrals in a safe and non-judgmental environment for those who would otherwise have no access to such care.
The AJC Group team set a fundraising target of 10,000 pounds for the charity. Every kilometre covered, every hour endured and every physical challenge overcome translated directly into awareness and financial support for one of the region’s most vital and most overlooked health services.
Battling exhaustion, blisters, muscle fatigue and the heat of a May afternoon, the AJC Group team demonstrated the kind of collective determination that defined the spirit of the challenge from beginning to end. The rotation system ensured consistent effort throughout but it was the shared commitment to a cause that carried the HealthBus over the finish line. What began as a plan to cover 100 kilometres concluded with 120.8 kilometres, a margin that reflects the character and resolve of everyone who took part.
AJC Group would like to thank all those who supported the attempt, followed the challenge and contributed to the fundraising effort. Your support is greatly appreciated by everyone at AJC and at The HealthBus Trust.