When you think of a tax expert, you probably don’t picture someone who likes taking on the world’s greatest travel adventures. Iain Lathe is an exception: he has just returned home to Telford in Shropshire after visiting Bikini Atoll , one of the most remote places on Earth. Read Next I'm 61 and love my cabin crew job – it's a perfect career for over 50s Iain, 41, has worked in tax for about 20 years.
While he enjoys his job, he prefers holidays that are more out of the ordinary. He was immediately tempted when he read about a trip to Bikini Atoll, a coral reef in the Pacific Ocean’s Marshall Islands . The Unesco-listed site had barely been visited since the 40s.
But Rat Race, the adventure travel company behind the itinerary, offered the chance to circumnavigate the islands via kayaks, pack-rafting (hiking and boating) and on foot. The York-based firm was born from founder Jim Mee’s passion for getting off the beaten track. It has hosted more than 500 events in 20 countries over the past two decades.
It is made up of, and caters to, regular people who love a challenge. But some people on the Bikini trip were far from average. Among them was an ultra-marathon runner, a winner of BBC reality show SAS Jungle and someone who has completed 10 Ironman triathlons.
Despite being a keen outdoorsman and enjoying cycling, running, swimming and hiking, Iain doesn’t fit into the same categories as those fellow participants – which proves the Rat Race ethos. Before it adds.