A rainbow ribbon of colour stretched the length of Bermuda at the weekend as thousands took part in the 20th anniversary of the End-to-End.

This year’s event exceeded expectations with more than 2,500 walkers and pledges already topping the $215,000 raised in 2006.

Organiser Stephen Davidson said: “While we are still counting, we know that more than 2,500 people took part, and we have already taken in more than $225,000 for our charities.

“We expect this will grow significantly over the next week as pledges and corporate matching funds are collected.

“Without doubt this was a record year. The turnout and funds raised were the highest ever.”

This year’s charity recipients are: Bermuda Autism Support and Education Society; Meals on Wheels; Open Airways; Keep Bermuda Beautiful; and Raleigh International.

Mr. Davidson praised the efforts of the volunteers for helping the event run smoothly.

“We would like to say thank you to all the volunteers who have made this possible. So many come back year after year because they just like doing it. It seems such a positive social event,” he said.

Among the walkers this year were the founders of the event itself — Clive Cotton, Jon Borrill and Paul Rowlerson, co-workers at Johnson & Higgins, a predecessor of Marsh’s Captive Solutions group. The first walk, in 1988, raised $43,200 and since then more than $2.25 million has been raised for Island charities.

Mr. Davidson said: “None of the founders live in Bermuda any longer but they all came back this year for the anniversary and walked parts of the event. A lot of people recognised them and I think they were just walking on air with it all.”

This year’s event ran without incident, with no reported accidents along the trails, however, organisers were forced to cancel the kayak and rowing events due to rough water.

Mr. Davidson said: “We had to call off the water events as it was a windy day and we didn’t want people out there in open water.

“However, the swim and land activities took place with great gusto. With a bright sun and cool wind, the mood on the trails was festive with large groups of friends and families. The End-to-End’s bright green shirts seemed to be everywhere. Corporate teams were very evident, ranging from the Bank of Bermuda to the BMA, and especially the huge turnout from Berkeley with their yellow shirts and good spirits.”

He said the cycling events are also growing in popularity.

“This year more than 200 cyclists rode the End-to-End, with another 100 joining in from the Bermuda College. A hard core of 35 riders even celebrated the first End-to-End-to-End (48 miles),” said Mr. Davidson.

“The crowd at Dockyard was also larger than in previous years. We were particularly pleased to have the members of the Bermuda Hogges volunteer to lead some of the youth events and join in the fun.”

He added: “The End-to-End is one of those things that make people feel great about living in Bermuda.”