Tricia, a Race Around The Globe competitor, stated that her best friend Cathie had to give her a’verbal slap’ when her worries about her vision loss would take over.
Following a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, five teams of two will embark on the adventure of a lifetime, zooming 16,000 kilometres across Canada from Vancouver to St John’s Newfoundland as quickly as possible without phones or internet on a shoestring budget in order to win the £20,000 cash jackpot.
The race has several unusual problems, such as balancing a budget with Canada’s exorbitant rates and navigating a nation with sporadic public transportation. There are also bears. There are a lot of them.
Tricia, 48, and Cathie, 49, were anxious to take on a task like no other and do something ‘completely bonkers’.
Tricia, 48, has chromoretenopothy uveitis, a rare condition that causes vision loss and frequently unbearable anxiety. One day her eyesight may be better than the day before, but there is always the possibility that she would wake up with poor vision the next morning.
Nonetheless, Trish was eager to show that her impairment would not be an impediment to her success.
Tricia claimed to Metro.co.uk that she fought nervousness during the event, but happily had her closest friend on hand to give her a’verbal slap’ anytime anxiousness tried to get the better of her.
‘When I first applied I thought it would be fine, it would be great but as we got on more I got more nervous about how much I’d be reliant on Cathie and also what spectators would think, especially because I don’t look like I have sight loss,’ she explained.
‘When I’m walking around I’m normally holding on to Cathie and she’ll just point. We’ve known each other so long that we can just look at each other and I know what she’s going to say.’
Trish was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to appreciate Canada’s breathtaking scenery while shooting.
‘I was getting more nervous, not knowing what were going to see ad all these potential views that we were going to get I didn’t think I’d be able to see – but the air was so crisp and clear I got to see more than I thought I would.’
Tricia’s life has changed ‘dramatically’ since she returned from her vacation.
‘I was in a job in a bank I wasn’t happy I but I was stuck,’ she said. ‘I didn’t have the belief in myself I could do anything else. I applied for another job and got it.
‘My self confidence is back! My self-doubt is a lot less too. Well, Cathie will be able to tell you if it has or not.’
‘It’s definitely getting there. You’ve certainly got a lot more belief in yourself,’ agreed Cathie. ‘You’ve also shown you’re far more capable than you think you are.’
Cathie returned with a clearer understanding of the value of family.
‘I missed them so much while I was away, it made me want to make more of an effort to do things together, particularly with my parents who live far away from where we live,’ she said.
While Cathie and Tricia may have returned with a reward bigger than money (depending on who you ask), let’s be honest – £20,000 was on the line, and four other teams stood in their way.
Cathie and Tricia face off against their rivals, father and daughter Kevin and Claudia, another father and daughter Ladi and Monique, brothers Marc and Michael, and couple Mobeen and Zainib, in the first episode on Wednesday night.
‘When we met them we were just trying to size them up,’ recalled Cathie. ‘It’s human nature when you know you’re going to be competing with someone. “Do you think they’re going to be clever?”
‘We didn’t meet them properly until the day so we were trying to second guess who they were, what their relationship to each other was and who was going to be the biggest threat. We were making up our own theories as we went along!’
‘I thought Mobeen and Zainib were going to be our strongest competition,’ added Tricia. ‘Zainib was the little Scottish pocket rocket. When we met everyone else they were full of beans but they seemed to have a bit of an edge. But I also had a thing about Claudia and Kevin as well.’
‘I thought all of them would be strong,’ said Cathie. ‘Mark and Michael are young lads, they’re fit and will be up for anything.
‘Zainib, I felt the same way as Trish, I was quite scared of Zainib at first until I got to know her and she was absolutely lovely. And then the same with Monique and Ladi and Claudia and Kevin, those two days with their daughters I thought would be a force to be reckoned with.
‘I was anxious about going up with all of them!’
Find out how Tricia and Cathie begin their adventure when Race Across The World BBC One.
Source My Celebrity Life.