Whereas the first End-to-End Walk attracted 186 participants and raised $43,200 for charity, this year 800 took part, and has thus far received $25,000 of many pledges still to come. Already this means that, from inception, the project has raised in excess of $1 million.

Naturally, an event of this magnitude requires meticulous planning because so much must be taken into consideration, and so many walkers participate. Then, to keep each year's event fresh and participants' interest up, new features must be added.

To accomplish all this, the hard-working End-to-End committee must address many issues, including policing, portable toilets, water stops, sponsors, volunteers, medical and first aid assistance, T-shirts, extra buses and ferries, mailing lists, and accounting.

Advance paper work includes news letters and information kits for participants, which must be written, compiled and distributed. After the event, certificates of participation have to be completed and mailed to each entrant.

Also following the event, many days are spent checking pledge sheets, and counting and depositing all the money received. As well, there are bills to pay, accounts to reconcile, and audits to prepare for.

Hardest of all, perhaps, is whittling down to four or five the beneficiaries of each year's walk. In December, charities are invited to submit written applications detailing how they would use the funds. Proposed projects should be designed for completion within a year of receiving the money so that next year's walkers can be informed how they were spent.

When the organising committee meets in January to make its choices, it must consider several dozen well-presented, and often heart-rending, applications - a process Mr. Carmichael describes as "emotionally draining''.

Beneficiaries are in keeping with End-to-End's policy of helping registered charities who do not benefit from the services of professional fundraisers.

The number is kept to four or five so that each organisation receives a large enough injection of cash to accomplish a project which would otherwise be beyond its reach.

There are, however, no preconceived notions about how the committee would like to see the funds spent.

"We like the ideas to be creative and slightly different,'' said Mr.

Rowlerson. "Since we make the selections on behalf of the walkers, it has to Walk has always been `grass roots' about taking on 26 miles -- something they can identify with and feel a part of.'' It is a rule, however, that on the day of the walk itself, beneficiaries "earn'' their donation by helping out in various ways, including manning water stops. This not only allows walkers to see who the beneficiaries are, but gives the latter a way of showing their appreciation to the walkers. In addition, current year beneficiaries are asked to have at least one person at the water stop they manned the previous year to provide continuity.

In fact, some beneficiaries become so enthusiastic about End-to-End that they wind up becoming permanently involved in its staging.

In an Island where negativity and polarisation are all too common, organisers are proud to note that End-to-End has remained a perfect example of what a community should be: harmonious and united for the common good.

Certainly, it attracts a broad diversity of supporters from all walks of life, professions, races, ethnic and age groups - all of whom happily volunteer their time and services for free.

"End-to-End has always been very much a grass roots thing,'' Mr. Rowlerson confirmed. "It has always grown in that direction, and that's what we like about it.'' Corporate support is also widespread and generous. Among the many things it provides are water, juices, disposable cups, small snacks (fruit, chocolate bars, bread, etc.), printing, advertising, T-shirts, logo designs, and office skills.

In instances where costs cannot be waived completely, companies often extend special rates.

Cash donations from the business community go towards funding the End-to-End infrastructure, while pledged dollars raised by the walkers are reserved exclusively for distribution to the selected charities.

Between 1988 and 1997, End-to-End has raised $984,070, and while all funds pledged for the 1998 walk are not yet in, the amount collected thus far -$25,000 - has pushed the overall total past the $1 million mark.

End to End was an idea which could not fail 1998 also marks the first year that co-founder Paul Rowlerson has stepped down from the organising committee to take a gentler role as a volunteer. The reason, he says, is that, like a parent who has been involved in a child's development, growth, direction and success from birth, there comes a time when that parent must recognise the child's independence and step back. And so it is with End-to-End.

In any case, he declines to take total credit for what the event has become.

"If somebody else had thought of it, it would have still been equally successful,'' he said. "That's not to say that all the committees haven't done a great job, but it would never have failed because it is a great idea.'' Certainly, Mr. Rowlerson has no qualms about its future success.

"Faces and names may change, but End-to-End is now a fixture of the Bermuda calendar and will remain so for the foreseeable future,'' he predicted.

Recently returned to the Island, and even to the same office as Mr. Rowlerson, after a seven-year absence, fellow co-founder Mr. Clive Cotton was delighted to find the event still going strong.

"I am surprised and impressed by the scale to which End-to-End has grown, and I think everyone concerned deserves a great deal of credit, especially the unsung heroes behind the scenes,'' he said.

BIRTHPLACE OF AN IDEA -- Walkers in this year's End-to-End Walk make their way through a cut on the Railway Trail. Walk founders Paul Rowlerson, Jon Borrill and Clive Cotton first came up with the idea when they were walking on the Trail Paul Rowlerson GETTING READY . . .

STRETCH THOSE MUSCLES -- Middler-To-end walkers stretch out in Albouy's Point before starting off for Dockyard . . . FINALLY FINISHED THE END -- Walkers are given massages at the end of the walk