'Julia was with us' - how Race Across the World helped with grief
BBCIt was hard not to be moved to tears as Mark Blythen and Margo Oakley reached the final checkpoint in Race Across the World.
The pair had raced more than 12,000km (7,450 miles) across Europe and Asia without the aid of phones, internet or air travel and with a limited budget.
The in-laws had entered the TV contest to honour the "last wishes" of Mark's wife and Margo's sister Julia, who died from the rare blood cancer myelofibrosis in 2022.
"I couldn't have done it without you Marg, a true friend," said Mark to his sister-in-law as they signed the guest book for the final time in northern Mongolia.
"Julia would be really proud of us."
"She's laughing saying 'go get yourselves a drink, you deserve it, you mad fools'," added Margot.
Looking back on their time in the race, Mark, 67, said it had felt like "Julia was with us".
"But as soon as we signed that book, Julia left us and said goodbye," he added.
"She'd done her work and that's why we were so emotional at the end."
HandoutMargot, 59, echoed the same sentiments after watching the final episode alongside her mother.
"My mum's 95 and we watched it together, holding hands," said Margot, who wore red lipstick during the race in memory of her sister who loved to wear this colour.
"We cried and we were really moved by it.
"We really felt so emotional and, even for my mum, it was like letting go.
"She said 'it's like a spirit was there with us watching it and she's been celebrated and she was there with us'."
'Absolute joy'
Mark, from London, met Julia, from Liverpool, while they were both students at Huddersfield Polytechnic.
Mark previously revealed the one thing he and Margo agreed on in those early days was that Julia was "out of my league".
After decades of not seeing eye-to-eye, Mark and Margo's relationship developed a new dimension in 2019 when Julia became ill.
She had a particularly aggressive form of the disease, and despite undergoing a stem-cell transplant, her condition deteriorated.
As Mark cared for his wife, he said he came to value Margo's visits for the impact they had on her mood.
While their relationship had been strengthening anyway, Julia explicitly told them she wanted them to remain close after she was gone.
As Julia was a fan of the show, Margot felt inspired to apply following her sister's death.
Handout"I was so laid back about it," recalled Mark.
"Normally I'd be really uptight and anxious but I was so laid back about the whole thing.
"When we got the call to say 'we'd like you on the show' it was just absolute joy and exhilaration."
Margot said she knew they faced a challenge ahead but one they were determined to complete in memory of her sister.
"We knew each other, but we didn't know each other," said Margot about her relationship with Mark prior to the race.
"Everybody else had very close, solid relationships.
"We developed a lot of respect for each other caring for Julia but until we got on the race we didn't know each other."
BBC/Studio LambertNow, thanks to the race, the pair have developed a friendship which means so much to them both.
"We'd not have thought 40 years ago that we could be so close as friends," said Mark.
The race featured many highs and lows but the relief when the pair reached the finish line was tangible.
"Julia loved stardom and media and it's a pity she couldn't have been there with us," said Mark.
"She would love being on radio and television and it is sort of a testament that people can actually see her now and know who she is."
"We did carry her with us. She was in there in spirit," said Margot.
"We'd laugh a lot of the time and go 'what would she think?' because she didn't like to rough it and she would have been laughing her head off.
"We say she's sitting on a cloud, someone with a nice chilled glass of wine, laughing at the two of us."
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