And it isn’t only about time and speed. The rally is being held to raise funds for children suffering with cancer, says Poonam Bagai, founder president of Cankids, which is organising the event with Out of Town India, which creates and offers vacation home stays.

The route stretches from New Delhi via Haryana to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh on the first day and then to Datia, Khanidana and Chanderi on the second.

On the third day, the rallyists will drive back to Gwalior, and reach the Capital on March 6. There are breaks for sightseeing at Gwalior fort, Shivpuri sanctuary and Khanidana, lunch with erstwhile rajas, and night halts at MP Tourism properties. A film on breast self-examination will be shown to village women during village stops.

“A ceremonial flag in and prize distribution will be held on March 8, international women’s day, “ says Bagai.

Indravijay Singh, official with Raid de Himalayas and Desert Storm, has set a “not too tough” TDS (time distance speed) criterion for the rally “since it is the first rally of its kind. It’ll get longer and faster from next year.”

But the women don’t have it easy all the way; there are bad roads for most part and the stretch from Gwalior to Shivpuri is quite hilly, says Rohini Suri, founder of Out of Town India and a veteran of long-distance driving, who has checked the route twice with Singh.

Enrollments began today and will continue till February 29. The line-up of 10 participants includes Arabella Stagg, wife of the British High Commissioner to India Richard Stagg, and Susanne Pryde, community liaison offer of the British High Commission, as well as Dr Ramesh Sarin, senior consultant oncologist at Apollo Hospital.

A single entry is for Rs 10,000; a co-partner of the rallyist has to pay Rs 8,000. “We hope to raise around Rs 20 lakh from the rally and not more than 25 per cent will be spent on logistics and administrative expenses,” says Bagai, adding that 40,000 new cases of children suffering with cancer are reported in India every year.

Cankids spends 70 per cent of its funds on medical assistance for children, and has worked with 1,650 children since its inception in 2004, the organisers said.