One week after they left the Champs Elysées in Paris, the 19-strong team of Renault-Nissan Alliance runners are well on their way to their final destination, Togliatti in Russia… some 4,000kms away.

The aim of the run is to promote human values and team spirit within the Alliance and to highlight the power of the partnership: Togliatti is the home of the AVTOVAZ manufacturing complex, a joint venture which is on target to build 1.7 million Nissan, Renault and Lada vehicles a year.

Run as a relay event, the plan is to cover the distance in 17 days. The runners are split into three teams (one running, one resting and the third leapfrogging the others to the next starting point) with individuals each running between 10 and 15 kms a time before handing the baton onto a colleague.