A YORK-based company is looking for brave volunteers to take part in a set of epic endurance challenges once lockdown is lifted.

Rat Race Adventure Sports, based in Shipton by Beningbrough, is looking for "hardy souls with a trailblazing spirit" for a series of "authentic, world-firsts".

The challenges on offer include taking on unclimbed peaks in Greenland to an expedition on Bikini Atoll, infamous for the world’s first nuclear tests.

As the expeditions are new they are not yet full-blown ‘events’ from the company, which is well-known for hosting the ‘Dirty Weekend’, ‘Sea to Summit’ and ‘Man vs Coast’ challenges.

Rat Race says it is looking for ‘test pilots’ with a real sense of adventure to complete some of the "epic feats" before they are launched to the general public.

The company's new ‘bucket list’ calendar includes The Bikini Project, a circumnavigation of Bikini Atoll in the Marshal Islands, infamous for the world’s first nuclear tests and uninhabited since it was evacuated in 1946.

Participants on the trip will kayak, pack raft and run in this totally exclusive location.

Rat Race founder Jim Mee said: “This is 110 per cent one-of-a-kind, world-first stuff.

“A few divers go here annually but other than that, no one has really been here since the 1950s.”

The site has been declared safe enough to travel via the UN Nuclear Weapons Inspection teams, say company bosses.

Also on the challenge menu is Rat Race’s Greenland: Where No Man.. adventure.

Test pilots will take on a sailing-based expedition into the very top north-eastern corner of Greenland - a place that has only ever been viewed from aerial photos.

Jim added: “Not for the faint-hearted, this is a true adventure in every sense. Greenland is off-grid by anyone’s standards but this is truly next level.

“We aim to take a sailing boat from Iceland and approach this corner of Greenland with experts, guides, kayaks, some ice climbing gear and a thirst for the undiscovered.”

The challenge will kick off from Reykjavik, Iceland and will take 21 days, including multiple days at sea.

The third challenge on offer is Rat Race’s Galapagos Unchartered event.

The Galapagos, famous for Charles Darwin and its abundance of wildlife, will play host to true escapism and adventure for those joining the six-day adventure.

The team will use a mixture of kayaks, bikes and foot travel to undertake a multi-sport adventure in the world-first circumnavigation of Santa Cruz Island.

Jim added: “We have combed the planet to create the next generation of bucket list challenges to take people where no one has gone before.”

The events are scheduled for late 2021 or the summer of 2022. For more information visit ratrace.com/bucketlist