Race For Life UK

ChaleGirl

Is anyone planning to do race for life this year?
I've never done it before but im seriously thinking,about doing it this year,
Great way to lose some weight, increase running skills and raise money for a good cause.

For those people who have done it before, how did you find it?

runnercheryl

I've never done it. I volunteered last year though, and considered giving it a go this year now I've started running a bit and could see how fast I could do it, but I changed my mind.

The fact is, I did a 23-mile hike including a mountain and waterfall climb last year, and asked for sponsors but got very few. I'm a pretty quiet person, I don't socialise much and I don't really have 'close' friends, and obviously very few people felt they knew me enough to want to donate to my efforts. I'll be honest in saying it kind of put me off fundraising events. It's not nice being the person that nobody sponsors - I sponsored myself to top up the total a little. I was the one who found the hike (it wasn't actually a charity event), and who decided to raise money doing it for charity. A few other people found out and decided to join me, and it ended up being a group thing with about ten of us. Everyone else raised money into their hundreds, and I got a bit down about it, and now I see a friend who's committed to walking three miles a day for a year (which I do most days anyway, and which she's not managing as she's taken quite a few days off), and she's raised thousands already and is only 1/4 of the way through the year. Anyway, that's a bit of a ramble, but basically what I'm saying is that I decided not to do Race for Life because I don't want to go to the effort of paying, and going, and doing something I probably won't really like, and barely being sponsored a penny.

I wish you all the best with it, though. It's a wonderful thing to do for yourself and for charity, and was very emotional last year.

ChaleGirl

Awww thats a shame Cheryl,
I know what you mean though,
Im not too sure how im going to go about raising money,
I'll prob stick to work people and family!

Well done on doing a 23 mile hike!!

ubermagee

I'm doing it this year on the 15th July
xx

jj3120

I don't know if I'm doing it this year but I have done 4 times previously. I'm doing 3 miles for sport relief next week.

It's a good goal to motivate you go out jogging!

I've always done it with a group or with my daughter but even if your on your own the atmosphere is great!

ChaleGirl

is it really serious and competitive or can you walk for parts of it?

runnercheryl

A lot of people walk it. When I volunteered last year there were children dressed up going along with their parents, groups of mums pushing prams, people dressed as superheroes stopping to chat to kids along the way. Some people ran the whole thing, but others were going along slowly.

WarriorWomanMaxine

Iam walking it this year with my 8yr old daugther we are doing clumber park notts

vegpot

I've signed up to do the one in Lincoln was hoping it would be good motivation (and it is) and I'm now on the 2nd week of c25k so hoping to be able to run it at the end of the training.

Really enjoying the training so far