This post is just going to be a brain dump, no particular order or structure. Just thoughts put on the page as they hit me.
Obviously this post is me reflecting on doing the Alzheimer’s Research UK fundraising campaign 28 Miles In February. I think it is also going to be, or hope it’s going to be advice for those thinking of not only doing this themselves next year or any other charity run event.
I think the first thing that comes to mind is when I first signed up and the donation pages that the charity automatically sets up for you. For Alzheimer’s Research it was a Facebook donation page and a Just Giving page. Which was fine. The only issue I had was I couldn’t update the Just Giving page. Never got it sorted, naturally the charity said to deal with the Just Giving support. So much hassle and an extra step(s) so I could post updates. I gave up on this as a way to update folks. In the long run it meant I had one less place to update.
When the charity sets up your donation pages they set a default fund raising target of £150 (this may differ with other charities). You were apparently meant to be able to change this. But I never did.
But don’t let this target put pressure on you. Change it to something you think is more achievable or do as I did ignore it.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t raise that target and all you can raise is far less. Whatever you raise is fantastic and money the charity didn’t have. It all helps no matter the amount.
Also remember that we are still in a cost of living crisis. Money is scarce for a lot of people.
Which brings me onto the charities Facebook page for the fundraising.
I ended up ignoring the page. It’s meant to be there for support and encouragement. But a lot of the posts felt like blowing their own trumpet, “look at me”.
It really did feel like some posts were “look how much I’ve raised” or “look how far I’ve walked/run”. Although I think their hearts and intentions were well meaning. These posts can make those struggling whether to do the miles or raise money feel like they are failing.
It’s not a competition or a pissing match. It doesn’t matter how far others walk or how much they raise. What matters is you do you and remember why you are doing this fundraiser.
For me it was in my Nan’s memory (see one of the first posts). I was doing this for her and to raise awareness of dementia and Alzheimer’s.
Whatever I raised or walked was for those reasons. What I did was a success because of that.
The charity did send all those taking part in the fundraiser a beanie. Something that ended up being useless to me because it was too small. I have a large head. It would have been nice if there was an option to select a larger sized beanie. My plan for the beanie is to give it to my aunt when she returns to the UK later in the year. She was my largest donee and because of other reasons I think will make good use of it.
They also sent out a buff to those that raise a certain amount before the fundraising started. It was fine it was a buff. Not the best one but adequate.
If you are here reading this you are likely to also have read one or two of my blog posts on here keeping folks up-to date on my progress.
I did try sharing on the Facebook group but admins deleted the post. They were not allowing links to external websites. They were fine with people sharing their videos talking to camera (kinda like a vlog), usually whilst walking. This kind of demoralised me from participating in the group.
It was a pain posting in two places (blog and Facebook page), plus there was a “dashboard” that showed you how much you had raised across both donation pages. It’d also let you update how much miles you had walked.
This was helpful in tracking your fundraising and distance walked. But nothing else.
When I first saw the ad for the fundraiser I thought how would I find time to do the big walks to do that number of miles? I don’t get back to back days off. So there would be no weekends away to walk in the mountains or part of a long distance trail.
Then it dawned on me I don’t need to do big walks. All I need to do is a mile a day.
That was much more achievable with my job and caring duties.
I think in the Fleet Pond post I lamented how much I missed the place and the army land. Where I grew up and live the nearest woods is at least 40 minutes away not 5. I have to settle for bridle ways and farmland.
But that’s cool. Some people don’t even have that. It doesn’t matter where you walk that daily mile. it’s the fact you have got out and walked that mile that matters.
My plan on the walks was to stop and have a brew mid walk. I carried a brew kit with me on every walk. I never did stop half way. The weather was not the best for stopping and enjoying the surroundings. It was only on a couple of the walks that a had a coffee at the end.
I think it’s important not to feel guilty if you miss days. Life happens. It certainly did in February for me.
While you are not walking spend 5 mins planning your next walk. It’ll give you something to look forward to and help ease that feeling of guilt.
To do this fundraiser you don’t need expensive gear to take part. You just need some footwear you can walk distances in such as trainers. You’ll also need warm clothing and/or a waterproof coat of some kind.
Yes you could go out and buy stuff. But unless you are going to keep on walking as a hobby (which you might) there really is no point. Unless you don’t have any suitable shoes etc.
I think after all the above ramblings we need to remember the reason we are raising money ( no matter the amount), and have an enjoyable time doing it.
Finally I’d like to say for the umpteenth time a very big thank you to all those that kindly donated money. Your generosity was amazing. Thank you.
