Supporters raise money by challenging themselves to jog 31 miles in the month of May for the Bowelbabe Fund.
Once you’ve signed up, join the Facebook Group dedicated to this challenge and click 'Join Group'. Once you're in you can get tips for completing your miles, be inspired by other fundraisers and find out anything you want to know about the challenge.
Yes! If you don’t have Facebook, you can set up a Cancer Research UK online Giving Page and collect sponsorship for your Bowelbabe Fund Jog 31 Miles in May Challenge.
There’s no entry fee for this challenge, but we do ask that you fundraise for the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK through your online Giving Page. All donations to the page will automatically be sent to us.
Yes, under-18s can take part in this challenge, but we don’t market to them and any third-party platform forums (such as Facebook forums) are only available to people over 18. If under-18s are taking part, their parent or guardian must consent to the child’s participation, supervise the challenge and accept responsibility for complying with the challenge rules. The child’s parent or guardian must register on the child’s behalf and if a child wants to raise money online and/or join a forum, the child’s parent or guardian must register for an online fundraising page and/or join the forum on the child’s behalf.
While we encourage everyone to complete this challenge in May, this is a personal challenge and you can start and finish at a time that’s convenient for you. If you have difficulty completing your miles, then you can make up for it at any point of the month and continue the challenge into June.
Participants must register as individuals, but you can then set up a team Giving Page to take on the challenge and raise money together. Here’s how:
All your team will need to sign up to the Bowelbabe Fund Jog 31 Miles in May Challenge so you each have your own online Giving Page
Once everyone has signed up, log into your account
Hit the 'Create new team' button and follow the instructions
Once you've created your team, you can send the team page URL to friends and family so they can join too!
Find more information about setting up a team. Once you’ve created your team, you can either split up your miles across the group or each complete the 31 miles across the month. You can also invite other people to join via our online fundraising site.
There are people of all levels of fitness doing this challenge. The important thing is that you're doing something that challenges you. This will vary from person to person, so tailor the challenge however you like. It should be tough, but doable. However you choose to break down the 31 miles, whether you complete them outside or indoors on a treadmill, you’ll be helping us beat cancer.
There are plenty of free apps that will allow you to track your miles such as Strava, Fitbit, Nike Run Club and RunKeeper. We recommend using Strava or Fitbit so you can link your account to your online Giving Page. Posting your progress on your page will help encourage donations!
Learn about tracking your jogs with Fitbit.
Learn about tracking your jogs with Strava.
Of course! You can complete your miles whatever way works best for you.
There are plenty of ways you can hit your weekly target – attempt to make up the miles with a couple of shorter jogs or save them all for a big jog at the weekend!
The only thing that matters is that you try your best to complete as much of the challenge as you can. Whether that’s completing all your miles in May or not, the money you raise will allow us to keep funding cutting-edge research. Whatever you manage to achieve, we can’t thank you enough.
We trust you! You don’t need to provide evidence that you’ve completed the challenge to us, but your friends and family will want some updates! Make sure you keep them posted on your progress and share videos and photos throughout May – the more updates the better. Supporters that post their progress raise 40% more on average. We recommend you connect your Giving Page to Fitbit or Strava so you can track your steps or miles automatically. Please note: With Strava there’s sometimes a 48-hour lag in the data being updated. If your miles still aren't showing after this time, disconnect and reconnect to do a hard reset and this will add any miles already on the Strava account.
Warming up properly before running will help prevent injury and should only take 5 minutes.
March on the spot for up to 3 minutes – start off marching on the spot and then march forwards and backwards. Pump your arms up and down in rhythm with your steps, keeping the elbows bent and the fists soft.
Heel dig for 1 minute – to do heel digs, place alternate heels to the front, keeping the front foot pointing up, and punch out with each heel dig. Keep a slight bend in the supporting leg.
Knee lifts for 30 seconds - to do knee lifts, stand tall and bring up alternate knees to touch the opposite hand. Keep your abs tight and back straight. Keep a slight bend in the supporting leg.
Shoulder rolls for two sets of 10 repetitions – for shoulder rolls, keep marching on the spot. Roll your shoulders forwards 5 times and backwards 5 times. Let your arms hang loose by your sides.
Knee bends for 10 repetitions – to do knee bends, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands stretched out. Lower yourself no more than 10cm by bending your knees. Come up and repeat.
Read more NHS guidance on these warm-ups.
Of course you can! Some top tips for running on a hot day include:
Wearing a damp, cool bandana
Hydrating before, during and after your run
Running in the cooler parts of the day and in shade where possible
Wearing light-coloured clothes to reflect the sun’s rays and a breathable cap to keep the sun from your scalp
Avoiding tight clothes and switching to thinner socks
Applying sunscreen to protect your skin
Using insect repellent if you’re sensitive to insect bites
Find more information about sun safety.
Remember to listen to your body and don’t push yourself if you’re feeling fatigued or dizzy. Stop for rests and if urgent, seek medical attention. For more information on running for beginners, see these guides:
It’s not unusual to encounter bad weather when you’re out running in the UK! It’s important you have the right equipment and approach if you’re running in adverse weather. Alternatively, it’s more than ok for you to complete the miles on a treadmill at home or the gym. When running in adverse weather, remember to check your route and know your trail – understanding your surroundings will help you avoid difficult terrain and stick to safer, flat surfaces. Here’s some useful equipment to take with you in bad weather:
Waterproof clothing
Water and food
Mobile phone
It’s important that you’re well prepared for your run, especially if you’re going to be running a long distance.
Here’s a list of equipment you might want to consider:
Running shorts or tights
Sunscreen
Running top or light t-shirt
Sun hat or cap if it's warm
Sunglasses if it's bright outside
Water, along with rehydration and glucose supplements
Running trainers
Running socks
Sports bra
Snack to help maintain energy levels
Waterproof jacket and shoes if it's raining outside
Complete this form to receive your free Bowelbabe Fund t-shirt in the post. Once completed, please allow 10 working days for your t-shirt to arrive. If you haven’t received your Bowelbabe Fund t-shirt after this time, please contact: supporter.services@cancer.org.uk.
When filling out the sign-up form, simply select ‘no’ where it asks if you’d like to receive a Bowelbabe Fund t-shirt. You’ll still receive an online Giving Page, be able to join the challenge group and take part!
If you have any further questions please email supporter.services@cancer.org.uk or call 0300 123 1022 (lines open 8am–8pm, Monday to Friday and 9am–5pm at weekends).
Unfortunately, returning t-shirts comes at a cost to us, so we ask that you keep hold of it for personal use (you could wear it in bed, at the gym or give it to a friend).
Sending out your Bowelbabe Fund t-shirt comes at a cost to us, so please only order one t-shirt per fundraiser to make sure as much money as possible goes towards our cutting-edge research. We ask that everyone requesting a Bowelbabe Fund t-shirt donates something to their fundraising page.
Alternatively, you can purchase additional Bowelbabe Fund t-shirts from our online shop.
Unfortunately, medals come at a huge cost to the charity so we will not be sending these out for the Bowelbabe Fund Jog 31 Miles in May Challenge. However, we will send you a certificate in your completion email at the end of the challenge and you can access downloadable digital badges to shout about your achievement on social media.
Setting up an online Giving Page is the easiest way to raise money. It's then easy to share the page with your friends and gather sponsorship for your challenge.
There is no minimum target for this challenge, but we recommend you set a reasonable target of raising around £150.
The first tip is to log in to your page and take a few minutes to personalise it. You can add a photo and update the 'My Story' section to share why raising funds for this cause is important to you.
The second tip is, if you're able to, kick-start the fundraising by adding your own donation to your online Giving Page. It can often help to get things going - it's a bit like making sure your friends aren't the first guests at a party.
And the third and final tip is to share a post on your social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, anything you use) to tell people about your challenge - and make sure to share the link to your online Giving Page in the post.
Remember, any donation can make a difference. As little as £3 could buy a pair of safety goggles to keep our scientists safe while they conduct their cutting-edge experiments.
Let us know how you get on by posting in the Facebook group, and we can offer further help if you want it. You've got this!
Yes absolutely! You can raise your fundraising target on your online Giving Page at any time. Supporters who increase their fundraising target raise an average of 51% more than those who don’t, so why not head over to your page and raise yours!
This challenge is a fundraising initiative specifically developed by us, therefore all money raised must go solely to the Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK.
Gift Aid is a tax relief allowing UK charities to reclaim an extra 25% on every eligible donation made by a UK taxpayer. This means Cancer Research UK can claim an extra 25p for every £1 donated, without it costing you or your sponsors an extra penny. For a donation to be eligible for Gift Aid, sponsors need to fill out the Gift Aid section on the online donation form or follow the instructions at the top of the paper sponsorship form.
We have plenty of fundraising materials and ideas to help you raise life-saving donations. Visit our fundraising hub for everything you need for your challenge.
If you're happy to keep the page online, but want to stop taking donations, you can change the closing date of your page.
Here’s how:
You'll need to go to your Giving Page (make sure you're logged in) and scroll down and select ‘Page settings’.
Then select ‘Page closure date’. You can choose to close the page now or set a future date to close your page.
Tap ‘Save’ for the changes to come into effect. People can still view a closed page but can’t donate to it.
You can reopen a closed page by selecting ‘Keep your page open indefinitely’.
Please note, you don't need to close your page for the money you have raised to transfer to Cancer Research UK. This happens automatically when each donation is made.
If you'd like to take the page off the site completely, you can email us at OnlineFundraisingQueries@cancer.org.uk and we'll get that sorted for you.
By default, Giving Pages stay open indefinitely unless you set a date to close your page.
If you selected a date for your fundraising page to close and would like to extend this closure date follow these instructions.
Find the Giving Page you're looking for by searching for the:
Full name of the fundraiser
Email of the fundraiser
Find your own or your friend’s online Giving Page.
If you need any further support on questions related to online Giving Pages, please contact OnlineFundraisingQueries@cancer.org.uk
For all other questions, please contact our Supporter Services team, who'd be happy to help!
Grab your fundraising pack, challenge calendar, shareable social media badges and more to help you reach your fundraising goals.
