Bowelbabe Fund Walk 44 Miles Challenge FAQs

Supporters raise money by challenging themselves to walk 44 miles in the month of October for the Bowelbabe Fund. 

The Bowelbabe Fund for Cancer Research UK is a restricted fund within Cancer Research UK set up by Deborah James and her family in May 2022. So far the Bowelbabe Fund has fundraised over £13m to fund clinical trials, research and cancer information and awareness, as well as other initiatives to combat cancer and support those affected by cancer.

Once you’ve signed up, Join the Facebook Group here dedicated to this challenge and click 'Join Group'. Once you're in, you can complete a form to get your free Bowelbabe Fund t-shirt, get tips for completing your challenge, be inspired by other fundraisers and find out anything you want to know.

Yes! If you don’t have Facebook, you can set up a Cancer Research UK online Giving Page and collect sponsorship for your Walk 44 Miles Challenge.  

There is no entry fee for this challenge, but we do ask that you fundraise for Cancer Research UK through your online Giving Page. All donations to the page will automatically be sent to us.

While we encourage everyone to complete this challenge throughout the month of October, to help mark what would have been Deborah’s 44th birthday.  this is a personal challenge and you can start and finish at a time that’s convenient for you. We recommend aiming for about 1.5 miles a day to spread the distance throughout the month and continue the challenge into November.

If you’re not sure if the weather will cause sunburn or skin damage, check the Met Office UV forecast.  

If you're walking outside in the sun, use plenty of sunscreen with SPF 15+ and a 4 or 5 star rating, which will sufficiently protect your skin. Apply everywhere, not just to exposed skin, and apply each time you walk. 

For more information, visit here.

Tips for walking on a warm day:  

• Hydrate before, during and after your walk.  

• Alcohol, antidepressants, antihistamines and other medicines have dehydrating effects. Using them before you walk can make you need the toilet, increasing your risk of dehydration.  

• Try to walk during cooler parts of the day and in shade where possible. If you walk in the sun, try to make it a shorter walk and you can make up the steps another time.  

• Wear light-coloured clothes to reflect the sun’s rays, avoid tight or heavy clothes and switch to thinner socks.  

• Wear sunscreen and if you’re sensitive to insect bites, make sure to use some insect repellent.  

• 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 about walking in the sun, visit:  

https://www.runnersneed.com/expert-advice/training/run-in-the-sun.html  

https://www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking-hub/summer-walking 

Tips for walking in the dark:  

• Wear reflective gear: bright, neon or white clothing will help drivers spot you from afar.   

• Think low: car headlights are angled down slightly, so try to wear reflective socks or shoelaces.   

• Draw attention to your moving parts: wear reflective gear on your feet, ankles and wrists.   

• Use flashlights and headlamps: these light your way and alert people of your presence.   

  Tips for walking on a cold day:   

• Wear layers: Multiple light layers can help keep your body insulated while allowing heat to circulate through your body without overheating. Your first layer should be moisture-wicking and a light fleece layer should keep you warm.  

• Cover your hands and ears: Avoid frostbite by covering these vulnerable areas on your body.  

• Get the right shoes: Make sure your shoe has more traction than a typical gym shoe. If it needs more traction, you can try ice cleats that you can add to the bottom of any shoe. Avoid mesh fabric.  

• Grab a scarf: If you have asthma, the cold air could agitate your lungs. Wrap the scarf over your nose and mouth.  

• Wear bright colours: Winter is known for dark mornings and afternoons. Wear bright clothing and reflective gear to make sure other people and cars see you walking.  

• Pick a safe route: Pavements with ice and snow can cause barriers to your route.   

• Warm-up: Do a few jumping jacks or high knees to warm your body up before you go outside.  

• Recover afterwards: This will help protect your muscles from cramping, soreness and dehydration.   

Tips for walking on a rainy day:  

It’s not unusual to encounter bad weather when walking in the UK, so it’s important to have the right equipment. Alternatively, you can complete the miles on a treadmill at home or the gym.  
 When walking in adverse weather, remember to check and know your route. Understanding your surroundings will help you avoid difficult terrain and make sure you stick to safer, flat surfaces.   
  
Here's some useful equipment to consider:  

• Waterproof clothing  

• Walking shoes/boots and walking socks  

• Warm clothing and layers (thermals, gloves, hats, fleece, long trousers)  

• Water and food  

• Mobile phone   

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 and wherever you choose to take on the 44 miles, you’ll be helping to beat cancer.

We’ll be sending a digital calendar along with your fundraising pack to help you track your miles. We also recommend the Strava and Fitbit apps, which you can easily link to your online Giving Page. Alternatively, your phone will have plenty of free pedometer apps, or you could buy a cheap one from your local gym or running shop.

44 miles across October equates to 1.45 miles a day. 44 miles also equates to about 3,000 steps, which can easily be achieved without extreme physical activity. This should be achievable by walking 30 minutes daily, depending on your walking pace.

There are plenty of ways you can hit your weekly target – attempt to make up the numbers with a couple of shorter walks, or save them for a big walk 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 44 miles in October or not, the money that you raise will allow us to continue Deborah’s legacy and keep funding life-saving 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 October– the more updates the better. Supporters who regularly post their progress raise 40% more on average and you know Deborah loved a selfie!

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 is sometimes a 48-hour lag in the data being updated. If your miles still aren't showing, disconnect and reconnect to do a hard reset and this will add any miles already on your Strava account.

Absolutely! If you’ve set up a Giving Page, it’ll remain active so your supporters can continue to donate for as long as you want to keep going.

Complete this form to receive your free Bowelbabe Fund t-shirt in the post. Once completed, please allow 10 working days for it to arrive.   

If you haven’t received your t-shirt after this time, please contact supporter.services@cancer.org.uk. 

When filling out your sign-up form, select ‘no’ where it asks if you’d like to receive a t-shirt. You’ll still receive an online Giving Page, be able to join the challenge group and take part!  

Sign up to the challenge  

If you have any further questions, please email supporter.services@cancer.org.uk or call 0300 1231022 (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 with your comfy pants, in bed, at the gym or give it to a friend).

Sending out your 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 life-saving work. We ask that everyone requesting a t-shirt donates something to their fundraising page.  

Alternatively, you can purchase additional t-shirts from our online shop.   

And if you are interested in any other Bowelbabe Fund merchandise, please view them here. 

You’ll be sent a certificate in your completion email at the end of your challenge. You can also access downloadable digital badges to shout about your achievement on social media. 

Unfortunately, medals would cost us a significant amount, so we won’t be sending these out so we can spend more on our life-saving work.  

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. 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.

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:  

1. All your team will need to sign up to the Bowelbabe Fund Walk 44 Miles in October Challenge so you each have your own online Giving Page.  

2. Once everyone has signed up, log into your account.  

3. Hit the 'Create new team' button and follow the instructions.  

4. 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 set up your team, you can either split up your miles between the group or you can all complete the miles individually across the month. 

Using our Online Fundraising Platform is the easiest way to raise money. You will receive an online Giving Page once you’ve registered here: https://activities.cancerresearchuk.org/bbf-walk-44-challenge-oct-2025 

You can then share the page with your friends and family to gather sponsorship for your challenge. 

We don’t set a fundraising target for participants, but we recommend that supporters set themselves a reasonable target of raising £150 or more.

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. Also check out: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/fundraising-materials/bowelbabe-planning-your-fundraising 

You can use our sponsorship form to raise money rather than using an online Giving Page. Simply download the form, print it off and record all your collected or pledged sponsorships. Once you’ve completed your fundraising, please send the form with a cheque to:    

Walk 44 Miles in October, Cancer Research UK, PO BOX 1561, Oxford, OX4 9GZ  

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 the Bowelbabe Fund for 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 sponsorship form following the instructions at the top of the page.

As the main route we will be promoting Online Fundraising but supporters can as always create a Facebook Fundraiser. If they do wish to do this, we would advise they set up a Giving Page first and then connect to Facebook on their Giving Page.  
  

1. Why has my Facebook Fundraiser ended early?  
   Facebook Fundraisers are automatically set up to only stay open for 10 days. To make the most of your fundraising efforts, you need to change the end date to keep your fundraiser open throughout and after the challenge. To change the end date, simply click ‘More’ under the invite button, then click ‘Edit Fundraiser’. We recommend setting this date to at least a month after your challenge has ended so you can continue to collect vital donations and be rewarded for your efforts. 
     

2.  My Facebook Fundraiser has closed. Can I reactivate it?  
   Unfortunately, once your Facebook Fundraiser has finished you can’t reopen the same fundraising page. However, you can create a new page and set the end date for at least a month after your challenge, so you can continue receiving donations once you’ve finished.  
     

3. How do I find previous Facebook Fundraisers?  
   To see your past fundraisers, go to the Facebook homepage on a desktop and look underneath your name on the left-hand side. Click ‘Fundraisers’ then ‘Your activity’ and scroll down the page until you reach ‘Your past fundraisers’.  
     

4. Is it safe to donate on Facebook?  
   Donating on Facebook is safe and secure and there is no fee taken from Facebook to set up a Facebook Fundraiser. If you’ve seen any suspicious charges, we recommend speaking directly to your bank. If you have any questions about your Facebook Fundraiser, please contact Facebook.  

Full instructions on how to this listed here. 

Please note that sometimes it takes a little while for miles to be published onto your page. If they haven’t shown after a few hours, please get in touch. 

Your settings will also automatically be set to only show miles throughout February but if you’d like your training miles to show, you can adjust these settings on your Giving Page. 

This could be due to the date ranges you have set. You can change these in 'Manage Strava Settings'. 

 There can sometimes be a short delay between completing your activity and your activity appearing on your page. Please check your giving page again later. 

 Your Strava activity does not match the activity types you have selected in your Strava settings. For example, you completed a bike ride but your Online Giving Page Strava setting only have Walk/Run selected. Therefore, you have not selected that activity type to be displayed on your Online Giving Page. You can update the activity type that appear on your Giving Page in the 'Manage Strava Settings'. 

Your Strava privacy settings are not set to 'everyone'. You can change Privacy settings in Strava. 

We will only show Strava activities on your page from the date ranges and activity types you have selected in your settings. These activities also need to be public for Strava to share them with CRUK. 

Changes to settings that will affect what Strava activities will show on your page:  

• Changing the date range 

• Changing the units of measure  

• Changing the activity types  

You can delete any activity you don’t want to appear on your Online Giving Page by using the delete option below the activity post.  

CRUK will never delete activities from your Online Giving Page. If you update the ‘timeframe’ section in Strava setting from your Online Giving Page, you will still need to manually delete unwanted activities from your Online Giving Page.  

Note for advisors: There is no automated process to delete Strava activities from Online Giving Pages, as we want the user to have as much control over their page as possible. As an OFP admin user, you will be able to manually delete Strava activities from Pages.  

Reasons why your total may be wrong: 

• Your activity types selected -Your target is calculated from all activities on your Online Giving Page. If you only want one type of activity to count towards your target, please remove the other activity types from your Online Giving Page via the settings section. 

•  Your date ranges selected - Your target is calculated from all activities in the timeframe you've set. If you want your target to reflect your challenge progress only, please set your start date to the day you started your challenge. 

• Your Strava privacy settings - If your Strava activities are set to private they will not count towards your target.  

If you track your miles using the Strava app on your app watch then you can link this to your giving page. For guidance on how to set the Strava Apple Watch App up please visit the Strava Site.   

Strava Apple Watch App – Strava Support