Frequently asked questions
An open letter to our supporters

Hello everyone,
This is not the news we had hoped to have to share with our supporters, but due to the continued risks of COVID-19 we have had to sadly cancel Shine Night Walk.
We had hoped to postpone events to later in the year, but with uncertainty as to when mass participant events might be allowed, and whether they can take place safely, this is no longer possible. We know that thousands of you look forward to taking part each year, and we'd like you to know that the team worked hard to exhaust every option available before accepting this decision.
With no Shine Night Walk events happening this year, your support is essential now more than ever.
This year we hoped Shine would raise at least £4.89 million. Even with the cost-saving measures Cancer Research UK have put in place, the charity is likely to see a drop of around 20-25% in our income over the next financial year.
To ensure vital research can continue and to keep the spirit of Shine alive this year, we're launching Shine Walk Your Way. Your event may not be taking place, but you can still tackle the challenge in 2020. We’re calling on our fantastic supporters to sign up, raise money for life-saving research and take part in Shine however you want. Get involved by signing up for free today, you’ll receive the latest news and updates on how to take on your very own Shine Walk.
We're sorry to be the bearer of sad news, but we'd like to express how thankful we are for your continued support. We look forward to 2021 and inviting you back for a comeback to remember!
Please continue to look out for yourself and each other.
The Shine Night Walk Team
Please be aware of the following before signing up to Shine Walk Your Way:
- If you have any underlying health conditions that may affect your ability to participate we suggest you seek appropriate medical advice before proceeding.
- You should not put yourself at unnecessary risk completing any activity.
- Use appropriate clothing, footwear and equipment to complete such activity.
- You enter Shine Walk Your Way entirely at your own risk and so far as permitted by law, Cancer Research UK shall not be liable for any injury, damage or loss to you or your property that might occur as a result of your participation.
Shine cancellation FAQs
I’m afraid we are unable to transfer you as our 2021 dates are not confirmed. We are currently confirming events as quickly as we are able to with the venues. We will ensure that you are informed when the events are all live for 2021. We’d love to see you at our events in 2021 and thank you for bearing with us whilst we tried to deliver your event this year.
Given the difficult decision we have had to take and the amount of supporters this affects we are currently working to a 60 day timescale. Whilst we would hope it will be sooner we are unable to commit to anything quicker - Whilst this may not be ideal we appreciate your continued patience and ongoing support.
If you entered as a group and someone else signed you up, we may only have their email address. Your Group Leader will be refunded the full amount for all group members or they will have the choice to donate the whole group’s entry fee.
The welfare of our supporters and volunteers as well as ensuring that we protect the funds needed for our life saving research is of paramount importance to us. In this current climate of uncertainty around mass gatherings and with no further information from government we have had to make a decision that, we believe, is in the best interests of our participants and volunteers some of whom are affected by cancer. Whilst other sporting events might find themselves in a different situation to us we have made the difficult decision that we believe is both right for our supporters and our organisations ability to fund future living saving research.
Please bear with us whilst we reach out to all of our venues, suppliers and sponsors who support Shine every year. Together we will plan our approach for the 2021 Shine season and hope to have events open as soon as possible. If you have opted-in to hear from us we will notify you via email when these events are open.
Both of our event series have now been cancelled (Race and Shine). We are currently still looking to deliver in 2021 and we will be constantly reviewing these mass participation events basing decisions on government advice and our ability to ensure the safety of our participants, staff, suppliers and volunteers.
Volunteering
Our fantastic Shine Volunteers are being told the same day as participants so on Wednesday 17th June. This will be via email in order to ensure all volunteers get notified, with the hope that when some of the delivery team return from furlough in 2 weeks time they can pick up with our volunteers via phone.
There are still opportunities to support Cancer Research UK as a volunteer. Please head to our website for more details: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/volunteer
Fundraising and funding
We need to follow the existing process – i.e. the donors will need to contact us. The reasons being the same as in normal times
Cancer Research UK will receive any online donations you have collected and it will go towards funding life-saving cancer research.
No, your fundraising page will remain open and you can continue to use it. If you would like to close your page you can do this via the page settings.
Yes, you can continue to use your existing Online Fundraising page; or if you have signed up to Shine Walk your way you can use your new page. Either page is fine.
No I’m afraid we aren’t able to transfer your money to next year’s event.
We will continue to direct merch queries to Europa.
You can now get your very own Shine Walk Your Way medal and t-shirt from our online shop! We're so grateful for all of you taking on your own challenge and now you'll be able to celebrate your achievements, and keep the spirit of Shine alive this year with a medal, or a t-shirt.
Unfortunately at the moment you are unable to restrict fundraising income when taking part in our Shine Walk Your Way event. If you had previously signed up for a Shine Night Walk event you can continue to use your existing Online Fundraising page that will be for the cancer type you choose on sign up.
Shine Walk Your Way
Shine Walk Your Way gives people the opportunity to complete a Shine Walk their own way, donating to the cause or fundraising where they can help raise money for life-saving research. Supporters can choose to do a Half Marathon, Full Marathon or 10k walk either by following our maps in one go or split their challenge over one month. Entry is free and participants are encouraged to join our fundraising Facebook community and share their challenges and activities on their own social media channels using the hashtag #ShineWalkYourWay.
We’ve got some exciting activities and announcements you really won’t want to miss out on, so sign up now.
Cancellation and donate my entry fee
If you entered as a group and someone else signed you up, we may only have their email address. Your Group Leader will be refunded the full amount for all group members or they will have the choice to donate the whole groups entry fee.
OR
As you can imagine we had thousands of participants of Shine Night Walk 2020. To send out a cancellation to all of our participant's this has to go out over the course of a day. You may just not have been sent your yet.
Thank you for considering donating your entry fee to us. Please refer to your cancellation email and simply click the ‘Donate your entry fee’ button. This will have been successful when you see the webpage stating ‘Thank you for donating your entry fee’. You have until 01/07/2020 to select this button and donate your fee.
Thank you for considering donating your entry fee to us. Unfortunately, as we are now processing refunds you will receive a refund of your entry fee automatically. If you would like to donate, you can do this over the phone now or you can make a donation on our website. Thank you we really appreciate this!