Walk 30 Miles Challenge - FAQs

Supporters raise money by challenging themselves to walk 30 miles in the month of September. 

Once you’ve signed up, join the Facebook Group dedicated to this challenge and click 'Join Group'. Once you're in, you can complete a form to get your free 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 30 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.  

 In the UK, the sun is often strong enough to cause skin damage between mid-March and mid-October, even if it’s cold or cloudy. 

 The UV index on weather reports tells us how strong the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays are. If it is 3 (moderate) or above, you need to think about protecting your skin by:

• Spending time in the shade – take a break under umbrellas, parasols or trees, or go inside, especially between 11am and 3pm in the UK.
• Covering up – wear loose clothing that covers your shoulders. The more skin that’s covered, the better. Pair with a wide brimmed hat and UV protection sunglasses.
• Using sunscreen – on bits that you can’t cover with clothes or shade. Apply sunscreen with at least SPF 30 and 4 or 5 stars regularly and generously.

For more information, visit cruk.org/sun

• 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/about-us    

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

• 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. 

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  

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.  

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 30 miles in September or not, the money that you raise will allow us to 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 September– the more updates the better. Supporters who regularly 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 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 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 in bed, at the gym or give it to a friend). If you’d like a replacement, you can purchase one from our online shop.  

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.   

For this challenge, if you have raised at least £50 you will be sent a medal. You’ll also be sent a certificate in your completion email at the end of your challenge and you can access downloadable digital badges on the fundraising hub to shout about your achievement on social media.. 

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 Walk 30 Miles in September 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/walk-30-challenge-sept-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. 

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 30 Miles in September, 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 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 sponsorship form following the instructions at the top of the page. 

Facebook Fundraisers are automatically set up to only stay open for ten 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 for your efforts!   

Unfortunately, once your Facebook Fundraiser has finished you cannot reopen the same fundraising page. However, you can create a new one and set the end date for past your challenge, so that you can continue receiving donations once you’ve finished your challenge: http://www.facebook.com/fund/cancerresearchuk/   

To see your past fundraisers, go to the Facebook home page on a desktop and look underneath your name on the left-hand side - click fundraisers > your activity > scroll down the page until you reach "your past fundraisers"   

Donating on Facebook is safe and secure and there is no fee taken from Facebook to set up a Facebook Fundraiser. If you have any suspicious charges, we recommend speaking directly to your bank. If you have any questions about your Facebook Fundraiser please contact Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/help