Walk 62 Miles Challenge - FAQs

Supporters raise money by challenging themselves to walk 62 miles in the month of January. This works out as 2 miles a day. They can take on the challenge any way they wish, solo, as a team, etc. 

1 January – 31 January  

Whilst we encourage everyone to complete this challenge throughout the month of January, this is a personal challenge, and you can start and finish your challenge at any time that is convenient for you.  

Once you have signed up, join the Facebook Group dedicated to this challenge https://www.facebook.com/groups/904528731255809  

Click 'Join Group'. Once you're in, you can get tips for walking 62 miles in January, be inspired by other fundraisers, and find out anything you want to know about the challenge. 

Unfortunately, medals come at a huge cost to the charity so we will not be sending these out. However, we will send all supporters a certificate in their completion email at the end of the challenge and they can access downloadable digital badges to shout about their achievement on social. 

It's important that you’re well equipped for your walk, especially if you’re considering going for a long-distance walk. See below a list of appropriate equipment you might consider:  

1. t-shirt or shirt  
2. long trousers  
3. warm coat  
4. windproof top  
5. warm hat and gloves  
6. Walking stick   

Complete the below form to receive your free t-shirt in the post (note you will also get a Giving Page once you’ve submitted your t-shirt request). Once completed, please allow 10- 15 working days for your t-shirt to arrive: https://activities.cancerresearchuk.org/walk-62-challenge-jan-2025 

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

Sending out your t-shirt comes at a cost to Cancer Research UK so please only order one t-shirt to ensure as much fundraising goes towards our life saving research. We ask if you do request a t-shirt, that you use your dedicated Giving Page and donate to your page.  

If you would like to order more t-shirts, please visit our online shop: https://shop.cancerresearchuk.org/product/cancer-research-uk-t-shirt   

Unfortunately, it costs Cancer Research UK more money to return the t-shirt, therefore, we ask that you keep hold of it for personal use (for example bed, gym, give to a friend, etc). If you would like a replacement, please visit our online shop below: https://shop.cancerresearchuk.org/product/cancer-research-uk-t-shirt 

There is not a minimum amount of fundraising that we set for participants, but we recommend that participants set a reasonable target of raising £150. 

Of course! You can still set up a Cancer Research UK Giving Page using the link below and collect sponsorship for your walk that way:   

https://activities.cancerresearchuk.org/walk-62-challenge-jan-2025 

The only thing that matters is that you challenge yourself, therefore complete as much of the challenge as you can. The money that you fundraise will allow Cancer Research UK to continue to fund life-saving research and we can’t thank you enough. 

No, don’t worry, we trust you! You don’t need to provide evidence that you’ve completed the challenge to us. Updating your friends and family on your fundraising page is important! Make sure you keep them posted on your progress and share videos and photos throughout January– the more updates the better. Supporters who regularly post their progress raise on average 40% more.  

We recommend you connect your Giving Page to Fitbit or Strava so you can track your steps or miles automatically. Find out how here. - https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/fitbit  

Setting up a Giving Page is the easiest way to raise money. You can set one up here:  

https://activities.cancerresearchuk.org/walk-62-challenge-jan-2025 

It's then easy to share the page with your friends to gather sponsorship for your challenge. 

We have plenty of fundraising tools and ideas to help you raise life-saving donations. Please see our fundraising hub with everything you need from the challenge here.

As part of the automated email journey users will receive a link to digital fundraising materials which they can download. No physical copies will be sent of any of the fundraising materials.

There is no entry fee for this challenge. Participants are required to donate their fundraising to Cancer Research UK through their Giving Page, Facebook Fundraiser or any other platform they are choosing to fundraise through.

Yes, under 18s can take part in this challenge, but we do not market to them and any third-party platform forum (e.g. a Facebook forum) is only available to over 18s. If under 18s are taking part, their parent/guardian must consent to the child’s participation, supervise the challenge and accept responsibility for complying with the challenge rules. Currently we are unable to accept registration for a child, so the child’s parent/guardian must register on the child’s behalf. Similarly, if a child wants to raise money online and/or join a forum, the child’s parent/guardian must register for an online fundraising page and/or join the forum on the child’s behalf.  

You can use our Sponsorship form here to raise money rather than using an online method. Simply download and print off to keep track of all your sponsorship collected or pledged. Once you have completed your fundraising, please send the form with a cheque to:   

Walk 62 miles in January Challenge, Cancer Research UK, PO BOX 1561, Oxford, OX4 9GZ  

Please note we are currently experiencing a delay in receiving and processing donations so do bear with us if it takes a little longer than usual to receive an acknowledgment.    

Walk 62 Miles challenge is a fundraising initiative specifically developed by Cancer Research UK, and therefore all fundraising must go direct the charity.  

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. If the donation is eligible for Gift Aid, sponsors need to fill out the sponsor form, following the guidelines at the top of the page. 

If you’ve decided to fundraise through your Cancer Research UK Giving Page, you won’t need to do a thing – your supporters’ donations will pay in automatically. If you’ve raised offline, simply post your sponsorship form along with your sponsorship in the form of a cheque to Walk 62 Miles in January Challenge, Cancer Research UK, PO BOX 1561, Oxford, OX4 9GZ.

Absolutely! If you’ve set up a Giving Page it’ll remain active after the challenge has finished so you can continue walking and your friends and family can donate for as long as you want to continue.

62 miles equates to 2 miles a day. 2 miles also equates to about 4000 steps which can be achieved by most without extreme physical activity. Depending on an individual’s walking pace, this should be achievable by walking 30-60 mins daily.

We welcome everyone to take part in the challenge. For wheelchair users you can challenge yourself by getting out and completing a set distance each day. This could be the 2 miles a day or you can set your own target. The challenge is flexible, and we advise each individual to set a target that’s suitable for them.

There are lots of ways you can track your miles. We will be sending a digital calendar along with the fundraising pack where you can track your miles. Alternatively, we also recommend Strava and Fitbit apps. You can easily link these app to your OF 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 on the weekend! 

Don’t fret if you have an off day. You could always make up the miles on a nice weekend walk with the family – or just put in a bit of extra effort and make up the numbers across the next week.

Participants must register as an individual but can take on the challenge as a team and split the miles up as a group or all complete 62 miles a day. You can download the team form here. They can also set up a team Giving page and invite other registrants to join via the Cancer Research UK online fundraising site. 

When setting up a Facebook fundraiser they are automatically set up for ten days. To make the most of your fundraising efforts, you need to change the end date to keep your fundraiser open throughout 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. 

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

You can add an offline donation onto your own page and send this donation through to us as a cheque, along with the sponsorship form which you can download here 

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 

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"