I'm doing a really long walk for C.A.L.M

After finally summoning up the balls I’ve decided to do the Isle of Wight Challenge in support of the Campaign Against Living Miserably (C.A.L.M.). It is a charity working to prevent male suicide in the UK.

The challenge is to walk 106km around the Isle of Wight without stopping for sleep. I’ll be doing it at the end of April.

I’m collecting sponsorship here www.justgiving.com/fundraising/beth5

I’m also collecting any tips and advice you would like to donate below.

Thank you!

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Jayesus that’s a lot of walking. Most very excellent though! Hats off to you.

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That was my exact thought too Pete when I read 106kms !!! :smile:
Got to be worth a couple of quid though…

Top work Beth !

Courty

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Good luck Beth!
I once attempted the Vanguard Way in one hit from East Croydon to Newhaven (107km) and fell short about 15km, starting around 10pm and throwing in the towel 7pm the next day.
If I was to do it again this is the advice I would give to myself that might be useful to you:

  1. Make navigation as easy as possible. If you have some GPS device that shows you a big arrow so much the better. Navigating is easy to start with then the miles wear on an on and a condition known informally as high mileage dementia kicks in - thoughts become muddled and making sense of maps and directions take a big toll so the clearer the path ahead is, the more energy to be used where it matters, in the legs!

  2. Snack often. Don’t wait for hunger to eat, remind yourself to eat otherwise you risk “hitting the wall”, not a good place to be and one that takes a long time to get out of, even if you treat yourself to a big slap up meal.

  3. Take vaseline. As soon as you feel any rubbing, apply liberally. This could be thighs rubbing against each other, trousers hanging from the hips, t-shirt rubbing against arm pits, trainers digging into ankles, etc.

  4. Wear layers then peel off and put back on one by one to keep body temperature always steady. Sweating and shivering are inefficient. Your body should always be at a comfortable temperature.

  5. Don’t kill yourself. Accidents happen all the time but specially when we are tired. Remember your loved ones who will miss you sorely. If you are on your last legs and are hit by nasty weather somewhere remote, you could be risking death by exposure. Be safe.

  6. (Last one for the road :slight_smile: )Take a pair of walking poles. They should help distribute the weight strains around a little more fairly.

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Beth, you’re amazing! I will signin to sponsor you when I get my laptop back over next couple of days.

It’d be good to link this to Time to Talk, please do cus it’s not obvious from this title. You need all the support you can get.

Especially loads of lovely lolly to give to the charity!

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Good luck Beth. I used to be National Fundraiser for CALM!

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Thanks!

I can vouch for that with bike rides. An uninterrupted ride makes all the difference psychologically, let alone physically. It quite surprised me that with the right app on your phone turn-by-turn navigation piped into your ear works on singletrack through forests…

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Wow Kim, they say there’s no coincidences! It’d be great if you can give Beth some good knowledge of how gain funds for CALM from her walk …? That’d be sooooo good.

We need to Big This Up. Both to gain funds and to reach people who don’t know about CALM. I’d never heard of it, so thanks for making me aware of things I now think very important.

Beth, you’re being shy to promote this ‘omg can’t believe you’re doing this thing’. So I hope you think it ok for Maker Space to bring their best shots with their skills of how to Big it Up.

@directors what ideas do you have of how to support Beth?
@tobyspark and @events how can we market Beth’s walk best?
@Beth what suggestions do CALM have?

When the quality homework is done, soon as, @directors, post a new post? Good idea? Yeah for sure.

Dunno. This is something outside of Makerspace. Some social media could tie the two together, i.e. We did time to talk, it was great, now one of our members is raising money for the cause.

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I think we can give it some social media, and feature in an upcoming newsletter.

@Beth what do you think?

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Yeah ok. Thanks to everyone for all the support, advice and sponsorship so far.

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Beth, looks like you are doing all the right things…using your networks to let people know what you are doing. Briefly explain the work of CALM (linking to their website is useful so people can look them up easily). If there is a personal reason why you support CALM which you are comfortable mentioning, then you could let people know as it adds impact. You could give quick updates on your training/fundraising via social media to keep people informed and engaged with what you are doing. It lets your supporters know how you are doing and motivates others to back you. Its a big challenge you are undertaking after all. best of luck , Kim

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What lovely words Kim, though they’re not for me :smiley: they are for @Beth so this post will go to her too, just in case she misses it.

Update: So this T-shirt arrived today which will somehow make me look awesome 20 hours in when I am exhausted and windswept


Also went into work early this week and handed my sponsorship form around and the generous posties at Royal Mail Epsom DO have so far pledged £300. Royal Mail will give me a further £200 through their matched giving scheme.
And here is what my “training” looks like:

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Jeepers, that’s a fun dance of steps, looks like mathematical twister :joy: Train well Beth. Totally impressed and support you

When is this mega-walk Beth? It must be soon.

How’s the fundraising target?

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Event: Isle of Wight Challenge 2017, 29 Apr 2017 to 30 Apr 2017

Soon !

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Yep it’s 9 days to go! The sponsorship is going well
about £1,000 so far across the board. I probably should have done some proper training but I think a wing and a prayer will suffice!

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