recognition for 365challenge ...

The drive towards world-wide recognition of the 365challenge continues apace ...

Well, okay then, maybe that's a bit optimistic, but I guess at least my efforts to get the 365challenge recognised formally by Cancer Research UK are moving forward well!

CRUK have supported me on the front line from early on in the 365challenge, with the Area Volunteer Managers (AVMs) getting behind promoting 365challenge to their fund-raising supporters, with some progress now as new 365'ers come on board from this, which is great.

Regular readers will may recall also that I mentioned that I was hopeful of presenting the 365challenge to the board of CRUK earlier in the year ... well, I still hope that will come off, but in the meantime, CRUK have actually, publicly, recognised the 365challenge by adding it to their "Support Us" section of the website, where people looking to take on some activity to support CRUK will often go looking for inspiration ... so, hopefully, some of them will find their way to the 365challenge through this ... here's the link - 365@CRUK -hopefully, they'll add the logo shortly too!

Slow steps forward as the 365challenge grows and grows ... stay tuned for more soon.

Meet Rob ... 365's cider king!

A couple of months ago, I got a call from Rob, a Cancer Research UK supporter down in Hereford. He'd heard of the 365challenge, and he wanted a piece of the action! Having lost several family members and friends to cancer, he wanted to do something to help CRUK, so when he learned about the 365challenge from his Area Volunteer Manager (AVM), Linda, he knew he'd found just the thing!

Rob McLellan is our oldest (so far) 365'er at 61 years young. He has taken time to sort out his 365challenges (this is not a decision anyone should take on a whim, it takes real commitment) , but now he has set some really great challenges, starting April 1st 2009.

Being based in Hereford, he's going to Row the Length of the River Wye (251 Km), cover the round trip distance from Hereford-Cardiff-London-Edinburgh-Hereford (1540 Km) on the cross trainer and treadmill, and most wonderful of all, in honour of Herefordshire's cider traditions, he's going to:

Raise the Equivalent of 36,500 Gallons of Cider (166 tonnes), by doing 13271 Single Arm Curls, using a 12.5 Kg weight!!!

Brilliant!

Follow Rob's progress on his 365challenge website, and if you can, sponsor his efforts on his Just Giving page.

This is the kind of creativity and energy that makes the 365challenge such a blast ... anyone can take part, designing challenges that fit with their interests and abilities, and at the same time, raise awareness about Cancer Research UK and much-needed funds to support their very important work.

... so come on then, what's your 365challenge going to be?

Off to the hills with the 365challenge ...

I've mentioned somewhere earlier that, having "knocked off" the 3 peaks at the start of my 365challenge (I completed the climb of their combined heights on the Stairmaster on the 1st day), I had got to thinking that I might like to take them on in the flesh, so to speak ... not all at once, as the full 3 Peaks challenge is normally, but at a more leisurely one a month, from May to July.

Well, it's getting serious now. I've polled everyone who had expressed an interest in joining me for these, and as best I could, I've set dates for the three mountains that will allow most of this elite group of eejits make at least two if not all three of the ascents ... it should mean that there will be a minimum of four of us (and hopefully more) on each ascent. I hope that as other people take time to consider their availability, there may be a few more stragglers joining in too ....

So ... the dates are:

SNOWDON: May 9th

SCAFELL PIKE: June 6th

BEN NEVIS: July 4th

Get those in your diary now!

Most of us are relatively local to Snowdon, so that can be a day trip ... though I'll put Dave up on the Fri/Sat night for that one (he was my best man, so I should really look after him, as he has to travel) - but if others need accommodation, I'll see what I can find out about B&Bs/hotels in the Llanberis area if you let me know you are interested in joining us.

Scafell will need one overnight on the Friday, so I'll be looking for a B&B/hotel somewhere like Nether Wasdale, which looks close-ish to the start area at Wasdale Head.

Ben Nevis will need two nights, I reckon, travelling up on the Friday, climbing on the Sat 4th, followed by a celebratory meal and "toasts", and travelling home on the Sunday. Again, I'll start looking for accommodation at Fort William shortly.

If anyone has any recommendations for places to stay, or tips on routes up these hills, do please pass them on.

Okay then ... the 365challenge is taking to the hills, its official - of the group who have said they are coming, only Debs, Fred and I are actually doing the full year challenge, but if any of the rest of you fancy raising sponsorship for the 3 peaks for Cancer Research UK, that would be wonderful ... you can find out about registering with them, etc., here: http://supportus.cancerresearchuk.org/fundraisingpacklibrary and my website has lots of tips on fund-raising, etc -in fact, I'm delighted to see that Karen has already started her Just Giving page! And if you're happy to link any funds raised to the 365challenge, the appeal code with CRUK is UKCH01

365challenge ... the only way is UP!

bloggers unite ...

Still on the theme of promoting the 365challenge, I've just signed up with the site Bloggers Unite - I'm 365er, if you're looking for me - this is a site that promotes causes and charity events through the blogs that are associated with them ... when you visit the site, type 365challenge into the event search box, and see what it's all about ... for the moment, I've entered an "event date" of April 1st, as the site doesn't seem to be able to manage a multi-start event, but that's okay, I'll just keep changing it ...

(April 1st actually marks Rob's start date, but you'll have to wait a couple more days to read about just what Rob is doing for his challenge ... it's a good 'un, I promise!)

But back to Bloggers Unite ... if you're taking the 365challenge and have started a blog, or you just mention the 365challenge within your blog ('cos it's just such a great idea and you want to promote it too), then please think about registering with Bloggers Unite and post links there to your blogs mentioning 365challenge so we can gain even more exposure for the 365challenge.

Cheers for now!

twittering on ...

In case you haven't noticed, I'm keen on promoting this 365challenge thing, so using the old t'internet / interweb gubbins to best effect is a part of that ... hence this blog, the 365challenge website, the facebook group (365challenge for cancer research uk - go along and sign up as a supporter anytime you fancy it) and now ... twitter.com

Good old twitter is that highly addictive "what are you doing now in 140 characters" site ... you can find and follow me there as 365er, and keep tabs not only on what I'm up to day to day for the 365challenge but see how the web can promote this and other wonderful charity efforts ... as well as reading what Stephen Frys been doing on a boat in the Sea of Cortez ... no, sorry, you have to join to know, it's more than my life's worth to spill those beans!!!

C'mon, get twit it and follow me there ... I'll look out for your tweets ...!

6 months down, 6 to go ...

March 1st 2009 ... that means I've completed half of my 365challenge year!

I've swum the channel, I've climbed the 3 peaks (once - I'll be doing it again, on the mountains for real in a couple of months time!), I've cycled almost 1000 Km, rowed over a third of the length of the Thames, and raised a potful of dosh for CRUK so far ...

But the next 6 months, well, let's just see what we can achieve over this next phase ... I certainly intend to try to raise even more money for this great cause myself, but the real goal for me is bringing as many others along with me to take their own 365challenges, become 365'ers and raise their own pots of dosh for CRUK ... want to take up the challenge? Drop me a line if you do!

100 x 1%ers ...

How did I NOT blog about this when it happened ... my 1%ers Club hit the 100 members mark as a result of my visit to Ireland the other week ... how fantastic is that!

Over 100 people have now donated at least £36.50 to my 365challenge fund for Cancer Research UK in the last 6 months since I started this, so even if that was all that had happened over the past 6 months on the sponsorship-front, I'd have hit my target of £3650, which would be wonderful ... but the great thing is that all my wonderful supporters have been uber-generous, and and my fund-raising pot has grown to £6700, just a little short of double my original target. I hope that it will be possible to crack that figure - £7300 - over the course of the rest of my 365challenge year, in the 6 months I have left.

All your support is so very welcome and important to me, so keep following and commenting and watch how this 365challenge idea continues to grow and grow ...