My new challenge ... and the JustGiving Awards

It's been a little while since I've written anything here, so I'd forgive you all for thinking I'd given up ... but trust me, I've been more than busy with the 365challenge over the past couple of months!

I'd been missing having a fitness goal of my own, since I finished my original 365challenge in September 2009, so on January 1st 20010, I launched a new 365challenge for CRUK - which will see me covering the distance of 36.5 marathons across the year ... that's 956 miles of running, so just a little something to keep me going, eh?

Well, I started off okay and completed the first of these within the first part of January, but then managed to develop an injury, which has put me behind already! I was getting some pain in my shins from my longer runs (I'd got up to a few 6 or 7 mile runs), and discovered that I was at risk of developing shin splints, which can be very painful. it seems I had developed very tight calf muscles, possibly due to increasing my mileage so rapidly for the challenge, and this was causing the problem. Luckily it is treatable, and I am undergoing some physiotherapy for this, having my calves torn apart and rebuilt (well that's what it feels like anyway!). But I can't run again just yet, so I am going to have my work cut out for me when I can start again (hopefully soon!). And I've got a the Wilmslow Half Marathon coming up on March 28th ... gulp! Mark, my physio, from Harris and Ross, reckons he'll get me running again and that he'll make sure I complete my challenge in good health, so I must place my fate in his hands!

But as well as giving myself a new 365challenge, I've continued to support other 365ers, help new 365ers launch their new challenges, and keep my dialogue with CRUK going as I persevere in my efforts to have the charity adopt this concept as a national campaign (it's progressing, slowly, but it IS progressing)! I'm delighted to report also that so far, overall, the 365challenge has raised over £26,000 for Cancer Research UK, and with around 30 people on board, and new people coming up, this figure will only grow.

The biggest news of the month, however, was the call I got from JustGiving, the company who run the website that manage donations for over a million fundraisers (and of course, my page http://www.justgiving.com/365challenge), to tell me that I'd been nominated for an award at their Inaugural JustGiving Awards in the category "Most innovative Fundraiser", and inviting Donna (Mrs 365er) and me to join them for the award ceremony on February 3rd in London.

WOW! What an honour: to be selected as one of just three nominees in this category from the huge number of possible candidates for something like this! My fellow nominees were Tracy and Jon Morter, the couple behind the Rage Against the Machine for Xmas No 1 Facebook campaign, who had tied this into a fundraising page on JustGiving for the charity Shelter, raising over £100K in the process, and Simon Painter and "Big Dave" who completed a very impressive Jailbreak for the charity KidsCan, a children's cancer research charity.

Of course we went along to the ceremony, and had an amazing night, meeting some very inspirational fundraisers, including the founders of JustGiving, Zarine and Anne-Marie, two very impressive ladies, and Major Phil Packer, of Help for Heroes fame, whose achievements and own battle just cause my jaw to drop; he is truly inspirational and I hope to link up with him again after speaking with him on the night about some ideas.

In the end, I didn't win, sadly, but I was happy to cheer on Simon and Big Dave as they collected their award, as they are a couple of great guys, and again, I hope to link up with them in the future.

But I came away fired up to work even more on taking the 365challenge to the next level. I was also delighted to win a donation of £250 to my page from JustGiving as acknowledgement of my innovative fundraising concept, so that recognition was a huge boost for me. As you can see, the 365challenge isn't going away ... there are other developments on the horizon, which I'll tell you about next time, I hope ...

Recognition for the 365challenge ... slowly, slowly, moving forward

About a week ago, the 365challenge got itself a pretty nice chunk of recognition by the fund-raising community ... and I wasn't even there to be my usual pain in the arse to promote it to them!

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Jon Waddingham, a Charity Champion with Justgiving, and someone I'd linked up with through Twitter in the early days of promoting the 365challenge. He explained that he and someone for Cancer Research UK were giving a presentation somewhere on the potential for using social media in fund-raising, and he wanted to get some of my thoughts, as I've had some success with this. Ever happy to oblige (and plug the 365challenge), I knocked off an email to him with feedback on my experiences, and, as an afterthought, asked him to let me know if it was the sort of thing he was after, or of any help to him.

Turns out, he liked it, and last week, he tweeted me to let me know that the presentation had gone very well. Oh, by the way, the presentation was actually a workshop, at the 29th International Fund-raising Congress, in Holland, an event that attracts hundreds of charity professionals from around the world. And his co-presenter was Bryan Miller, Head of Strategy and Consumer Insight with Cancer Research UK!

The workshop was called "Understanding the new breed of digital donors and how to maximise your fund-raising through their networks". You can see the slides from the presentation here, but if you just want to get to the 365challenge/Colin bit, go to slide 68 and forward from there (the whole thing is worth a look though, so let me know what you think).

Anyway, Jon told me that they sent everyone away to "telling people to try & find their own Colin" and "I think your example has inspired fundraisers from around the world! :D" ... not getting big-headed of course ... I mean, me? GET IN!

Oh, and tomorrow I'm off to do some promotion of my own, presenting the 365challenge to the Cancer Research UK Liverpool Supporter's Conference (yes, in Liverpool ... doh!).

See, I'm sort of commited to this thing now, and I know it's an idea that WILL bring funds in for CRUK, and so maybe I am a little chuffed about the attention its getting, because I believe it IS worth it ... but I'll never be big-headed (grins)!

*** Blog Post 100 *** 365challenge: DONE!

Well readers, welcome to my 100th blog post - this could be a long one!

I started this blog in August 2008, as I was starting out on my 365challenge for Cancer Research UK, and over the year, I've done my best to keep you informed of all the developments in my own 365challenge, as well as what's been happening as I try to develop the 365challenge concept beyond myself and bring more and more 365ers on board to help raise even more money for this vital cause.

It has been a truly wonderful year, with lots of "ups" and no "downs" that I can recall, which is great. Indeed, as I look back over it, I'd have to say that it has gone better than I could have possibly expected, and the icing on the cake for this particular posting is that I can very happily announce that this morning, August 29th 2009, 363 days into my 365challenge, I have completed my final 5 Km run to achieve my final challenge target of running the 135 Km distance that marks the length of Hadrian's Wall, my 6th and final challenge. Whoop Whoop!! (okay, I'll keep it down now, sorry).

It is hard to believe that it was only a little over a year ago, and just after we lost my sister, Brenda, to cancer, in July 2008, that I began to develop an idea to raise some money to help in the fight against cancer. The 365challenge started from my desire to do something that would capture the attention of potential sponsors - I felt that it had to be BIGGER than a one-off sponsored walk or run. It had to be something that showed just how seriously I was taking this cause and that I was going to give my all to earn the support of my sponsors.

When I put out the word that I was going to climb the 3 peaks, cycle the length of the UK, row the length of the Thames and swim the Channel to raise money for Cancer Research UK, well, it was always going to get people's attention, wasn't it? (I've since added a second round of the 3 peaks, and running the width of the country, along Hadrian's wall). That everyone then didn't drift off mildly annoyed with me, calling me a chancer and conman when I explained that I was going to complete these challenges over the course of my 365challenge year, accumulating mileage over my regular gym visits, is something for which I am truly grateful to you all. But that so many of you thought this was a flash of true inspiration and then queued up to sponsor me has been so rewarding and inspiring for me: I have felt truly humbled by the response.

That some of you then asked if you could play too has been further evidence to me that there are a lot of wonderful and committed people out there who were just looking for the right idea to come along to allow them to be part of the battle against cancer too. You are all heroes in my book, thank you for letting me know you.

And that has been a feature of this last year: I have encountered many wonderful, selfless people, who have given of themselves to support me and the 365challenge: from Nick and Paul with my website and logo, to all of the current and pending 365ers, to the CRUK staff who have encouraged and brainstormed with me on how we can make the 365challenge even bigger, and on to my family and friends who have been behind me from Day 1. There are a number of these people I have never met - we exchange emails now and again and I try to encourage them in their efforts - and this has been fantastic that they want to do keep doing their bit: they have gotten on with doing what they can to make a difference, and together we ARE making a difference!

So far, with just 8 x 365ers running active Justgiving pages, we have raised over £23000 for CRUK. With around another 10 x 365ers still putting their challenges and fund-raising pages together, there is absolutely no reason why this figure won't grow substantially. But of course, I WANT MORE! And with my own 365challenge ending, I now have some more time to devote to supporting the 365ers and working to find more and more people to take their own 365challenges for CRUK. The charity themselves continue to work with me and behind the scenes on ways that the 365challenge can fit into their grand plans too, so together, over time, I am positive that the 365challenge WILL play an important role in the fund-raising that is undertaken to support CRUK.

The end of my personal 365challenge will not see the end of my work for the 365challenge and CRUK. I'm already booked on a training afternoon to learn about being an ambassador for CRUK, speaking on their behalf to various groups, and I will be presenting the 365challenge to several conferences for CRUK later in the year. This thing has legs, so bear with me and keep popping back here to see what else I get up to for the cause.

The title of this blog contains a subtitle: "tracking my charity fund-raising efforts over 365 days" ... I will now alter this to add the words "and beyond" ... watch this space!

365challenge at the Edinburgh Marathon ...

I know it was nearly two weeks ago, but I've only just had details through on this "breaking news" story!

So ... let's hear it for Anouska Watkins, one of the first of my 365ers, who, on Sunday May 31st, one of the hottest days of the year so far, completed the Edinburgh Marathon. You can read about Anouska's 365challenge on her website here: Anouska's 365challenge.

The Edinburgh marathon was really tough in the blistering heat, especially when they ran out of water after mile 15 until mile 23 - 5000 people didn't finish! (read the BBC website story here). Anouska tells stories of having to pick empty water bottles up off the ground and then queue with other runners at public conveniences to try to fill them around the mile 20 mark.The organisers need to take a very serious look at themselves after that fiasco.

UPDATE: Anouska has just emailed me to tell me that the organisers of the marathon emailed her to tell her that the water shortage was due ... to THEFT! And that it wasn't that 5000 dropped out, but that 5000 (of the 13000 expected) didn't start!

Anouska tells me that she was kept going though by the thought of her family waiting at the 24 mile marker to cheer her on, and given the conditions and an ankle injury that threatened to put her off the road altogether, her finish time for her first marathon of 4 hrs 53mins wasn't too shabby at all, especially when, as Anouska said "there were so many people passed out on the side of the road with heat exhaustion, it was scary".

Truly, I am impressed Anouska, that was some feat. And even more impressed that you had the wherewithal to make sure that you had a photo taken with your medal in the 365challenge t-shirt ... a true star, cheers!

That was, as I say, Anouska's first full marathon, but since she started her 365challenge year on November 2nd 2008, she has completed the marathon distance 16 times (she was only aiming for 12 over the year!). Wonderful effort.

But she's not finished there, folks, as the next part of her 365challenge is to take on the Lands End to John O'Groats cycle ride - in the flesh - later this summer, joining a friend who was planning to do it, so she just thought she might join in too! She's off over the coming couple of weekends for training rides around Leeds and Abergavenny (lots of hills!).

Add to that the fact that she's a quarter of the way down the River Dee on the other part of her 365challenge, and you'll begin to understand that Anouska is truly dedicated to this cause, which she took on in memory of her friend Debbie, who lost her battle with cancer at the too young age of 27, in 2006, and who would have celebrated her 30th birthday this year, alongside Anouska.

Anouska's dedication has also lead her to be the star in the 365challenge fund-raising crown too, with her total so far sitting at a whopping £8782, even better than me!! She's always happy to have more support, of course, so if you can, drop along to her Just Giving page and give her another boost!

Fantastic effort, Anouska. I hope to catch up with you soon to say well done as well as a big thank you too. Cheers!

How did it get to the end of Month 8?

April 30th 2009 ... today marks the last day of Month 8 of my 365challenge year ... hasn't that flown by?

I've been plugging away, knocking off the miles quietly and continuing to promote the 365challenge where I can, whilst also planning my mountaineering adventures ... oh, and fitting in a day job that's been getting busier of late ... damn it, don't they realise I've got a 365challenge to be getting on with!

Fund-raising has slowed down admittedly, but hey, I can't complain too much, as I'm just £131.50 short of achieving £7300, which would mark twice my original target! Not too shabby, eh? Though I guess I'd have to admit that I'm secretly harbouring a hope that I might get close to the £10000 mark by the end of my personal 365challenge year ... oops, I've gone and let the cat out of the bag on that one ... keep it to yourselves, okay, but ... feel free to pass it on to anyone you think might be interested in sponsoring me a bit!! They can go to my Justgiving Page to add their support.

And speaking of Justgiving, they have been part of my promotional efforts this past month and I'm really pleased to announce that they have taken up the 365challenge cause. They've just featured me on their very own blog, which you can read here: 365challenge on Justgiving - it's a really good piece and hopefully will help draw in some more people who might like to take on the 365challenge for themselves.

As for where I'm up to with my 365challenge ... I've got just 250 Km left on the bike and 150 Km left on the rowing machine, so it is all very doable now. My plan is to finish the cycling by the end of May, and then concentrate on clearing the rowing in the final 3 months. And of course, we hit the mountains soon ... Snowdon on May 9th, if anyone would like to join us ... email me on colin@365challenge.co.uk if you fancy it.

getting back on track ... tweet, tweet

Another lengthy gap between posts ... it's not that I haven't wanted to write, but work kept getting in the way (apparently, it's good to be busy at work when you have your own business ... but I have my doubts sometimes ...!) ... but that meant that I wasn't getting to the gym, and wasn't moving things forward as intended with the old 365challenge.

Work continues to be busy, but I've gotten myself a bit better organised now and have managed to knock off a few more Kms over the weekend. I've now got just 400 KM left on the bike ... (could I finish that by the end of May? Am I setting myself a goal there that is achievable? Don't know, but I'll have a shot at it!) ... and 160 Km left on the rowing machine ... that will definitely NOT be completed by the end of May, but, hey, I've got another 3 months after that in my 365challenge year to crack the Thames, so I am confident all will be well by the end of August ... and of course I'll have bagged Snowdon, Scafell Pike and Ben Nevis by then too, so ... GO ME!! And the growing band of wonderful folk who are planning on coming along with me for one, some or all of the mountains!

Funds keep coming in, and it will be great to reach the 200% mark of £7300 (that's 200% of original target goal of £3650) - still £223 to go, but I'll get there, I'm sure.

What I have been doing however (admittedly, sometimes at some cost to my work focus ... you see, it can get a bit addictive ...), is Tweeting on Twitter - you can find me there as 365er.

And it's been a great opportunity to connect with like-minded folk, some doing amazing things of charity ... as well as some complete numpties (though good for a laugh) and some truly lovely folk who are just being themselves ... and when they are celebrities, who just come across as soooo nice and normal, that's a bonus!

But also through Twitter, I have connected with some people who I believe will help me move the 365challenge forward, so on that level, it's been very much worth it. I hope soon to be able to announce details of one of these collaborations, which I'm really happy about ... it should give the 365challenge a profile boost, and maybe draw in some more participants (and even some money).

The other connection may take a little more time to come to fruition, but again, if it does work out ... well, I think it will be a VERY GOOD THING for the 365challenge ... watch this space ... or follow me on twitter to be right in the loop, and maybe even a little ahead of the game!

Rob's ready to raise a glass (and the rest) ...

Remember Rob, the Cider King from a few posts ago?

Well, he's only gone and got himself some press coverage down there in the Hereford Times ... read more of his story here.

He's got a great challenge starting on April 1st (no, it's for real, honest), so best of luck with all your efforts Rob, and readers, do please feel free to support him - you can leave comments here or visit his website.

He's looking good in the 365challenge t-shirt too, if I do say so myself ...

Another important 365 milestone ... breaking through £10000

You know I recommend using Just Giving as the best way to sponsor the 365challenge, right? Well, I send all those who decide to take on the 365challenge instructions as to how to set up their own Just Giving page too.

Several of them have let me know when they've done this (and I then include links to their pages on a page on my website: meet the 365'ers), though there are still a a couple who have been shy about promoting their efforts ... hopefully that'll change over time?

But, the thing is, there are these other folk out there undertaking wonderful challenges for their very own 365challenges for Cancer Research UK, and they are building up the pot of money that is being raised for this very important cause.

I've just (nosily) flicked through the Just Giving pages I'm aware of for 7 of us 365'ers, and am really excited to be able to announce that cumulatively, we have just broken through the £10000 raised barrier! The total (including my own £7000, I know, I know) is sitting at £10030 just now, and given that these guys have only fairly recently taken this on, and that there are at least another 10 365'ers out there, with more hopefully coming on board as this idea grows, this pot can only grow and grow!

Well done everyone, and for those 365'ers who have yet to set up their Just Giving page, do please have a look at mine, then give it a go yourself, and don't forget to tell EVERYONE what you're doing!

1000 KM down, "just" 600 Km (read Scotland) to go ...

It's been a fractured month in the gym, with the day job getting very busy and long days in the office leaving me with either too little time for my 365challenge or too tired to face the gym after slogging in front of a PC writing reports. I've been feeling it and all the more so, as I knew that there was an important milestone (kilometre-stone just doesn't have the right ring to it, does it?) looming ...

The good news is that this morning, I dragged myself off to Total Fitness at 8.00 am, despite a Saturday of copious beers, enjoying Liverpool thump Man U (sorry Peter, but it WAS a thumping!) and Ireland continue their drive towards the Grand Slam, and I finally knocked off the 25 Km on the bike that took me to the 1000 Km mark in the Lands End-John O'Groats part of my 365challenge. I'm more or less at Carlisle now, with just the entire length of Scotland to go (600 Km), with loads of time (5.5 months) left of the 365challenge year.

I'll get back to more regular gym-ing shortly, so I do expect to complete this part of the challenge within a few months, leaving "just" the slog on the rowing machine to get me another 207 KM along the Thames, and now, of course, there is also the small matter of 3 wonderful peaks in Wales, England and Scotland to drag myself and a select group of 365challenge supporters up between May and July.

Who's idea was all this again?

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 ...

energy levels set to stun!

Had a visit today from the new Area Volunteer Manager (AVM) for CRUK (well, returning AVM, back from maternity leave) ... bloody hell, Michelle, how can a new mum have soooo much energy?

She was really excited about the 365challenge and wanted to know what she could do to help promote it ... or what challenges she could take on ... one idea was that she could "iron the height of a mountain" (something local, not kilimanjaro ... her words, honest!), by taking in ironiing from her village for a donation to CRUK!!!

And she seemed to have lots of contacts and anything I mentioned, she thought she could work with ... and true to her word, within a couple of hours of the meeting, she'd emailed me a potentially useful link for widening the scope for this thing ... CRUK, you'd better make sure you hold onto this one, 'cos with that level of enthusiasm, she'd be an asset to any organisation!

not forgetting the team effort

Nick also knocked off a logo for Team 365challenge, which you can access by emailing me on colin@365challenge.co.uk ...

This is for those of you who want to make a BIG, multi-person effort for your 365challenge ... get a few or a lot of bodies to join you and that way you can set a truly spectacular goal for your 365challenge year ... what about cycling round the world, or swimming/rowing the Atlantic ... or maybe running the coastline of the UK?

You are limited only by your imagination ... okay, and by your fitness levels ... and maybe by your available time ... and maybe by the number of team members ... but, hey now, stop making excuses, c'mon, get planning how you could develop your very own 365challenge team and raise a shed-load of money for this important cause ...

365ing all over the world ...

... and I like it, I like it, I ....

Doesn't really scan, does it? Hey ho. Anyway, I've been meaning to tell you that Nick, my logo designer, has gotten round to developing some extra versions of the 365 logo for me, as I try to promote this thing internationally now.

Well, in Ireland and Australia at least, seeing as there have been positive mutterings coming out of each country that someone over there is going to take on their own 365challenge. So ... what do you think of our new Irish and Aussie versions, then?


Cool or what? If you're based in either location and you'd like to take on your own challenges for your local cancer charities, get in touch and I'll forward the logos for you to use in your promotional efforts ... it all helps to raise the profile and generate interest from the folks out there who will ultimately be our sponsors!

So in the words of the great Joey Ramone ... Hey Ho, Let's Go!

adding to the pot ...

There I was over in Ireland to celebrate my dad's 90th birthday, when Fiona, my sister, lets me know that she has some donations from friends to add to the 365challenge collection pot!

So thank you to the girls at Carrickmacross Library (Breda, Anne and Mary), and to Betty and Bernie ...

Then Fiona announced also that her colleagues at work had made a collection before Christmas and wanted to present it to me while I was over too ... so it was off to the Monaghan Motor Tax office to meet the girls and collect a very healthy donation for Cancer Research UK. So it's a very big thank you to Marcella, Maura, Olga, Sara, Helen, Fiona, Louise, Denise, Susan, Phil, Kate and Madeline ... not everyone was there, sadly, but I managed to persuade those who were to join me for an official presentation photo ... so, meet the ladies of the Monaghan Motor Tax office:

From left to right, it's Louise, Fiona, Maura, Me(!), Sara, Helen and Olga ... thanks again ladies for your very generous donation.


And as if that wasn't enough, we arrived back from the restaurant we'd taken Dad to for his birthday meal to find an envelope through the door containing 200 Euros from my cousin Gerard and Uncle Benny for the cause!

So a big thank you to everyone in Ireland for their generosity, I brought back £473 to add to my total ... I'll have to come back again soon for more!!