Walk 100 Miles Challenge - FAQs
Sign up to the challenge
Walk 100 miles this May and raise money for life-saving cancer research.
Sign up for free and you'll receive:
- A Cancer Research UK t-shirt
- An Online Giving Page
- A digital fundraising pack
If you’re unsure about whether the weather will cause sunburn/skin damage, please check the UV forecast here: https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/uv-index-forecast/#?tab=map&map=MaxUVIndex&zoom=5&lon=-4.00&lat=55.71&fcTime=1653879600
If you're walking outside in the sun, use plenty of sunscreen with SPF 15+ with a 4 or 5 * rating which will sufficiently protect your skin (and apply everywhere, not just exposed skin!), also apply each time you walk, if breaking it up throughout the day!
You can find further information via the CRUK website at cruk.org/sun
See below some top tips for walking on a warm day:
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Hydrate before, during, and after your walk
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Alcohol, antidepressants, antihistamines, and other medicines have dehydrating effects. Using them before you walk can make you need the toilet, compounding your risk of dehydration.
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Try to walk during cooler parts of the day, and in shade, where possible, if walking in the heat of the sun, try to do less steps during that walk and make them up another time!
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Light coloured clothes reflect the sun’s rays, avoid tight or heavy clothes, and switch to thinner socks.
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Sunscreen is important for your skin in the hot weather, and if you’re sensitive to insect bites then make sure to use some insect repellent.
Remember to listen to your body and don’t push yourself If you’re feeling fatigues, dizzy, etc. Stop for rests and if urgent, seek medical attention.
For more info see this guide:
https://www.runnersneed.com/expert-advice/training/run-in-the-sun.html
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Maximise reflective gear: wear bright, neon or white clothing to help drivers spot you from afar
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Think low: car’s headlights are angled down slightly, so try to wear reflective socks or shoelaces
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Accentuate your moving parts: try to wear reflective gear on your feet, ankles and wrists
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Be bright and flashy: flashlights and headlamps both light your way and alert people of your presence.
It’s not unusual to encounter bad weather when out walking in the UK, so it’s important to have the right equipment and top tips if you’re to go out walking in adverse weather. Alternatively, it’s more than ok for you to complete the miles inside on a treadmill at home/the gym, if that’s an option for you.
When taking on a walk in adverse weather, remember to check your route and know your trail, understanding your surroundings will help you avoid difficult terrain and ensure you stick to safer, flat surfaces.
There’s always a chance you’ll be caught off guard in bad weather whilst out and about, see below some useful equipment to consider:
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Waterproof clothing
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Walking shoes/boots and walking socks
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Warm clothing and layers (thermals, gloves, hats, fleece, long trousers)
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Water and food
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Mobile phone
Supporters raise money by challenging themselves to walk 100 miles in the month of May.
Once you have signed up, join the dedicated Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2312629765783586 by clicking 'Join Group'.
Once you're in, you can complete a form to get your free t-shirt, get tips for completing your miles, be inspired by other fundraisers, and find out anything you want to know about the challenge.
Of course! If you don’t have Facebook, you can set up a Cancer Research UK Online Giving Page using the link below and collect sponsorship for your Walk 100 Miles Challenge: https://activities.cancerresearchuk.org/walk-100-challenge-may-2025
There is no entry fee for this challenge. Participants are asked to collect funds for Cancer Research UK through your Online Giving Page. This will automatically be sent to us once paid onto your page.
Whilst we encourage everyone to complete this challenge throughout the month of May, this is a personal challenge, and you can start/finish your challenge at a time that is convenient for you. We’d recommend aiming for 3-4 miles a day to spread the distance throughout the month and continue the challenge into June.
There are people of all levels of fitness doing this challenge. The important thing is that you're doing something that challenges you. This will vary from person to person, so tailor the challenge however you like. It should be tough, but doable. However, you choose to break down the 100 miles, you’ll be helping beat cancer.
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 apps with 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 walking shop.
100 miles equates to 3-4 miles a day. 3-4 miles also equates to 6,000-8,000 steps which can easily be achieved without extreme physical activity. This should be achievable by walking 60 minutes daily depending on an individuals walking pace.
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!
The only thing that matters is that you challenge yourself and try your best to complete as much of the challenge as you can. Whether that’s completing 100 miles in May or not, the money that you fundraise through participating 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 May – 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
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/strava
*Please note: With Strava there is sometimes a 48-hour lag in the Strava data being updated, and if the miles still aren't showing, disconnect and reconnect to do a hard reset and this will add any miles already on the 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 continue during this period.
Complete the below form to receive your free t-shirt in the post. Once completed, please allow 10 working days for your t-shirt to arrive: https://activities.cancerresearchuk.org/walk-100-challenge-may-2025
If you have not received your t-shirt after this time, please contact: supporter.services@cancer.org.uk
During registration, we offer the option for people to opt out of being sent a t-shirt should they not want one for the challenge. When filling out the sign-up form, simply 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!
To sign up to the challenge, please follow the link below: https://activities.cancerresearchuk.org/walk-100-challenge-may-2025
If you have any further questions please email supporter.services@cancer.org.uk or call 0300 1231022 (lines open 08:00 – 20:00 Monday to Friday and, 09:00 – 17:00 at weekends).
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
Sending out your t-shirt comes at a cost to Cancer Research UK so please only order one t-shirt per fundraiser to ensure as much money goes towards our life-saving research as possible. We ask for everyone requesting a t-shirt that they donate something to their fundraising page.
Alternatively, additional t-shirts can be purchased here.
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.
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.
Participants must register as individuals but can take on the challenge in a team. You can split the activity up between a group or you can all complete the miles across the month. To raise money together, you can set up a Team Giving Page once you’ve registered and received your individual pages. To do this follow these steps:
To set up a team:
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All your team will need to sign up to the Walk 100 Miles in May Challenge so they each have their own Online Giving Page
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Once everyone has signed up, log into your account
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Hit the 'Create new team' button and follow the instructions
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Once you've created your team, you can send the team page URL to friends and family so they can join too!
Using our online fundraising platform is the easiest way to raise money. You will receive a Online Giving Page once you’ve registered here: https://activities.cancerresearchuk.org/walk-100-challenge-may-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 tools and ideas to help you raise life-saving donations. Please see our fundraising hub with everything you need from the challenge here: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/get-involved/find-an-event/walk-100-miles-challenge/fundraising-materials
You can use our sponsorship form: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/sites/default/files/downloadable-resources/gs_0011_walk_100_challenge_may_2025_pack_r3_interactivefields_p11.pdf to raise money rather than using an Online Giving Page. Simply download the form to print it off and keep track of all your collected or pledged sponsorships. Once you have completed your fundraising, please send the form with a cheque to:
Walk 100 miles in May, Cancer Research UK, PO BOX 1561, Oxford, OX4 9GZ
This challenge is a fundraising initiative specifically developed by Cancer Research UK, and therefore all fundraising must go solely to 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.
As the main route we will be promoting Cancer Research UK online fundraising but supporters can as always create a Facebook Fundraiser. If they do wish to do this, we would advise they set up a Giving Page first and then connect to Facebook on their Giving Page.
Why has my Facebook fundraiser ended early?
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!
If my Facebook Fundraiser has closed, can I reactivate it?
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/
How do I find previous Facebook Fundraisers?
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"
Is it safe to donate to Facebook? Or if you have noticed any unusual charges.
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
How do I connect my page to Fitbit?
Please follow the step-by-step process from your Online Giving page to connect to Fitbit
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You will need to have a Fitbit device and account already set up.
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Whilst logged into your Online Giving Page account, find the Online Giving Page you would like to connect to Fitbit.
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Click the link to connect to Fitbit.
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You will be asked to log into your Fitbit account, if you are not logged in already.
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Next you will need to accept permission for Fitbit to share your activities with Cancer Research UK, this will complete your connection.
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Once connected you will be able to choose your settings for Fitbit.
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You can update your settings at any time.
I want to set or change my Fitbit step target
You can set or change your Fitbit step target at any time by going into your Fitbit settings directly from your Online Giving Page.
Why aren’t my Fitbit activities appearing on my page?
This could be due to the date ranges you have set for Fitbit to share your activities with Cancer Research UK. You can view or edit the date range from the ‘Change Fitbit Settings' section on your Online Giving Page.
This could be because you have not recently synced your Fitbit device to the Fitbit app. Cancer Research UK receives activity data from the Fitbit app, not directly from your Fitbit wristband device. View Fitbit help for details on how to sync your device.
Can I delete an activity from my Online Giving Page?
You currently cannot delete individual activities from your Online Giving Page.
If you would like to be able to delete individual activities from your Online Giving Page in future, please let us know - https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/contact-us
I want to disconnect Fitbit from my Online Giving Page:
Disconnecting from Fitbit will stop Fitbit sharing new activities to your Online Giving Page and will delete all existing Fitbit activities from your Online Giving Page.
You can disconnect from Fitbit by following the ‘Disconnect Fitbit’ process from the Fitbit setting section on your Giving Page.
If you would like Fitbit to stop sharing activities to your Online Giving Page, review the date range you have in your Fitbit settings as this dictates the date range in which Fitbit will share activities with Cancer Research UK.
Why is my activity tracker wrong?
The activity tracker on your Online Giving Page shows a total of all Fitbit activities on your page.
When you change your activity date range this will update your activity tracker to show a total for your new date range.
How do I connect my Online Giving Page to my Strava account?
Full instructions on how to this listed here.
I’ve connected my Strava account to my Online Giving Page but my miles haven’t published
Please note that sometimes it takes a little while for miles to be published onto your page. If they haven’t shown after a few hours, please get in touch.
Your settings will also automatically be set to only show miles throughout May but if you’d like your training miles to show, you can adjust these settings on your Online Giving Page.
Why aren’t my Strava activities appearing on my Online Giving Page?
This could be due to the date ranges you have set. You can change these in 'Manage Strava Settings'.
There can sometimes be a short delay between completing your activity and your activity appearing on your page. Please check your giving page again later.
Your Strava activity does not match the activity types you have selected in your Strava settings. For example, you completed a bike ride but your Online Giving Page Strava setting only have Walk selected. Therefore, you have not selected that activity type to be displayed on your Online Giving Page. You can update the activity type that appear on your Online Giving Page in the 'Manage Strava Settings'.
Your Strava privacy settings are not set to 'everyone'. You can change Privacy settings in Strava.
My Strava activities on my Online Giving Page aren’t as expected?
We will only show Strava activities on your page from the date ranges and activity types you have selected in your settings. These activities also need to be public for Strava to share them with CRUK.
Changes to settings that will affect what Strava activities will show on your page:
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Changing the date range
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Changing the units of measure
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Changing the activity types
How can I delete an activity from my page?
You can delete any activity you don’t want to appear on your Online Giving Page by using the delete option below the activity post.
Cancer Research UK will never delete activities from your Online Giving Page. If you update the ‘timeframe’ section in Strava setting from your Online Giving Page, you will still need to manually delete unwanted activities from your Online Giving Page.
I feel uncomfortable sharing my route
That is totally understandable and in the interest of safety we ask that you do not share the beginning or end of your routes – if you’d like to share then feel free to post the middle/main part of your walk.
Strava allows you to set a privacy zone around your address to hide the start and end of your routes. In the Strava app, head to Settings > Privacy Controls > Map Visibility. For more information see: https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/5999538163853-Activity-Privacy-Considerations
Please remember if posting screenshots of your walking routes and walking information into the Facebook group that your location could be visible to others in the group. Please be careful with what you are posting for safety reasons.
Why is my activity tracker total wrong?
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Your activity types selected -Your target is calculated from all activities on your Online Giving Page. If you only want one type of activity to count towards your target, please remove the other activity types from your Online Giving Page via the settings section.
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Your date ranges selected - Your target is calculated from all activities in the timeframe you've set. If you want your target to reflect your challenge progress only, please set your start date to the day you started your challenge.
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Your Strava privacy settings - If your Strava activities are set to private they will not count towards your target.
Can I link my Apple Watch to my Online Giving Page?
If you track your miles using the Strava app on your app watch, then you can link this to your Online Giving Page. For guidance on how to set the Strava Apple Watch App up please visit the Strava Site.
Strava Apple Watch App – Strava Support
Can I link my Fitbit to my Online Giving Page?
If you connect your Fitbit to the Strava app then you can link this to your Online Giving Page. For guidance on how to connect your Fitbit to Strava please visit:
https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1742.htm?Highlight=Strava