The Time I Walked 13 Miles for Cancer Research

It's been a month since I done the Cancer Research Shine Night Walk and it was one of the hardest things I've ever done; it's basically doing the equivalent of a half marathon but you walk it instead of run, there's a 26 mile (full marathon) one as well but I'm not ready for that just yet haha! I'm not going to lie to you.. near the end I was so close to giving up but I managed to complete the whole thing in under 5 hours and it'll be a achievement that I won't be forgetting in a hurry.
In this blog post, I'll tell you how I got myself prepared, fundraising tips and some advice I wish I was told before the day.

1. It is going to be hard - I guess this all depends on your fitness level and how much you've trained before the day but I struggled a bit even with doing training before so just remember you can do it if you put your mind to it!
2. You DO need to train in advance so start early - Don't think to yourself "Oh I can just train a couple of weeks before" because that's not going to work. I got a training plan from Cancer Research UK with what they advise you should train. There'll be loads online as well if you're doing something different to what I done so do some research before you book an event just in case it isn't the one for you!
3. But DO NOT overdo it - There is such a thing called doing too much which can actually do more harm than good.. like I said before do you research before committing to the event; you don't want to end up hurting yourself and not being able to do it after all the hard work. Also the week before your event, did little exercise as you want your muscles to relax a little but not completely forget all that work, you need all your energy for the day!
4. DO NOT use new trainers - I was going to buy new shoes for the night and then I was told that was a really bad idea, if you've been training in specific shoes then stick with them! You don't want to get blisters and struggle so stay with what your feet like best!
5. Use all the resources you have - If you decide to do the Shine Walk you'll be given a pack to help you with training and fundraising! I didn't use all of them and I wish I did so if there's a next time I'll definitely use them as they're so helpful.





6. Get there in plenty of time - We were an hour late because we went to get food and it took us ages to get served and by then we got stuck in traffic because of the shine walk going on so plan far ahead and jot down alternative routes just in case.
7. Stay hydrated - This is so important with both training and on the day! It might sound easy but a lot of people don't start feeling it till later and if you don't have anything on you there's a chance of dehydration and feeling faint. We had pit stops every couple of miles so we could pick up a drink and a small snack so we were quite lucky. From my experience I would say don't bring a really big bottle because eventually it's going to get on your nerves haha!
8. Use JustGiving.com - This is an easy way for people to donate online for your cause. It allows you to create a profile, connect to Facebook and Tweet and let others keep up to date with your progress. You can do it for more than one event so don't forget!
9. Ask friends and family to join you - I done my Shine Walk with family and friends and I'm so glad I did because they motivate you and at the end of the day it's someone to talk to. If you can't find people to come with you, don't let it put you off!! Create a playlist either on your phone, iPod, MP3 player etc. so you can listen to that throughout but it'll to need to be a couple of hours long if you don't want to keep hearing the same thing haha!
10. Lastly, remember it's for charity so have fun!






If you're interested in doing the Shine Night Walk then click on the link here to find out more information and feel free to comment below with any questions or advice! P.S we did in fact do it in under 5 hours but we were an hour late hench why the timer says different haha!