By Judith Meagher, Community Fundraising Officer
Taking part in a challenge event for the first time can be daunting but we’re here to help you every step of the way. We want you to have fun and enjoy your chosen fundraising challenge.
Choosing an event
It’s important to choose something you like doing or something you’ve always wanted to do as you will look forward to it more – and be determined to do well. We have several exciting challenge events for 2019 – Skydives from 10,000 or 15,000ft over Salisbury Plain, RideLondon, Royal Parks Half Marathon and London 10K and the Rough Runner where you will battle against challenging obstacles, including the travellator just before the finish line.
As 2019 is our 20th anniversary year, you can register for many of our events for just £20!
Train with a friend – It’s often easier to sign up to an event with a friend or as a group as you can get excited, be competitive and keep motivated!
Getting ready – most events require some training beforehand and this is easier with friends too!
Here are some running tips for beginners:
- Always warm up, cool down and stretch…
- Go easy to start with and build up your pace and distance…
- Listen to your body…
- Focus on your breathing…
- Run with a group, if possible…
- Cross train to build body strength …
- Wear the right shoes…
- Create a training schedule and stick to it…
- Include some time to recover…
- Enjoy yourself!
Check out event pages, such as the Runners Hub for the Royal Parks Half Marathon.
On the day – bring water, energy gels and snacks for before and after the event. Pace yourself, listen to your body and have fun!
Getting support and fundraising – tell your friends and family about your event, why you’re doing it and your fundraising target. I’m sure they’ll want to support you. Use social media to your advantage and remember to follow the Team OTW Facebook page for tips and support.
One of our supporters told us, “Over The Wall is a charity very close to my heart due to their outdoor approach to working with seriously ill children. The OTW team is very welcoming and it is a pleasure to be able to make a difference.”
Set up a fundraising page – we use Charity Checkout as it’s easier for us to manage all our fundraising activities. Create a team page or individual pages and share the link with your friends and colleagues.Other ways to raise money – why not arrange your own fun events to raise money? Try a cake sale, quiz or raffle (ask us for a letter of authority for prizes) or do something wild and whacky! See our Community Fundraising Pack or email events@otw.org.uk for inspiration.
After the event – give yourself a big pat on the back – you did it! Take time to recover and tell everyone how you got on. Maybe you achieved a ‘Personal Best’?
Whatever you decide to do, you will make a difference by helping more children to benefit from our life-changing camps – every £50 you raise helps us to fill a kit bag with medical supplies for a team of children at camp. If you raise £800, you’ll be helping us to take another seriously ill child to family camp.
Good Luck, have fun and keep in touch. Thank you for supporting Over The Wall!
