Less than 4 days to go before 26 Mile Homeless Charity walk in London

 My wife Gill describes me looking like a condemned man in this photo!

Now wishing that I had trained more and sorted out my walking gear earlier but it is too late now to do much about these things.

I did a 10 mile walk from home to Chingford during the weekend which left me feeling a little sore the next day (it was very muddy) so what I will be like this Sunday after 26 miles? 

We start (team of 35 from Clarion Housing) 10am on Saturday 27 January at the Oval Cricket club for the 26 Mile route which goes around the River Thames from Putney to Rotherhithe finishing again at the Oval. There about 4000 walkers in total taking part during the weekend. 

I hope to walk around 3mph so it should take just over 8 hours (with another 30 minutes in breaks). 

Wish we luck and if you can sponsor me please do at this "JustGiving" site. St Mungo's is a National Homeless charity, which as a housing officer, I have seen first hand do some great work in supporting vulnerable clients. 

Countdown to London 26 Mile Winter Walk 2024 - 24/25 days training days to go

I am taking part in a sponsored 26 mile walking marathon at the end of this month for the homelessness charity St Mungos with colleagues from work. 

Most of the recent holiday was spent walking in the Peak district which was good cross training but I only averaged around 13500 steps per day. For the 26 mile walking marathon I will have to complete around 55,000 steps. It should take between 6-8 hours of walking at a reasonable fast pace. 

I am trying to go out walking 3 times a day (early morning, lunch and evening) for short walks and plan longer ones in the weekends. Listening to BBC sounds on my headphones or making telephone calls is a great way to get some walking practice. 

Yesterday evening I went to Westfields to check out suitable walking footwear but could not find anything I like, so I might take part in my normal sports shoes but I think I will need more cushioning for concrete/tarmac. 

I am raising money via this Just Giving Page. Please consider sponsoring me if you can. 

 

26 mile "Winter walk" for homeless charity St Mungo's 27 January 2024

 

I have signed up to this walk via my employer and will be (hopefully) raising money by this "Just Giving" page for homelessness charity.

In the past few months I have visited a St Mungo's hostel, met residents and staff for work reasons and believe this is a worthwhile cause to support. 

When I was younger (much younger) I did a number of 25 mile walks with the cadets and the TA (including the 4 day 40k per day Nijmegen marches). I have also done the 3 Peaks (very tough and we got hopelessly lost and very wet) 2 London Marathons (which were simply awful) and  2 Olympic distance Triathlons (which were much better).

26 Miles in January will be a challenge but London is usually quite mild and of course no major hills or mountains.  Hopefully this will also work off some of the Christmas cheer. 

If you can support with sponsorship then please do.

London Triathlon 2014

Off message but following massive Christmas greediness and self indulgence, as a punishment, I have entered the Olympic distance London Triathlon which takes place on Sunday 2 August 2014.

I now have 6  months to get into shape for the 1.6k open water swim, followed by 40k cycle and 10k run.

I have joined the local borough leisure centre service "Newham Active" and for the first time in decades, I have been swimming and in the gym.

For £36 per month you get unlimited access to the 3 Newham swimming baths and gyms. I still have Wanstead flats to go running and can use Ken Bikes into work and back.

I do however need to buy a bike (problem if you live a flat) and a wetsuit.

I have also in the boot of my car and on my hall landing, 12 boxes of West Ham ward Labour leaflets to help distribute. Join the Labour Party and you can get fit for free delivering lots of leaflets!

I will be seeking sponsorship on behalf of the charity "Alone in London".  Who are a youth homelessness charity that has been supporting young people since 1972. It provides a range of services to young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and last year engaged with over 2000 people including those in Newham.

I supported them when I ran (very slowly and very painfully) the London Marathon in 2012.

If you want to sponsor me you can at this Just Giving web page online or by mobile phone text.  I will also have a traditional hard copy sponsor form. 

So far fellow Newham Labour Councillor Terry Paul  is also taking part in the Triathlon but we are busy trying to "persuade" various other folk to also take the plunge.

I will post every now and then on my progress.

Rae Climbs A Mountain

Off message-ish but former London UNISON Labour Link comrade Rae Voller is trying to raise money for "Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY)". Rae is a nurse who now works in Merseyside. 

She will be climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in September in support of CRY and raising money via "Just Giving" for this event.

Mountain Warehouse in conjunction with "Just Giving" are running a competition to give an additional £5000 to a chosen charity based on the number of votes received by participants.

To vote for her cause simply go to http://www.mountainwarehouse.com/charity/entries/rae-climbs-a-mountain-e353.aspx and follow the simple instructions.

Share the links below and encourage others to vote. Also donate via Just Giving!

http://www.justgiving.com/Rae-Voller
www.raeclimbsamountain.org.uk
www.c-r-y.org.uk

PS I have suggested To Rae that she climbs up and down Snowdon in North Wales twice in one day as preparation. I am full of such good ideas for others to follow  :)

UNISON Welfare Bucket and Spade Appeal

"Our Very own Welfare Officer and UNISON steward Mitsy Harmon is doing a sponsored walk in aid of Unison Welfare’s Bucket and Spade appeal this weekend and has created a just giving page to make it easy for people to sponsor her. Can you publicise her page to the membership please as it’s a very worthy cause.

https://www.justgiving.com/Mitsy-Harmon

The bucket and spade appeal has been set up to provide a holiday for low paid members see more details below.

Bucket and Spade Appeal

The Bucket & Spade Appeal aims to raise funds for the family holidays provided by UNISON Welfare - There for You. Although there has been a huge growth in tourism a quarter of the UK’s population, including many families with children, are excluded from taking holidays, mainly because they cannot afford them.

Our family holiday service provides a much needed break to families whose very difficult circumstances mean they have the most to gain from the stress relief that a holiday can bring. Thanks to the many volunteers who have taken part in our sponsored events, and the support of branches, members and staff we have raised over £250,000 so far. All the monies raised for the appeal are held in a restricted fund to be used exclusively for family holidays.

(From Branch)