Five rules of fastpacking Focused fundraising
1 / Walk
‘It’s like ultrarunning,’ says Lily Dyu, ‘in that you will do a lot more walking than you would do on a typical run.’ If you feel like walking, walk. You’ll not only increase your chances of a successful trip, but also get to appreciate your surroundings.
2 / Take a tent
If you plan on staying in a hut or bothy, pack a tent and a sleeping mat in case the bothy is crowded or there’s nothing but a stone floor to sleep on. Having a tent also safeguards you against getting caught out in the dark.
3 / Research your route
‘Research your route thoroughly and plan for its level of technical difficulty,’ says Dyu. ‘Identify escape points where you can leave a route if necessary’ and ‘plan for recoverable daily efforts. Aim to be as strong on the last day as you were on the first.’
4 / Share your plans
Leave your itinerary with someone at home, especially if you’re going solo. ‘Make sure someone knows where you are going to be and when you should be expected to return,’ says Dyu.
5 / Watch your feet
Dyu says fastpackers should take extra care of their feet. ‘On a trip where you’re jogging and walking all day, rocks and stones jabbing into your feet will start to hurt a lot. Watch the ground and land on flat surfaces when you can.’
ANOTHER OPTION for runners who want to make a positive environmental impact is raising some money for organisations dedicated to green causes. The most obvious method is to secure a charity place for your target event. Not only will you have a much better chance of gaining entry to a mass-participation race such as the London Marathon, but you’ll also provide funds to the charity of your choice. If you do go down this route, your fundraising target (set by the race organisers) could be £2,000 or more, so you do need to have a solid fundraising strategy.
If you’re not sure you can raise that sort of cash, there are other options – all it takes is a little ingenuity. The Wildlife Trusts, an organisation made up of 46 local Trusts, looks after over 98,000 hectares of British nature reserves, and plenty of people have made it their mission to support its work. Take five-year-old Jack, for example, who, with the help of his dad, organised Somerset Wildlife Trust’s first ‘Team Wild’ challenge event: a one-mile run on Westhay
Moor National Nature Reserve, to raise funds for the Westhay Appeal. Jack has raised £541 so far and donations are still coming in. For his efforts, Jack won Somerset Wildlife Trust’s Youth Champion Award.
Other runners have gone to even greater lengths to support their local Wildlife Trust. Steve Tingle, Head of Operations for Children and Young People’s Wellbeing at Lancashire
Care NHS Trust, set himself the challenge of running six marathons in 2018. He raised over £750 for the Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s MyPlace scheme, which promotes the benefits of ecotherapy – the idea that time in nature boosts both physical and mental wellbeing – for young adults struggling with their mental health.
Thirzah McSherry, head of fundraising at The Wildlife Trusts, says all these fundraising efforts make a difference: ‘Fundraising provides vital support for our work, and we are so grateful to the runners for their amazing achievements in raising thousands of pounds every year to help the UK’s wildlife to recover.’