26 August 2020
Having twice circumnavigated Great Britain in 2009 and 2017, the aim of Round Britain Your Way is for people to take on a challenge to cumulatively match (or better) the 2,400-miles sailed by the young people on those two voyages. Some of those young people are amongst those signing up.
Through our exclusive new Round Britain Your Way platform you will create your own bespoke challenge, track your distance(s), see the money you're raising and share your story with your friends, family, colleagues, school mates and anyone else to get more people supporting you in your awesome fundraising efforts.
Make it as challenging or fun as you want! When you sign up you will choose the...
With COVID rules still in place, do it by yourself, as a household, together socially distanced or as a virtual team. Connect your Strava or Fitbit and it will automatically track the distance you've completed or you can manually add in your total miles. Then tell the world what you're doing and why! The more you make your story connect with people the more they will be willing to support you.
Young people recovering from cancer are going to need the Trust more than ever after COVID-19. Isolation, loneliness, anxiety, anger and fear are all challenges young people and their families experience during and after cancer treatment. COVID-19 is intensifying every one of these to unimaginable levels. Unprecedented levels of mental health issues are anticipated amongst young people and their families in the aftermath of the pandemic.
In parallel, the Trust expects to see its income fall by a third this year due to COVID-19 taking a heavy toll on its 2020 fundraising activities. By getting involved in Round Britain Your Way, the Trust can still be here for those young people who need our support after their treatment ends.
Victoria Sanches, 23, completed the first two legs of Round Britain 2017 - from Largs to Glasgow, then onwards to Oban - having previously been supported by the Trust in recovery from craniopharyngioma, a type of brain tumour. Now a Trust volunteer, Dundee-based Victoria is planning to climb her first Munro - the Munros are the mountains in Scotland over 3,000ft high.
She explains why: "It will be a new challenge, especially with symptoms from my treatment such as chronic fatigue. But if I don’t try, I’ll never know. The Trust has helped me so much, it’s the least I could do. They taught me I can achieve way more than I think I can. By helping the Trust, we’re helping the young people whose lives they support when they’re at their lowest.”
Another young person tackling a unique Round Britain Your Way challenge is Elita McFarlane, also from near Dundee. The now 14-year-old sailed 122 miles on her Round Britain 2017 leg after being supported by the Trust in recovery from Renal Cell Carcinoma - a type of kidney cancer.
With her family home overlooking a loch, Elita has decided to cycle the 122 miles she sailed during Round Britain 2017 around the loch throughout September to try to raise £122. You can read Elita's story here.
Round Britain Your Way costs nothing to enter and there is no minimum fundraising pledge. Whatever you raise will make a massive difference to young people in recovery from cancer. The FAQs section of the Round Britain Your Way website should tell you everything else you need to know. Otherwise drop our team an email to [email protected]