Events conspired to thwart Plan A for fundraising in gratitude for being ten years on from my cancer diagnosis, so instead, I signed up to walk 400,000 steps during October for the charity Breast Cancer Now. Once we get there, I will post a link, but not yet.
The challenge will mean walking on average about two hours a day every day of October, so it's a good challenge to fit in around work and shortening days.
It struck me there are many ways of looking at this...
Firstly, if, as the www suggests, a mile is roughly 2000 steps then this is roughly 200 miles or about 320 km, the challenge could be expressed as something like...
Thirty 10k events
Ten Pink Ribbon Walks
Eight marathons
Or, in terms of trails I have walked in the past...
Once across the Trans Pennine Trail, Liverpool to Hull
A little over the length of Offa's Dyke
Twice along the West Highland Way
Two and a half times along Hadrian's Wall
Almost four times along the St Magnus Way
It it could also be expressed in other units...
Every year around 55,000 people in the UK are diagnosed with breast cancer - so since my diagnosis in 2010, that's around half a million, or a large UK city. That it is less than one step per person diagnosed in that time (indeed, I am intending on walking an additional 100,00 steps in the second half of September to bring my total up to half a million).
Over the last decade, roughly forty women I have known personally have died of breast cancer... so that is a mere 10 thousand steps, or half a mile, for each one of them. So once we get into October, for every ten thousand steps I walk, I will recall and honour the name of one of these women.
If you are able to, and would like to, donate, when the time comes, that's great. But more importantly, do the checks, take the screening and report any concerns.