Already by mid-January New Year’s Resolutions are fading fast.
Maybe you’ve relapsed and belted down a doughnut, a pint or a midnight slab of chocolate. Getting to the gym can prove much more inconvenient than first thought. The good news is it’s never too late to get going and the Railway Children may have the solution.
The secret to getting fit and losing a few pounds is motivation. The best way to motivate is to commit to a course of action and tell everyone about it. The Railway Children charity has a range of events that people can sign up to and help raise money for. Committing to raising money for charity by running a 10K or a marathon helps ensure you get on and train for it. Moreover the Railway Children has expert advice on hand.
Make lifelong friends
Says Katie Mason, events organiser at the Railway Children, ‘Sign up for one of Railway Children’s events and get fit, lose weight, go to somewhere you’ve always wanted to visit. It’s a chance to make lifelong friends and change your life in a positive way by helping children in need. Just about anyone can compete in our events, as long as you prepare yourself.’
The idea is by committing to an event – a fun run or a mountain climb – you stick at training. Katie has many ideas on how to ramp up fitness. ‘If you’re not quite at the peak of your physical fitness, don’t worry, we’ll give you lots of help and advice both with training and with raising your sponsorship.’ The Railway Children has a range of ideas to suit individuals, teams and corporate events.
Cycle challenges
Cycling is a good sport, easy on the knees compared to running and burns calories steadily. The Railway Children offers several cycle challenges with a difference this year: Why not cycle 180 miles through the Spanish mountains of the Sierra Nevada to the beautiful coast on the Summit to Sea Challenge. Nearer home try The London to Paris bike ride which takes you 178 miles from capital to capital. For the truly bold the new event, Cycle India, begins at the mystical Taj Mahal and finishes 300 miles later at Jaipur.
If walking is a more realistic option the Railway Charity has a great new event, the Welsh 3000s. Climb the 15 mountains over 3,000 feet over three days. The ever popular Three Peaks Challenge by Rail celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2012. ‘We are the only charity to do this event by train,’ says Katie.
Virgin London Marathon
The Railway Children has places on several major running events. These include the Adidas Silverstone Half Marathon in March, the Virgin London Marathon in April and the Bupa Great Manchester Run in May. In London a 10k run sponsored by BUPA takes in several famous landmarks and will be held on the course which is expected to be used for the 2012 Olympic Marathons.
Looking further afield more intrepid fund-raisers can take part in an overseas challenge for an adventure of a lifetime in some of the world’s most spectacular destinations. Trek to the summit of Kilimanjaro, the highest freestanding mountain in the world and visit a Railway Children project in Tanzania to meet the children who benefit from your hard-earned sponsorship money.
Trek to the lost city of Machu Picchu or walk along the Great Wall of China. There are lots of different challenges to choose from all over the world. Says Katie, ‘These events are fantastic for corporate team building, comradeship, personal achievement and simply having fun.
Make 2012 a year to remember!’
