Here’s another extreme walk for charity from the news…

Englishman Mark Beecham will soon be embarking on a long walk for charity. He’s a 20 year veteran of the postal service and 5 year veteran of the TA (Territorial Army) . He’ll be will be going on a well known Coast to Coast trek which spans 192-miles. He’s raising money for Help For Heroes, a charity which supports British soldiers wounded in battle.

He was quoted in the local paper saying, “The idea’s been in my head for about 10 years and it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Good luck, Mark. Sounds like a lot of fun!

Over the past year we’ve featured several extreme charity athletic events. I’m constantly amazed by the dedication of someone willing to walk or run so many miles. I’ve completed a 26.2 mile marathon and anything beyond that seems like an extreme event to me. I would have to be very motivated, and maybe a bit crazy, to commit to something longer than that.

You don’t just wake up one morning and say, “hey I think I’ll walk out of the house today and run 100 miles.” Nope. It takes a lot of training months in advance. You have to plan your workouts, stay on the plan and also do fundraising for your cause.

Plus many of these volunteers are doing this on their own, not part of an organized program. So they also have to plan for contingencies, like having a support team along the route, where to sleep if it’s multiple nights like most of these are, getting plenty to eat, and being safe along the way.

You really learn a lot about goal setting and goal achieving when doing any long distance event. But even more so for these kind of extreme events.

Here are a few of these amazing volunteer fundraisers / athletes:
Friends Complete 52-mile Walk Along the Thames River (England)
Australian Student Completes Second Long-Distance Walk for Charity this time walking 4,000 Kilometers
Woman Walks Nearly 400 Miles Across Ireland to benefit the Smile Train, a charity that provides surgery for children who suffer from cleft lip and palate.
Man Endures 896 Mile Run Through the Texas Heat to raise awareness of childhood obesity.

I found another great long distance walk today, organized by someone on their own, to help a friend. Gav Thompson, of Newbury, England was inspired to plan a charity walk when his friend’s child died of a rare genetic disease. The idea gained traction and eventually 16 others joined him for a 52 mile walk. 17 others joined in for the final stretch on the last day of the event. The story was reported in the local paper, the Newbury Today and on the BBC.

So far the combined funds raised from all of the team members totals over £77,000 which benefits the The Jennifer Trust for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. You can read some of Thompson’s report on the walk on his Just Giving “Fat Man Walking” Page.

Here’s another amazing charity walk story, this time from Ireland. Pollyanne Hooley recently finished a 387 mile trek from Dublin to Glenbeigh in 24 days. She did this to raise money for The Smile Train, an international charity that provides surgery for children who suffer from cleft lip and palate.

As quoted in the Malvern Gazette, Ms. Hooley said:

I had a brilliant time, and met some lovely and incredibly generous people. What a simple way to live, just sleeping, walking and eating, with a little drinking from time to time.

She raised funds from family and friends and used a JustGiving page so that people could donate online. Through these efforts $5,000 was raised for The Smile Train.

Amy Banson has just completed a 112 day walk in Australia. This is her second long-distance walk for charity. Banson walked 4,000 km. She admits that she wore out five pairs of shoes during the walk. Her goal was to raise awareness about depression and mental illness.

Last year Banson walked from Brisbane to Canberra in memory of a friend, Clea Rose. Rose died at the Civic bus interchange in 2005.

Banson admitted that there were parts of the walk where she did not come into contact with anyone and she found it hard. Sleeping in the bush was also a challenge at times. Communication with the outside world also proved to be challenging at times.

“To be in the middle of nowhere for six weeks and to not have phone reception or a local phone booth or internet service and just, no way of contacting people or just having a chat with your friend or your Mum to make you feel good before you go to bed at night was a real challenge,” she said.

Source: ABC News

Olivia Newton-John will lead a charity walk on the Great Wall of China. The walk will raise funds to build the Wellness Centre at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The walk will happen in the three weeks prior to the Beijing Olympics occuring on August 8, 2008.

John says “It is not built yet. We are still raising money. I’ll be walking with ex-Olympians, current Chinese Olympians and famous people from all walks of life. “I am looking for sponsors. I am very excited. I just want to be alive to see the centre built.”

Source: Contact Music.com

Barry Blauer has walked in 28 3-Day Breast Cancer Walks. It is estimated that he has walked 1,680 miles and raised $70,000 for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

In this year and the previous year, he walked in all 12 3-Day walk events held across the country. The walks are each 60 miles.

Blauer’s dedication and commitment are an encouragement to others, said Jenne Fromm, national spokeswoman for the Breast Cancer 3-Day. “(Those who walked with him) always left his presence … with a renewed sense of purpose,” she said. “What being with Barry, and other walkers like him, does is make you realize just how much is possible. It makes you think, ‘Gosh, if he can walk that far and raise those kinds of funds, then surely I can do this too.’”

Blauer is very enthusiastic about his walking. He dyes his beard pink. He ties pompoms on his sandals and occasionally wears a tutu over his shorts.

Next year there will be 14 3-Day events held across the country. Blauer is registered for all 14.

Source: HometownLife