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dream journal

Trekking Mount Kilimanjaro - Laura's story

Last year, Laura experienced our unbeatable community spirit, unsurpassable support, and expertly-crafted Mount Kilimanjaro Trek.

As a typically quiet and unconfident person, she was so scared in the lead-up to the challenge that she very nearly cancelled her place, but she didn't. She told her negative inner voice where to go and accomplished the ultimate mountain trek. In this interview, she shares her story and her top tips for trekking Kilimanjaro.

Read Laura's story

5 ways a charity challenge can improve your mental health

Conquering an incredible challenge for charity can be hard. It takes dedication, courage and amazing mental strength to keep to a regular training routine, trek or cycle in an unfamiliar destination for days on end with people you don't know and finally, cross that finish line.

It speaks wonders about your personality if you take the plunge, and if you keep up your positive mental attitude, you'll be on your way to achieving your Dream Challenge in no time.

Never forget what you're training for, the difference you'll make for the charity closest to your heart and the unbelievable sense of achievement you'll get when you reach your fitness goal. Moreover, taking on a charity challenge can really improve your mental health, even in the darker months. Here's why.

Read more

Top cycling tips from our Route Director

Andy Cook, our expert cycling Route Director, is the genius behind our Women V Cancer Ride the Night London and London to Paris Bike Ride routes. He has trained and coached thousands of cyclists from beginners to top level competitors, helped to organise hundreds of cycling events in the UK and around the world and he knows best how to conquer even the hardest bike rides. Read on to discover Andy's exclusive tips on training for your cycling challenge and smashing the real thing like a pro.

See Andy's top tips

Top tips and exciting insight into our upcoming overseas challenges

Our amazing Challenge Leader, Eleni, has led loads of our treks and cycles around the world, and since chatting with her in early 2022, so much has happened that we’re back for more! In the past year, Eleni has cycled from Kilimanjaro to the Coast and trekked in the jungles of Borneo, scouting out our routes and safety-assessing our charity challenges.

In this interview, Eleni reveals what we do to make sure our challenges are always safe (and spectacular!) and what you can expect on two of our upcoming overseas adventures, Trek Borneo and Cycle Kilimanjaro to Coast. 

Read our interview with Eleni

An interview with our Ride the Night London Highest Fundraiser

Our spectacular Women V Cancer flagship challenge, Ride the Night London, brings together thousands of amazing ladies in support of three crucial cancer charities, Breast Cancer Now, Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust and Ovarian Cancer Action. In 2022, over 1,550 women cycled through London at night and raised over £820,000 for these charities at a time when they needed it most.

One of these amazing women was Naomi, who blew us all away with her fundraising. Intending at first just to make a personal donation towards the challenge, she decided to step outside her comfort zone and managed to fundraise over £5,700 in just three weeks! Here, she shares her story.

Read the interview

Trekking the Jordan Desert for Tim: Jane's story

In 2022, the amazing Jane hiked from the Dead Sea to Petra on our hugely popular Jordan Desert Trek. Together with a group of fellow Dream Challengers and a team of local Bedouin guides, Jane faced the unforgiving heat of the desert, crossed vast expanses of sand and climbed through the magnificent Black Mountains, all in aid of charity.

She took this on not just for the personal challenge, the cultural experience and the incredible destination, but in memory of her beloved late husband Tim and the charity that supported him. Here, Jane tells her inspiring story.

Read the interview

Why Georgia is Riding the Night for Women V Cancer

Our spectacular Women V Cancer flagship challenge, Ride the Night, brings together thousands of amazing ladies in support of three crucial cancer charities, Breast Cancer Now, Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust and Ovarian Cancer Action. Next summer, over 2,000 women will cycle either 50km or 100km through London at night to raise vital funds and awareness for these charities that after two tough years, will go further than ever.

As always, such a fantastic mix of ages and backgrounds, first-timers and long-term supporters, solo cyclists and teams have joined this charity challenge. Every one of them brings their own story and different reasons for Riding the Night and that's what makes our community so special.

Georgia is one of the inspiring people challenging herself to cycle 100km in one night, so that no one should have to face cancer alone. Here, she shares what this challenge means to her.

See Georgia's story

We're back out doing what we do best

Dream Challenges is delighted to be back out doing what we do best: making your Dream Challenges come true!

After ten long months unable to venture out together safely, ten amazing trekkers have united in Scotland with our first-aid trained DC Challenge Leader to take on our epic West Highland Way Trek!

Read more

Meet Carol, our Women V Cancer leader

If you have ever joined a Women V Cancer challenge, chances are you have met Carol.

Our lead Women V Cancer warrior from the Netherlands has supported our cycles all over the world, from London to Kenya to India and beyond. Along the way, she has laughed, danced and formed lasting bonds with hundreds of Women V Cancer heroes.

In this interview, Carol lets us in on her life as a Challenge Leader and why after over ten years, she is still always amazed by the events and the women taking part.

Read the interview

5 Top Trekking Tips

Our Dream Treks may be beautiful, but they are no walk in the park. We'll be trekking generally long distances for days at a time.

But there's no need to worry about signing up! Trekking is great fun and will do wonders for your body as you work different muscles.

We also send all participants a realistic and achievable training plan. So pull on your hiking boots and keep these top tips in mind.

See our trekking tips

Why I recommend Dream Challenges every time

Meet Eleni, one of our treasured and top-rated Challenge Leaders. Having joined us on an array of treks and cycles across the globe, Eleni has built a name for herself amongst our challengers. Many of you even choose your next adventure depending on the ones she is leading!

In this interview, Eleni reveals what it's like to work with Dream Challenges and what sets our trips apart from other travel companies. Read on to learn how she became a challenge leader and what participants can expect when they trek or cycle with us, including top tips and her favourite ever adventures.

Read the interview

Trekking the Inca Trail for charity with Dream Challenges

Meet Liz, who trekked the Inca Trail with us in 2009. After witnessing her friend struggle with Multiple Sclerosis and the amazing support she received from Dogs For Good, Liz wanted to give something back to the charity. And what better way to make a mighty impact than to raise funds and awareness on a Dream Challenge?

In this interview, Liz tells us all about her experience and reveals what participants can expect from this incredible Peruvian adventure. Read on to discover her challenge highlights, top trekking tips, insight into the local culture and more.

Read the interview

Cycling London to Brighton whilst battling breast cancer

Meet Debbie. Having fought through eight years of breast cancer while bringing up three children and seen several of her family members go through similar battles, Debbie is a Women V Cancer warrior in every sense of the word.

In 2021, she and her husband, Rob, will cycle from London to Brighton to show strength against cancer and raise vital funds for three very important charities, Breast Cancer Now, Ovarian Cancer Action and Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust.

Aiming for a phenomenal £5,000, Debbie and Rob are leading the way as the Highest Fundraisers for this challenge. In this interview, Debbie tells her story.

Read the interview

How COVID-19 has affected the Women V Cancer charities

Learn how the pandemic has affected the three incredible Women V Cancer charities, Breast Cancer Now, Ovarian Cancer Action and Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust and how you can help in 2021.

Learn how COVID-19 has affected Women V Cancer

Cycling the world as a couple

There’s no better way to travel the world than by cycling. At least, that’s according to Frances and Graham Bland. Having recently celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary, Frances and Graham have travelled across a large part of the planet together and they’ve done most of this on two wheels.

From the outback of Australia to the Caribbean island of Cuba to the paradise of Sri Lanka - and that’s only the start of it. They have ridden through all sorts of terrains, encountered communities unfamiliar with tourists and experienced a retirement many can only dream of. They are now closer than ever as a couple and in this interview, they share their story.

Read the interview

Safe love - Valentine's Day Fundraising Ideas for Self-Isolation

Spread the love safely this Virtual Valentine's Day and try out these fundraising ideas you can do while self-isolating.

Bombarded by all the roses and love hearts, people around us (couples and singles alike) may struggle to think of something different to give and do for Valentine's Day, especially with the social-distancing measures in place.

So help them out with ideas that will provide them with a unique celebration and you with more funds! 

Get our fundraising ideas

Dundee to Inverness for Women V Cancer – Corinne’s story

When COVID-19 rained on Corinne’s plans to cycle from Milan to Venice with us in 2020, this Women V Cancer warrior wouldn’t take giving up as an option. Breast Cancer Now, Ovarian Cancer Action and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust still needed support – and Corrine still itched to cycle.

Wasting no time, Corinne and two friends, Linda and Janice, all in their mid-sixties, planned their own Milan to Venice challenge to raise funds for Women V Cancer. They conquered the same distance, raised the same amount as the sponsorship target and even encountered canals. There was just one difference. They cycled in Scotland.

Inspired by their unshakable motivation to cycle and fundraise through the pandemic, we asked Corinne to share her story. Read this blog post to see how they fared riding from Dundee to Inverness.

Read Corinne's story

Cycling though Russia in my late seventies: Anne's story

It’s time to forget your pre-conceived ideas of retirement. Daytime TV, tea and biscuits, bingo and knitting need not be your destiny.

Anne is a keen cyclist with a big heart and a taste for adventure. Now in her late seventies, Anne has spent most of her life making a difference for valuable causes - and she's not about to stop. In 2022, she'll cycle with us through Russia to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Research.

We always love to chat to our participants and Anne’s story has inspired all of us. We don’t doubt it’ll inspire you too, so read the interview to see what made Anne jump in her saddle for this cycle.

Read the interview

A beacon of light amidst the lock-down

Let’s face it. 2020 has brought a year-full of surprises for us all. The COVID-19 pandemic has rained on parade after parade, hitting our health services, charity sector, travel plans and our own homes like a storm stronger than the Beast from the East of 2018.

Several long months of lock-down, pandemic-related stress and postponed dreams have had the whole nation and much of the wider world, itching its feet.

But at Dream Challenges, we’re all about making dreams a reality – safely. And so, in late October 2020, that’s just what we did.

With our industry-leading 14-step initiative in place to keep participants as safe as possible from the coronavirus, plus extra protocols taken to implement the Rule of Six, we were delighted to go ahead with our first ever Glastonbury to Stonehenge Pilgrimage.

See what our trekkers have to say about the trek and our COVID-19 protocols in this blog post.

Read the blog post

Trekking Africa for animals - Isobel's story

The amazing Isobel Ripley, animal lover from Scotland, has conquered many a trek with Dream Challenges, all in aid of animals.

Having hiked through Uganda, Peru, Romania, the Nepalese Himalayas, Jordan and Kenya, she has raised huge amounts of funds for Dogs for the Disabled (now Dogs For Good) and SPANA, while experiencing the globe in the best way. And she's not about to stop!

At seventy years old, she'll soon be taking on the Kenya Maasai Adventure with us and visiting her adopted elephant for a second time at the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi.

In this interview, Isobel tells us about her trekking, fundraising and her love of Kenya.

Read the interview

Encountering Gorillas in the wild: an interview

After several successful years of The Uganda Gorilla Adventure, we are thrilled to bring back this challenge for 2021! We'll get to see gorillas in the wild, immerse ourselves in the local community and see across three countries at once!

Our very own Dream Team member, Calum Frampton, took on this trek in 2013 and in this interview, he reveals exactly what you're in for!

Read the interview

10 Indoor Training Tips

Who says you can't till train in quarantine? To help you prepare for your next Dream Challenge during lock-down, we've put together some fab indoor training tips!

With ten ideas to try and a massive variety of internet workouts at your fingertips, exercising will brighten up your quarantine no end!

Check them out here and get your daily fix of endorphins!

Get our indoor training ideas

10 ways to fundraise in self-isolation

Exciting news: you can still fundraise in self-isolation! These top ten indoor fundraising ideas will not only help you ramp up your fundraising efforts for your next challenge; but will also keep you active, smiling and sane during self-isolation!

If you live with other people, you can get them involved too!

Get our indoor fundraising ideas

Why I'm aiming to become the first tetraplegic to swim 10km

Dorset Swimmer Ben Clark’s life was thrown on its head – quite literally – when in 2010, he broke his neck diving into shallow waves. The accident left Ben tetraplegic. At twenty years old, Ben was told it was unlikely he would move from the neck down again. Quite a blow for a keen swimmer and lifeguard who had hoped to compete in the 2012 Olympics.

Yet now Ben swims again. This year, Ben’s joining us for In at the Deep End 2020 in support of sports tetraplegics and he’s aiming to break a world record! September 2020 will see Ben swim 10km in the famous Olympic Eton Dorney Lake in aid of Regain, the furthest distance ever conquered by a tetraplegic.

We are absolutely delighted that Ben is joining us for our inaugural Dream Swim Challenge and we dived at the opportunity to interview him about it.

Here, the super inspiring Ben Clark talks about his life as a tetraplegic, his motivation behind joining In at the Deep End 2020 and his goal to make the Guinness Book of World Records.

Read the interview

19 Easy Pancake Recipes From Around The World

Happy Pancake Day!

In celebration of this delicious day, we thought we’d mix up the lemon and sugar for some international inspiration. True, Pancake Day isn’t celebrated everywhere around the world, but pancakes themselves certainly are. And the best thing is, they take all different shapes, tastes and sizes as you skip from country to country.

So if you want to try out something new today, get a mouthful of these...

See our international pancake recipes

5 Fundraising Ideas For Valentine's Day

Love it or not, it's the month of love! A great month to refresh your fundraising methods with a lick of pink and red glitter paint!

Bombarded by all the roses and love hearts, people around us (couples and singles alike) may be feeling the pressure of trying to think of something different to give and do for Valentine's Day.

Try out these five festive fundraising ideas that will provide couples with a unique celebration and you with more funds!

See our fundraising ideas

An Interview with Olympic Gold Medallist, Sally Gunnell

We’re absolutely delighted to announce that the amazing Olympic Gold Medallist, Sally Gunnell, is joining us for Women V Cancer Ride the Night London 2020!

On Saturday 23rd May 2020, Sally will join over a thousand women cycling through London at night in support of the three very important Women V Cancer charities, Breast Cancer Now, Ovarian Cancer Action and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust.

As an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire), an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), a TV personality and the only female British winner of Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth titles, Sally is a world-famous role model. She’s a shining inspiration to countless athletes and non-athletes alike throughout the UK and we’ve jumped at our chance to interview her!

Here, Sally spills the beans on what it’s like to be Sally Gunnell and shares her reasons for Riding the Night in 2020.

Read the interview

12 Ways to Fundraise This Christmas

It’s that time of year again! The season of goodwill and cheer, of love and giving, of feeding the world... so you may have guessed, it’s a jolly good time to up your fundraising game. 

All the colourful lights, Christmas carols and mulled wine help to encourage people to be more charitable.

So make the most of this magical time of year and try out these 12 festive ways to fundraise.

See our Christmas fundraising ideas

An Interview With A Nepalese Mountain Guide: Meet Dawa

A glimpse of what it's really like to live in Nepal: In this interview, our Nepalese mountain tour guide, Dawa, tells us more about growing up in Nepal, the culture of the local people and the highlights of Dream Challenges' Hike the Himalayas.

Check out the interview with Dawa

Why Siân Davies is Riding the Night

The amazing Siân Davies signed up for her first Ride the Night back in 2014 simply for the challenge and to keep her friend company.

She loved it and now, six years, five Ride the Nights, £3,830 raised for Women V Cancer and a rigorous battle with breast cancer later, her reasons for riding have become personal. Summer 2020 will see Siân taking on our flagship Women V Cancer challenge for a sixth time for Breast Cancer Now, Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust and Ovarian Cancer Action.

In this blog post, she shares her story.

Read Siân's story

What to expect from Cycle India: Rachel shares her experience

One of the things we love about being a part of the Dream Team here at DC is that we have the chance to take on our Dream Challenges ourselves and experience the magic of the event first-hand. In 2018, our wonderful UK Events Organiser, Rachel Smith - you may have seen her at Women V Cancer Ride the Night or on one of our team events – jumped on a last-minute opportunity to join Cycle India 2018.

In this interview, she tells us about her experience of the challenge and gives some fab insight into what you can expect from our Cycle India 2020 challenge, which follows the same itinerary.

Read the interview

An Interview with our Women V Cancer champion

Sandhy Robinson-Jones is nothing short of amazing and a true Women V Cancer superstar. Right from the start of Women V Cancer back in 2010, she joined us on our first cycling challenge in Kenya, having been through ovarian cancer. Nearly ten years on, Sandhy has also survived a brain haemorrhage and a stroke and yet she remains a fantastically positive person.

This year, she conquered Ride the Night 2019 to raise vital funds and awareness in support of the services, charities and care network that have helped her through her journey and the thousands of people affected by cancer. In this interview from early 2019 in the lead up to Ride the Night, Sandhy tells us her story.

Read the interview

Don't let the distance scare you from diving In at the Deep End

In September 2020 we’re running our first ever Dream Swim Challenge at the Eton Dorney Lake.

Many of you may feel wary to try a different kind of challenge; but whether or not you’ve swum in open water before, there's no reason to feel daunted about diving In at the Deep End with us.

This blog post gives you all the info you need to prepare for the challenge, including key need-to-knows, training tips, open water swimming advice and your free training plans, designed exclusively for In at the Deep End.

Top training tips for our charity swimming challenge

9 Sizzling Summer Fundraisers

When the temperature rises, so do the spirits and summer time is the perfect time to hold a fundraising event (or nine) – there’s so much more room outside! Have a look at the ideas below and see if sum-erve them could give your fundraising a major boost.

Get our summer fundraising dieas

Why Maria Watts is Riding the Night

Every summer, hundreds of amazing women come together at night to cycle 100km around London in support of people affected by breast, ovarian and cervical cancers. Raising much needed funds and awareness for our trio of invaluable Women V Cancer charities, every single one of our incredibly inspiring participants have a different story behind taking part. Here, the wonderful Maria Watts shares her reasons for joining cause in 2019.

Read Maria's story

Trekking Mount Kilimanjaro: An Interview with Dream Challenges' Ellie Dolbear

The wonderful Ellie Dolbear, who is part of our UK events team here at Dream Challenges, trekked Mount Kilimanjaro in September and we’ve made the most of our fab opportunity to ask her about her experience climbing to the roof of Africa. Here, Ellie gives us some awesome insight into the challenge and her top tips for people taking on our Mount Kilimanjaro Trek in 2020.

Read what it's like to trek Kilimanjaro

Why Maggie Lowe is Riding the Night

Women V Cancer Ride the Night brings together hundreds of amazing women from all cycles of life every year in support of people affected by breast, ovarian and cervical cancers. Here, one of our amazing Women V Cancer supporters, Maggie Lowe, shares her story and why she has decided to Ride the Night and raise funds for women's cancers in 2019.

Read Maggie's story

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month - March 2019

March is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month - a very important time of year to boost your wonderful support of Women V Cancer and in particular, Ovarian Cancer Action.

Ovarian cancer is the biggest gynaecological killer of women in the UK, with UK survival rates among the worst in Europe.

Three quarters of women are diagnosed once the cancer has already spread, making treatment more difficult. This is why awareness is so important, to drive forward improvements in diagnosis, treatment and survival.

Here, we share a message from Ovarian Cancer Action on the importance of raising awareness and easy ways in which everyone can help save lives.

Find out how to get involved

9 Harry Potter Landmarks on our Ride the Night Edinburgh Route

As Harry Potter fans know, Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh, is home to JK Rowling and the birthplace of her books. Several of the city’s sites contributed to the series that changed our world, providing inspiration for settings and names of several important characters – and a comfy place for the writer to sit and stay as she wrote the books. We have no need to apparate to see these nine wizarding wonders, as we cycle right by them on our one and only Women V Cancer Ride the Night Edinburgh.

Read this blog post to find out which nine wizarding landmarks we pass on the Ride the Night Edinburgh route.

See the landmarks we'll cycle past

Why Andi Darbey is Riding the Night

Andi was given the frightening news that she had breast cancer in 2018 and the first thing she thought of was her two-year-old son, then of her boyfriend. Being fit and healthy, except for feeling like something wasn’t quite right with her right breast, the diagnosis came as a shock and she faced a gruelling series of treatments for the rest of the year. Now, Andi feels like she’s one of the lucky ones and just shy of one year after her diagnosis, she will cycle 100km through London at night in support of Women V Cancer. Here, Andi shares her story.

Read Andi's story

Video: Merry Christmas and Thank you from Women V Cancer

We just wanted to wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year – and to thank all the amazing ladies in our Women V Cancer community. Thanks to every single one of you for making 2018 truly incredible!

All your hard work does wonders to support thousands of women affected by breast, cervical and ovarian cancers and here, the charities say a jolly big THANK YOU. Please watch this short video and always remember how incredible you are!

Watch the video

Walk the Night video

Get a glimpse of what you're in for when you sign up the epic charity night event, Walk the Night! This brilliant video from Walk the Night 2018 sums up this incredible challenge perfectly! 

Featuring amazing footage from Walk the Night 2018, interviews with some of the super inspiring men and women who took part and words from the Walk the Night 2018 charities, this video will make your day! Watch it below and if you were one of the challengers who joined us for the half and full night marathon in July 2018, see if you're in it!

Watch the video

An Interview with our Everest Mountain Guide: Meet Dawa

To celebrate the recent launch of our Mount Everest Base Camp Trek 2020, we have taken the amazing opportunity to chat with our local ground handler in the Himalayas, Dawa Geljen Sherpa and let us tell you, he’s one of the most inspiring and charming people you will ever meet. Having grown up in Nepal, a mostly mountainous country, he has always had a passion for trekking and exploring nature and has been a professional mountaineer and trekking leader for 35 years.

In this interview, Dawa tells us more about his life in Nepal, the culture of the local people and the highlights of the Dream Challenges Mount Everest base Camp Trek.

Read our interview with Dawa

Fundraising with a difference: The Worcester Saucy Women

2018 has seen a group of incredibly inspiring women all come together to create the Worcester Saucy Women Calendar 2019 in support of Women V Cancer. Inspired by the movie Calendar Girls, Tania Skerritt and Jody Murray, who both lost close family members to cancer, organised a day brimming with the Women V Cancer community spirit, where 108 amazing ladies took part in a naked photo shoot at Whitbourne Hall and Longlands Farm.

Out of it came The Worcester Saucy Women 2019 Calendar, currently on sale with all proceeds going towards Tania’s and Jody’s Women V Cancer Cycle Costa Rica 2019 challenge to raise money and awareness for Women V Cancer. Here, Jodi tells us how it all came about.

Check out this amazing case study

Why Jo Whitely is taking part in Ride the Night Edinburgh

Jo Whitely lost her mum to cancer only two weeks after she recovered from breast cancer herself. Now Jo has signed up to Women V Cancer Ride the Night Edinburgh to help us put an end to the disease once and for all. Here, she tells her story.

Read Jo's story

I'm taking part in Ride the Night after my battle with breast cancer

Deborah’s 2018 didn’t get off to a good start. After finding a lump on her breast in January, Deborah was diagnosed with cancer a month later and has spent most of the year in and out of hospital, battling the devastating disease that affects one in eight women. Now thankfully on the mend and on track to a full recovery, Deborah is taking part in Women V Cancer Ride the Night to give back to a cause that has been an invaluable support to her throughout her journey. Here, Deborah shares her story.

Read Deborah's story

12 Awesome Fundraising Ideas for Autumn

As the summer air cools down, thinking of different ways to raise vital funds for the charities you’re supporting may well become harder and harder. Shorter days and bleaker weather can make people feel less excited about spending time outdoors. But these autumnal fundraising ideas will give your efforts another surge of inspiration and help you attract even more donors. Don’t let your efforts fall for fall.

See our Halloween and autumn fundraising ideas

How Regain helped Steve power through his paralysis

18 year-old sports lover Steve became paralysed from the waist down in a swimming accident. His life, once full of adventure and sporting activities, was suddenly turned upside down as he realised he would have to let go of the hobbies that shaped him. Then he reached out to Regain. Here's how this amazing charity flipped Steve's life right back around.

Read Steve's story

Women V Cancer Ride the Night 2018 Video

Get a glimpse of what you're in for when you sign up to the incredible Women V Cancer Ride the Night! This fabulous ten minute video from Ride the Night 2018 sums up our flagship Women V Cancer challenge perfectly! 

Featuring amazing footage from our latest Ride the Night, interviews with some of the super inspiring ladies who took part and words from the Women V Cancer charities themselves, this video will make your day! Watch it below and if you were one of the ladies who joined us for Ride the Night 2018, see if you're in it!

Watch the video

Massive thank you to Sogud who've donated £2000 healthy snacks to Walk the Night

We'd like to say a huge thank you to Sogud, a Scottish micro business based near Glasgow, who have donated healthy snacks valued at over £2000 to our brave fundraisers, who are taking on the first ever Walk the Night challenge on 14 July 2018 to support people affected by breast and prostate cancers.

Read the blog post

How Tim regained his independence

Tim's independence was lost in an instant when he broke his neck and became tetraplegic in a sporting accident. Then he reached out to Regain and they changed his life. In this blog post, Tim tells us his story.

Read Tim's case study

An interview with a Husky Sledding challenger

Emily took on our Husky Sledding Challenge in 2018 and she's still revelling in her unforgettable memories from sledding through a landscape a world apart from anything she'd ever seen before. We took the fantastic opportunity to interview her about her experience. Here, she divulges everything, from her training beforehand, to her favourite dog, to the challenge of setting up camp.

Read the interview

Women V Cancer Ride the Night: A poem by Marie Unsworth

A beautiful poem from one of our amazing Women V Cancer heroes, Marie Unsworth, who here describes her experience riding the night in 2018. Marie is one of the 3253 overwhelmingly inspiring women who cycled 104 km through London this May in support of the three Women V Cancer charities, Breast Cancer Care, Ovarian Cancer Action and Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust.

The 26 May ride, which Marie cycled, was particularly challenging (to +say the least) due to the insane weather. Marie and her fellow Women V Cancer challengers rode through a dramatic thunder storm and torrential downpours - and all with smiles on their faces. Her poem below sums it up perfectly.

See Marie's Ride the Night poem

Women V Cancer Charity Feature: Ovarian Cancer Action

Ovarian Cancer Action
is on a mission to fund research that saves the lives of thousands of women. This incredible charity is dedicated to beating ovarian cancer once and for all. They, together with Breast Cancer Care and Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust, form Women V Cancer, which first started in 2010 and has since supported countless women across the UK through numerous women-only cycling challenges, including Ride the Night, Cycle Costa Rica, Cycle Milan to Venice and more. Here, Ovarian Cancer Action trust tells us a bit more about their amazing work and how they use the funds raised for them through the Women V Cancer challenges.

Learn about the life-saving work of Ovarian Cancer Action

Charity Feature: Breast Cancer Now

Breast Cancer Care has recently merged with Breast Cancer Now to create one charity for everyone affected by breast cancer.

They, together with Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust and Ovarian Cancer Action, form Women V Cancer, which first started in 2010 and has since seen thousands of women cycling in the UK and around the world to support countless women affected by cancer and strive to put an end to the disease.

Read the Breast Cancer Now charity feature to get an idea of the invaluable work carried out by the charity.

Learn how Breast Cancer Now helps people facing cancer

Women V Cancer Charity Feature: Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust

Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust is an absolutely invaluable charity supporting thousands of women affected by cervical cancer with the simple mission to make the disease history.

They, together with Breast Cancer Care and Ovarian Cancer Action, form Women V Cancer, which first started in 2010 and has since supported countless women across the UK through numerous women-only cycling challenges, including Ride the Night, Cycle Costa Rica, Cycle Milan to Venice and more.

Here, Jo's Cervical Cancer trust tells us a bit more about their amazing work and how they use the funds raised for them through the Women V Cancer challenges.

Learn about the amazing work of Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust

Cycling Against Cancer - Women V Cancer Explained

We first set up Women V Cancer in 2010, with two main aims: to help put an end to women’s cancers and to get more women on their bikes. Since then, over ten thousand amazing women have taken on one (or several!) of our Women V Cancer challenges and have together raised over £12 million for the Women V Cancer charities. In this blog post, we explain what Women V Cancer is all about.

Find out more about Women V Cancer

Why you shouldn’t stress about training

We know a lot of you can get quite worried about training for our charity challenges. Perhaps you're struggling to work out as much as you wanted to due to work commitments, weather, children or whatever else may be on your plate!

Time is precious and before you know it, the date of your challenge is looming and you start freaking out. But please, don't worry. This happens to loads of people - more than you might think. And because it probably means more to you coming from fellow challengers rather than us, we thought we'd share a couple of wonderful and very inspiring messages from Natalie Olley and Jo Forster, two of our incredible Women V Cancer heroes.

Here's why you have no need to worry.

Read our messages from participants

9 Eggs-cellent Fundraising Ideas For Easter

The year is flying by. Can you believe it’s Easter-time already? It feels only yesterday that it was Christmas! With a new season comes a new fundraising theme and so we’ve come up with nine eggs-citing ideas to inspire your charitable efforts...

See our Easter fundraising ideas

An Interview with our desert guru

Theo Peeters is our desert expert. Having led challenging treks across the ancient Jordan desert for several years now, it’s safe to say he knows a fair bit about the mysterious land and the legends surrounding it.

We enjoy the privilege of having Theo as our ground handler for our Dream Challenges Jordan Desert Trek and we’ve taken the fabulous opportunity to pick his brains about what challengers can really expect when trekking from the Dead Sea to the ancient city of Petra.

Read the interview

Walk The Night Top Training Tips From Celebrity Coach, Faisal Abdalla

Faisal Abdalla, top London fitness coach, Official Trainer for Nike and Personal Trainer to Ellie Goulding and other A-list celebs, is taking part in Walk The Night 2018 and we could not be more excited! Here, he gives us his top tips on how to train your mind and core for our epic charity night marathon around London in July.

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I'm riding the night in memory of my mum: Jo's story

When Jo Thompson’s mum, June Slaney, passed away in 2005 from ovarian cancer, aged just 62, Jo and her family were devastated. Jo’s mum didn’t know the warning signs of ovarian cancer and was diagnosed at a late stage, which came as a complete shock to her family. Here, Jo tells us her story.

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How Breast Cancer Care supported Joanna through her breast cancer

Joanna Clark, of Long Hanborough in Oxfordshire, was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2016. In this moving interview with the Women V Cancer charity, Breast Cancer Care, she tells how the charity supported her through her recovery and helped her stay strong for her daughter.

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ChallengeHer: Time to Woman Up

I don’t know about you, but whenever I try to motivate or challenge myself, I tell myself to ‘man up’ or ‘grow some balls’. I do this a lot, especially in the winter when it’s cold and dark and I need extra motivation to let go of my hot water bottle. The other day I was doing just this - firing up my strength to go training by telling myself to man up - when I realised, that phrase isn’t empowering at all. What does being a man have to do with bravery? And why are so many of the phrases associated with being strong male-oriented? Needless to say, I immediately altered my thoughts to tell myself instead to ‘woman up’.

The truth is, there is no truth behind the sayings ‘grow some balls’ and ‘man up’. Women are just as strong and brave as men and here’s why...

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I'm riding the night for my daughter after my battle with cervical cancer: Zoe's story

Zoe was diagnosed with cervical cancer three years ago, during week 34 of her pregnancy. After the shock diagnosis, Zoe had a hysterectomy and a C-section during one operation and has since made an amazing recovery.  Here, Zoe tells us her story.

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