Bmycharity blog

Congratulations to Oxfam Trailwalkers!

Well done to the record number of teams who took part in Trailwalker this weekend!

If you need any help tidying up the loose ends of your fundraising email us.  We’re here and ready to help.  Now the event is over, it's all eyes on the fundraising league table...

We’d love to hear how Trailwalker was for you – simply click comment below to share your stories, or email your photos and videos to us and we'll post them.  And if you need any help with your recovery - see our post below from Gary Ward or check out his site at www.garywardhealth.com.

Don’t forget we’re handing out Giftshare vouchers to you and your sponsors – to find out more visit www.giftshare.com/bmycharity or contact Giftshare personal shoppers on 0845 0580550 or email.

Well done and see you next year…?

Top Tips for Trailwalkers

I’m Gary Ward and I work with sportsmen and the general public to help them get the most from their training and achieve peak performance both in life and in sport. I am a leading specialist in human movement. I call it ‘osteopathy in disguise’. My business is about creating efficiency in the way you move. Optimising the way you move enhances your performance whilst relieving pain and discomfort throughout your body. The 100km walk across the South Downs is an amazing event and an achievement that you’ll remember for many years. Being efficient when you walk, optimising your nutrition and lifestyle habits for the event and being mentally prepared will enable you to get the best out of your day.

Here are my top tips for Trailwalkers:

1 Write down all your reasons for doing the event, and remember them in your hours of need.
2 Devise a mantra that will guide you to the finish line regardless of your limitations.
3 Book in for a consultation to check up on your bodily alignment and function for walking.
4 Sleep: 8-9 hours a day in complete darkness will give you the best chance of regeneration and repair. Prioritise this for the week before and two weeks afterwards.
5 A new pair of good walking shoes are essential – buy only with advice from a professional.
6 Drink 2 litres of water a day – in particular in the build up and post event period. Try to make this a daily rule. During the event ensure to maintain hydration all day.
7 Keep natural (fruit) sugar intake high as well both in the form of fruit and fruit juice (not from concentrate).
8 Avoid all refined sugars in the build up and use glucose drinks and gel sachets during the event only if blood sugar feels low.
9 Beef Biltong or dried beef jerky is an excellent way of keeping your protein intake high during the event.
See http://www.beefbiltong.co.uk/shop/index.html
10 Enjoy! Take all the advice you can and use it to maximise your performance. This is a very challenging event and you are really doing it. Do yourself proud and always remember the source of your inspiration for doing it.

If you’ve signed up for Trailwalker and you haven’t had the experience of patrolling up and down the Downs for that length of time, then you’re going to need to be in shape for it.

This boils down to a number of factors:
• What’s my motivation?
• How will my body cope?
• Preparation and recovery?

Blazing the Trail for Oxfam

On the 14^th – 15^th July Oxfam’s flagship event Trailwalker will be taking place across the South Downs.  Teams of 4 will trek 100km within 30 hours.  It’s a fantastic event that will really challenge the participants, many of whom won’t be sleeping to get finished in their shortest time.

Oxfam Trailwalker is a 100km fundraising challenge

Find out how well this year’s participants are doing with their fundraising.  Click on a name to read their story and why not give them a boost by sponsoring them.   That way you can help Oxfam fight poverty without 100km-worth of blisters and exhaustion!