UBC’s Richard Johnson Strides Out for Cancer Research UK

Guess how many steps and you could win a bottle of Champers! When you donate here

UBC’s Richard Johnson Strides Out for Cancer Research UK

By Richard Johnson, Managing Director at UBCUK:

I was asked recently to consider joining 'Walk All Over Cancer' in March.

The challenge is to walk a minimum of 10,000 steps every day in March, whilst raising sponsorship to donate towards the amazing work of Cancer Research UK.

With over 200 different forms of cancer, and the expectation that 1 in 2 of us in the UK will need treatment for cancer in our lifetime, I didn't have to consider taking part for long.

Once I signed up, I began to think about a few details. How far is 10,000 steps? How many steps do I currently take a day? What am I going to have to do meet the challenge?

The first detail was easily understood: 10,000 steps is approximately 5 miles, so by the end of the month I will have walked 150 miles (about the distance from Manchester to Birmingham).

I had no idea how many steps an average day was for me, so I purchased a Fit-Bit (other activity trackers are available) and began recording my activity, or as I quickly learnt, lack of activity!

Weekends aren't a problem. Family life, gardening and DIY keep me moving so I regularly exceed my daily target. The issues start when the working week takes over. I am ashamed to admit that on some days, when I drive to the UBC office for the day and then spend the day at a desk or a meeting table or on a phone or a laptop, I barely reach 3,000 steps!

So, I am looking forward to this in terms of the personal challenge (and possibly shedding a few pounds along the way). However, this is where I ask for your help. Given the statistics on cancer, the worrying reality is that we are all in this together. I would appreciate your support for this challenge and ask that you please donate to Cancer Research UK using the below link through my Just Giving page.

Let’s add some incentive! Why not guess my total steps by the end of the month? The nearest guess wins a nice bottle of champagne from me. To enter, make a donation through Just Giving and add your guess in the comments.

Here’s a clue. This is my step count during the first week (photo from 9th March):

Richard's Just giving page Walk all over Cancer

Donate Here

Thank you! I’ll keep you posted on progress through UBC’s Facebook and Twitter pages.