£125,000 and climbing

We have moved on to the next milestone - £125,000 raised for Macmillan from our 70 trekkers!

Some of the Nottingham group at '4000m'
at Nottingham Trent University.
Source: Nottingham Post

As well as fundraising, people have been training hard over the summer months. Including the majority of the Nottingham team who went along to the Nottingham Trent University altitude chamber in July. 30 of us spent an hour exercising in conditions simulating 4,000 metres (around 13,000ft). The air felt strange with the greatly reduced oxygen, but everyone passed with flying colours.

There is a lot more to do between now and our expedition in January, but we are making great progress every week, especially with our fundraising.

150 days to go. Onwards and upwards...


Neil Jones

£100,000 for Macmillan!!! And six months to go

Several colleagues have remarked that we have hit another milestone.

On this day in six months time (18th January 2014), our first team will be preparing to return from Tanzania at the end of their expedition, and the Nottingham group will be arriving at the foot of Kilimanjaro for the start of the climb.

But that is not the biggest milestone this week. More importantly, the Macmillan team have confirmed that we have collectively exceeded the £100,000 fundraising mark.

Wow! £100K already. And lots more fundraising to come.

The next six months will bring yet more highlights. Keep up the great work everyone.

Neil Jones

Whetting our appetite

Two colleagues (Reena and Justine) have just returned from their own Kilimanjaro adventure. Here is a summary of their trip, including several key insights and tips...

“WOW!!! It is great to see how much you have already fundraised, and to read about the activities you have already been involved in! From climbing Snowdon, training sessions, and altitude chambers; your experience seems to have started off great and it is only going to get better!

We have just returned from Kilimanjaro and we had a truly amazing, unforgettable, and fun experience. We wanted to wish you all the best with your training and even more luck for your actual climbs!

Starting the climb

We don’t want to give the whole game away but we have a few things we would like to share with you.

Undoubtedly, Kili was both a challenge and a delight. The first time you spot the summit (for us, it was from around 10,000ft), it really brings home how far you have come to get there. It will be your constant goal. It will be all you will talk about. Whether you reach the top or not is irrelevant. Enjoy each day as it comes and be mindful of what you are achieving, as it is something really special.

A few bits you don’t read in the guidebooks:

• “Surely it’s time for a water break?” Drinking water seems so simple – but when it feels like we were trying to neck down more than an average Friday night things must be getting serious.

• “This food is manna from heaven” Now whether it is because you have been walking for six hours surviving on a Nile’s worth of water and protein bars, or whether the chefs seem to be undiscovered Michelle Roux’s – one thing was unanimous amongst our group – the food you get on Kili is fantastic!

• “I haven’t gone in 24 hours” We don’t want to explain what this refers to right now, as this is one experience which will cause you to laugh and cry. Sharing everything with the group, or in this case, perhaps a small group is part and parcel of experiences like this, and we would hate to spoil the surprise! 

Above the clouds

We are both around for all your questions, large or small. Please don’t hesitate to ask. You can contact us via email: reena.mehta@boots.co.uk or justine.farrar@boots.co.uk and we will be only too happy to help. We will try to attend some of your fitness and training events too so you can catch us there!

Keep training, and we’ll see you soon". 

Reena Mehta & Justine Farrar

200 days and £92,000!

It's July 2013, the weather is warming up nicely, and sub-zero temperatures on Kilimanjaro seem a long way off.  However, we have recently passed the 200 day mark and the next few months are likely to fly by as our January departure dates loom large.

Our latest fundraising figures show that across both groups, we have already raised £92,000 for Macmillan. Wow!

Our team of Boots UK store colleagues has raised £44K, and the Nottingham group has reached £48K.

Well done everyone. Keep up the fantastic fundraising work.

Neil Jones

Me and my pink exercise bike...

A few tips for fundraising and training from June, one of our Nottingham team...

“I am sure most fellow Kilimanjaro climbers will agree that although tackling a 19,000ft mountain will no doubt be tough, our fundraising target is also a big challenge! After setting up a Just Giving webpage, it quickly became apparent that this alone would not be enough to help me reach my target. So, I started looking on the Be.Macmillan website for fundraising ideas, and came across lots of make-your-own fundraising materials which were fantastic and gave me lots of inspiration.

One of the pre-made posters was designed for a pottery event, with the slogan “We’re Potty About Raising Money”. Inspired by this, I organised a fundraiser at Creations Pottery Cafe in Loughborough at the end of May (to coincide with half-term), where people came along for pottery painting, face-painting and a toy tombola. The owner kindly donated a proportion of sales to Macmillan. There was a lot of mess but a lot of fun, and kids and adults alike had a great time “going potty for Macmillan”. A few customers shared their stories about the great work that Macmillan nurses have done for them, which made me even more proud to be part of a great cause.

That same weekend I roped in some friends to don green wigs and help out with a cycling challenge in our Loughborough Boots store, as well as helping me run the raffle/tombola stand I set up. With help from the store, I took along a (pink!) exercise bike which I placed at the entrance with a couple of collection buckets.


June and friends during their Loughborough fundraising

We each did 10 kilometre stints, and altogether we covered 110km. All whilst enjoying the lovely aromas coming from a nearby fish market van! And we also managed to get into the local newspaper.


Coverage in the Shepshed Echo newspaper

Overall so far I have raised around £2,000.

It still feels like I have a long way to go so I have a couple more cycling events planned with bigger Boots stores over the summer as I really think it’s a great way to train and raise money at the same time. From experience, I think that the sillier, sweatier and more tired you look, the more willing people are to donate!

I hope everyone’s training and fundraising is going well and I look forward to reading about it on this blog”.

Taking training to another level



Katy with Snowdon behind

The sun has been shining, and that seems to have been inspiring trekkers to up their training over the past few days. Not content with climbing one of the national three peaks, Katy Barley tackled both Snowdon and Scafell Pike. Here is her report...

"On Thursday I went up Snowdon with my uncle, we went up the Miners Path which is the route I normally take. However this time it was so misty it seemed like a completely different climb! It was very challenging, as you could not see exactly where you were going, but we made it to the top – slightly disappointed that it was so cloudy you could not see the normal magnificent view – especially as it was my uncle’s first time. But after a tea break we were about to set off down and the clouds amazingly disappeared, so quickly, revealing my favourite view! We then came back down the Pyg Track. Very happy with our successful day!


Top of Scafell Pike

Mission accomplished

48 hours later my friends and I decided to take a road trip to the Lake District, and we climbed Scafell Pike on Saturday. The weather was amazing, so sunny! The climb was much harder than I expected, as I thought it would be similar to Snowdon, but I found it much more challenging. We made it to the top in just over two hours, which was a great feeling. We decided to walk from our hostel so the whole walk ended up being over 15 miles long.

We were three very tired people at the end … and slightly sunburnt!

The feeling of completing both walks was amazing. I am getting extremely excited for Kilimanjaro!! I am also really looking forward to our training weekend in the Peak District and meeting everyone! 

I hope everyone’s training is going well, Katy"

Neil Jones
Julie Lawrence

 

Anyone for Miles for Macmillan 2013?

Many of us have participated in, or helped at, Miles for Macmillan events over the past few years. All contributing to Boots colleagues completing 290,000 miles since we started working with Macmillan. [290,000 sadly represents the number of people diagnosed with cancer each year in the UK].

This year's programme is in place and people are starting to gear up for Miles for Macmillan 2013. Including our Kilimanjaro trekkers who are building this year's nine big walks into their training schedules.

There are many opportunities to walk or volunteer as a Milesmaker at Macmillan events across the UK.

Why not check out the Miles for Macmillan webpages to find out more?

The video about Miles for Macmillan 2012 is definitely worth watching as well.

http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Fundraising/Walkingevents/MilesforMacmillan.aspx

Neil Jones
Julie Lawrence