Suffolk residents encouraged to take steps to help Cancer research
The charity's urging people to get involved in a fundraiser
Suffolk residents are being challenged to kickstart the New Year by taking steps to support Cancer Research UK.
The charity is urging people to sign up to their 'Walk All Over Cancer' campaign and get sponsored to walk 10,000 steps every day in March.
By raising vital funds, people across the county could help to further life-saving research.
As well as increasing fitness and helping towards a healthy body weight, taking part could take a little weight off the mind, too. Regular walking is a great stress-reliever and can help with mental wellbeing by improving mood and sleep.
Michael Jarvis, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for Suffolk, said: “1 in 2 of us will get cancer in our lifetime, but all of us can support the research that will beat it. That’s why we’re urging people to play their part by making ‘Walk All Over Cancer’ their New Year’s resolution.
“There’s plenty of time for supporters to start building up to the challenge in March and planning new ways to fit in some extra steps, especially if you’re struggling to hit your daily step count when working from home".
Based on the average person’s strides, 10,000 steps are equal to about five miles, so by the end of March participants will have clocked up more than 150 miles.
That’s quite a challenge for some, but adopting small changes that you can stick to can really add up, whether it’s doing conference calls on the go, exploring local beauty spots or treating the dog to a month of extra-long walks.
Keeping check on the number of steps taken each day is a great way to create a sense of achievement and it’s easy to do, with smartphone apps, pedometers and wearable activity trackers available to help.
Walk All Over Cancer participants can connect their online giving page with FitBit to automatically publish their step count and share their progress with their supporters throughout the month.
Michael added: “Cancer Research UK has been hit hard by COVID-19, but we will never stop striving to create better treatments. With around 36,800 people diagnosed every year in the East of England, cancer is as urgent an issue now as it’s ever been".
Cancer Research UK was able to spend over £55 million in the East of England last year on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research. The charity’s ambition is to see 3 in 4 people survive their cancer by 2034.