What is national Walk Month?

Ditch your car and carry on past that bus stop because May is National Walking Month. Get fit by walking to work or school and perhaps even raise money by participating in a sponsored walking event.

You can help the British Heart Foundation by getting involved. Or maybe the Children’s Cancer and Leukemia Group, an organisation dedicated to helping detect cancer in children, which holds a number of fundraising events throughout the year to help fund their world-class research and the support they provide to the families involved.

If you wish to get involved in #WalkThisMay, here are some ways you can make a difference:

• Organise a sponsored walking event at your school, work place, home or in the wider community. Raise money and get health benefits as you do so.

• Take part in Walk to School Week commencing on the 21st May and use any money saved on fuel or parking as a donation to the CCLG. Even if you don’t go to school, you can you can still get involved by walking to work instead.

• Have a friendly competition with your friends or colleagues and see who can walk the furthest, or the fastest, or can raise the most money within the month!

• Do the #try20Challenge which encourages you to walk at least 20 minutes every day for the whole month. This can be a sponsored event to which friends and family can donate.

• Sign up for a walking event later on in the year and use May as the perfect time to kick start your training

Five Benefits to Walking over Driving!

• It’s free: Walking is both good for you both physically and financially. There is no cost in using your legs. Currently the cost of running a car is increasing incredibly because of the exponential rise in the price of fuel.

• Less Pollution: Unlike cars, walking doesn’t cause pollution, whether that be carbon dioxide or sound pollution. As we all want to minimise our impact on the environment, now may be the perfect time to ditch the car for those shorter journeys.

• Health benefits: Walking as a form of exercise has many health benefits. It strengthens the heart and lungs and makes us less susceptible to pulmonary disease.
• It makes you feel better: Studies suggest that walking improves mental health, and time outdoors getting fresh air helps clear the mind and relieve stress.

• Parking: There is none! Walking into a town means you don’t have to drive around for hours looking for an affordable place to park. It makes the whole trip less stressful and there’ll be no more reversing into tight spaces.

Remember while this month is about raising money for charity, the changes you make can be kept for the rest of the year. Or even longer.