Walk50

Broadcaster, Jonathan Dimbleby is calling for everyone to join him and his family for a very special evening to take in the night-time sights of London on foot – all for a good cause.

Over the last three years hundreds of people have supported Dimbleby Cancer Care’s work by taking part in its Walk50 challenge. This year the challenge has grown to include three options for people wanting to take part. The 12km family walk, a 25km mid-distance walk and the full 50km walk.

Walk50 takes place on Friday June 15th and will pass through 10 boroughs of London including Lambeth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, City of London, Greenwich, Southwark, Tower Hamlets and Wandsworth.

All walkers will start the challenge at St Thomas’ Hospital at Westminster Bridge from 7pm and head west. The 12km takes you as far as Putney, and from there the 25km and 50km walkers continue on to Hammersmith Bridge before heading back through Central London. The 25km finish line will be in Westminster in the early hours of Saturday morning. The 50km route then goes out to Canary wharf and down to Greenwich via the Greenwich Foot tunnel, before heading back to the charity’s home at Guy’s Cancer Centre, beneath The Shard on Saturday morning where they will be met with hot coffee and bacon sandwiches at the finish line. The 25km and 50km options are only open to those aged 16 years or older.

Dimbleby Cancer Care Chair, Jonathan Dimbleby, said: “Every summer our 50km walking challenge brings people from all over the country to join our night-time walk through London along a route which takes us past many of the capital’s most famous landmarks. Everyone who has taken part in the past seems to love the experience. This year – by popular demand - we’ve decided to offer two shorter versions of the Walk for those who feel the full distance is just a little too far. In my case, this means that my wife and our two young children can join us for part of the way. I hope it will be a great family occasion for lots of other people as well as for us. Whichever distance you go for, I can almost guarantee that you will a lot of fun for a very good cause. Do join us: you won’t forget it.”

Dimbleby Cancer Care was set up in 1966 in memory of broadcaster Richard Dimbleby and is based at Guy’s Cancer Centre in Southwark, London. It provides practical and psychological support to people living with cancer and to their families and carers. The charity is also behind a brand new website resource which launches in February 2018 to help people find care and support services nearest to them. Additionally, the charity has funded over £2,700.000 in research grants over the last 10 years looking at all aspects of cancer care and support.

Registration for all distances is £25 per person/£150 per team of 10 and everyone taking part in the 25km and 50km events are asked to raise a minimum of £300 each, with those taking part in the Family 12km event asked to raise £100 per adult/£75 per child.

All the money raised will go towards the work of the charity across the UK which includes: providing future funding for the Dimbleby Cancer Care Information and Support Services at Guy’s Cancer Centre and the Dimbleby Macmillan Support Centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital which provide support and information to anyone affected by cancer, be they patients, their families or carers; on the running costs of cancercaremap.org which helps sign-post care and support services for anyone facing cancer nationwide; and national research into cancer care projects such as providing better support for carers or looking at the impact of anxiety in cancer patients.