As October begins and summer draws to a close, it’s time to cast your eyes ahead to January – and our London Winter Walk. While we do have 2 more events before we end the 2025 Ultra Challenge Series, for charities, the London Winter Walk is your next big opportunity to generate unrestricted funds and engage your supporters.

The Winter Walk is always something of a sleeping giant, when it comes to charity fundraising. It’s a huge event (the 2024 version saw 3900 people take part over 2 days) – yet charity fundraisers are always underrepresented, compared to our other big events, such as the Thames Path or Jurassic Coast Ultra Challenges.

The opportunity is there, for charities who want to put in the effort, to attract large numbers of fundraisers and the fundraising money that comes with them.

Here’s the top reasons why the Winter Walk should be at the top of your list of events to promote over the next 3 months:

Accessible London Event

Starting and finishing from the Kia Oval Cricket ground, the event is easy to get to and away from – with excellent public transport links. Being London based, the “catchment area” across the South East means it appeals to a large number of potential fundraisers who won’t need to plan complex travel or accommodation in order to take part.

Inclusive Distance Options

The Winter Walk is based on a 42km (marathon distance) figure of 8 loop around London. There are also options to take on a 21km half-marathon, 10km loop and a new, family friendly, 5km loop. This means is is open to people of all abilities – and especially family groups. Charities such as hospices and community groups in particular should see good engagement and participation in this event!

It may seem counter-intuitive, but often the people who are less likely to take on the “tough” challenges are the ones who will raise the most for your charity – as their family, friends and colleagues recognise the scale of the challenge for them. It makes sense – a professional marathon runner ran the length of Africa earlier this year, and raised less money than a grandad did walking up and down his garden.

It’s a Fun Event

This isn’t a challenge for elite athletes. It’s walking only – and we include lots of fun details, with snow machines, staff in fancy dress, and winter-themed inflatables. We put on a great show, with other little winter treats included, such as a free bobble hat, snacks and more.

Perfect Corporate Team Event

We see a lot of corporate teams take part in the Winter Walk every year. It’s a great event to reconnect with colleagues after the winter break, get staff moving and active, and collectively take on a bonding challenge. If you have any corporate partners who are based in or around London, we recommending pitching the Winter Walk to them as a way to support your charity and have a fun day out of the office.