Saturday 5 July 2008

USA 2011 - Time to start saving!

For the past month I've been thinking of ways of how I can fund the up and coming big run across the USA.  As per usual, every penny of sponsorship will be passed on to the charities.  So the "Tour Fund" will come out of my own pocket once again. 

My missus, Katy, got the Tour Fund underway with a generous contribution but that still leaves me with the prospect of finding a few more quid between now and 2011!  At this moment in time, I'm uncertain as to how much the Tour Fund needs to be.  I'm aiming for £15,000 though.  If, I can subsequently raise £50,000 for charity by doing the actual run it will be money well spent.  If I don't manage to raise anywhere near that amount but successfully complete the 3100 mile trip then it will still be money well spent.

In June, I started cycling to and from work on various days.   It's a 17 mile trip and is an ideal opportunity to not only boost my fitness but to bank the saved petrol money (£5 per journey).  This plan has got off to a great start, as for the 3 weeks I cycled in June, I put £55 towards the Tour Fund.  Although it's uncertain where I'll be working over the next 3 years, I'm aiming to raise £3,000 of the Tour Fund by replacing car journeys with bike rides.  The Tour Fund wins, my fitness wins, the environment wins, everyone wins!

I'll be getting my thinking cap on over the coming weeks with some more ideas to boost the Tour Fund.  Watch this space!