PRESS RELEASE - Make Blue Monday a new kind of Monday – get walking and boost your mental health

The organisers of The MoonWalk events, health charity Walk the Walk, are urging women and men across the country to get walking – to boost their mental health.

Blue Monday is traditionally the third Monday in January and is dubbed the most depressing day of the year. After the excesses of the festive season, money worries, failed New Year’s resolutions and the cold, dark winter weather can take their toll on the mental health of many people.

Whilst walking is recognised as a near perfect way to keep fit and maintain a healthy weight, benefits for our emotional well-being are often overlooked. When we exercise, we release feel-good hormones known as endorphins into our bloodstream. This natural high helps reduce stress and anxiety, calming and relaxing both the body and mind. Particularly at a time of year when money is tight, walking is one of the most accessible types of exercise around. It costs nothing, and can be done at anytime and anywhere.

Nina Barough CBE, Founder and Executive of Walk the Walk and organiser of The MoonWalk events said:

“Walking really is one of the most perfect forms of exercise there is – physically, it tones your body, strengthens your muscles and keeps your heart healthy. But it’s crucial for our mental health too. Going out for a daily walk can help reduce tension, stress and anxiety, which is an issue for so many of us, particularly at this time of the year. It sounds perverse, but this can be the best time of the year to get out walking, as the worse the weather is, the better it feels. It’s really empowering – as long as you’ve got the right clothes of course! Walking is a type of exercise which you can build up slowly – no matter your ability and it really is a cure for the January blues. Why not give yourself a goal and sign up for a walking challenge like The MoonWalk. Often having something to aim for can boost motivation and drive you to keep going!” 

Lucie Joels has secondary breast cancer and completed The MoonWalk with a group of friends. She says that walking is incredibly important for her mental health: 

“For me, living with cancer, getting out of the house and walking is grounding. It’s an opportunity to look at the bigger picture. I’m in the fifth cycle of my latest round of chemotherapy, but when I am able, just walking the dog, watching the sunrise and seeing the clouds move across the sky is amazing. Yesterday I manage 4,000 steps and I was very happy with that - I feel like I’m winning! Being outside I am just a tiny part in a huge world whilst when I’m indoors I’m a big part of my small world and occasionally that can be overwhelming. I strongly believe that there is always something good in every day, no matter how small it seems. Sometimes it would be easy to get stuck in the gloom and have a pity-party, but I try not to stay there long enough to put the bunting up!”

Both The MoonWalk London and The MoonWalk Scotland are iconic night-time fundraising events, which see women and men wearing brightly decorated bras as they walk through the streets of London and Edinburgh at Midnight.

Walk the Walk makes grants to fund both research into breast cancer and to help improve the lives of those living with cancer now.

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The MoonWalk London 2020 is on Saturday 16^th May and The MoonWalk Scotland is on Saturday 6^th June. Sign up at www.walkthewalk.org

For more information and to arrange interviews, contact:

• Claire Duncan at Walk the Walk: 01483 741430 [email protected]
• Jennifer Broh at Walk the Walk: 01483 741430 [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

The MoonWalk London 2020

• Saturday 16^th May 2020, Clapham Common
• Two challenges are available: Half Moon Plus (15.1 miles) or Full Moon (26.2 miles) challenge
• This year’s theme is “Out of this World”.
• All participants must be aged 13 and over to take part
• Walkers are asked to raise a minimum of £100 in sponsorship
• This is the 23rd MoonWalk London
• For more information, go to walkthewalk.org

The MoonWalk Scotland 2020

• Saturday 6th June 2020, Holyrood Park, Edinburgh
• Four walking challenges are available: 10K New Moon, Half Moon (13.1 miles), Full Moon (26.2 miles), Over The Moon (52.4 miles)
• This year’s theme is ‘Music’.
• The 10K New Moon costs £35 for adults and £25 for Young Walkers aged 10-12
• The cost of entering the Half Moon and Full Moon is £49.50 – minimum age 13
• The cost of entering Over The Moon is £79 – minimum age 18. Walkers taking part in Over The Moon are asked to raise a minimum of £400 in sponsorship.
• Walkers taking part in the New Moon, Half Moon or Full Moon are asked to raise a minimum of £100 in sponsorship, with Young Walkers asked to simply raise as much as they can.
• Walk the Walk is the principal funder of the Maggie’s Centre at Gartnavel, Glasgow and Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert. A grant was also made towards the Lanarkshire Centre in the grounds of Monklands Hospital in Airdrie. Maggie’s Centres offer support to people diagnosed with all types of cancer, as well as providing emotional support for their families.
• Walk the Walk has also funded the renovation of Ward 6, a new theatre and renovation of the Mammography Unit at the Breast Cancer Institute at Edinburgh’s Western General Hospital.
• Walk the Walk is committed to providing funding to hospitals across Scotland and the UK to purchase Scalp Cooling systems, special machines which are helping many people undergoing chemotherapy to retain their hair. Walk the Walk has funded 59 Scalp Coolers in 27 Scottish hospitals.
• For more information, go to walkthewalk.org

Walk the Walk

• Walk the Walk specialises in fitness and Power Walking challenges.
• HRH The Prince of Wales is the official Patron of Walk the Walk.
• Walk the Walk has so far raised more than £133 million.
• As a grant-making charity, all funds are raised for Walk the Walk and then granted to where the charity feels they will do the most good.
• Walk the Walk funds are granted to projects that not only support research, important to all our future health, but also support a variety of projects that are supporting cancer patients now throughout the UK.
• To date grants have been made to charities and organisations throughout the UK including Breast Cancer Now, Breast Cancer Haven, Penny Brohn UK and hundreds of NHS Hospitals and Trusts for which we supply Scalp Cooling Systems. These are wonderful machines, which help many people undergoing chemotherapy to avoid losing their hair.
• The charity also has a community grant fund which each year grants to smaller organisations. Helen Rollason Cancer Charity, Tenovus Cancer Care, The Christie, Cancer Kin, FACT and others, all receive funds which enable them to continue their work.
• ‘The MoonWalk’ is the flagship event of the charity currently held in London, Scotland and Iceland.