TREK 

VIRTUAL TREK

Registration closes at 5:30pm on Friday 14 June 2024 for the Trek. 

Registration closes at 5:30pm on Friday 6 September 2024 for the Virtual Trek. 

Yes the Trek will incur a registration fee for participation which is included in your deposit. See costs below for each ticket option:

Trek with accomodation: £100
Trek with no accommodation: £50
Virtual Trek: £25

Charging a registration fee helps cover the cost of the event and ensures 100% of your fundraising goes directly to supporting young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. 

All participants are to arrive for a welcome briefing and dinner at Celtic Manor Resort at 19:00 on Friday 13 September. For anyone staying at the resort, check in is from 4pm and guests are welcome to use the hotel facilites before the event briefing and dinner. 

Breakfast will be available for all participants from 06:00am on Saturday 14 September at Celtic Manor Resort, participants will collect packed lunches from the hotel before boarding coaches at 07:00am to leave for the Trek starting point.

We'll be in regular contact by email with tips, hints, and updates to help keep you motivated with your training and fundraising, as well as all the important information you'll need for the day itself.

Sometimes our emails get caught in spam or quarantine filters, so if you haven't heard from us, check your junk files, and make sure trek@landaid.org & events@landaid.org is added to your safe senders list.

• Walking Boots: Wear footwear previously worn to reduce chance of blisters. Ankle support advised to reduce likelihood of sprained ankles. Always try boots in-store. Good trail shoes are fine if familiar to this terrain. We recommend waterproof versions. Trainers are not suitable.
• Socks: Padded walking socks. Smartwool or Bridgedale are reliable brands. Cotton socks provide little padding & become damp from sweat which can lead to blisters.
• Walking trousers/leggings: Lightweight, comfortable trousers that dry quickly. Jeans are restrictive and become heavy and cold when wet. Wear thermals under trousers if below 50.
• Wicking base layer top (long or short-sleeved): Running or wicking tops pull sweat away from the body and dry quickly. Cotton tops become cold when wet. Avoid vests as backpack straps can rub on shoulders. Synthetic tops dry quick; merino wool provides more warmth. Often synthetic is worn during summer, merino during winter.
• Mid layer/fleece: A warm layer that goes over base layer. This adds warmth for planned/unplanned stops. Insulated jackets are warmer than a fleece but are expensive. Down jackets provide little warmth when wet; synthetic insulated jackets perform best in UK conditions. A spare fleece is recommended.
• Waterproof jacket and trousers: A hard-shell waterproof jacket not a softshell jacket. Goretex or similar are reliably waterproof and breathable, improving comfort for long-duration in wet weather. Try brands such as Rab, Montane and Mountain Equipment. Ensure waterproof trousers have entire leg side zips so can be put on whilst wearing boots.
• Hat and gloves: A considerable amount of heat is lost through the head when not covered. Ensure gloves are waterproof.
• Cap & sunglasses: Vital in bright conditions. Reduces chance of heat exhaustion.
• Backpack: Use a 20 to 30 litre backpack with a padded waistbelt. Backpacks must be lined with a large dry bag/bin bag. Backpack covers blow off in strong winds. Use smaller dry bags to divide equipment/clothing inside pack. Recommended backpack brands include Montane, Osprey, and Lowe Alpine.
• Walking poles: Walking poles are not compulsory but are recommended. Walking poles reduce 40% of weight on your feet, improve stability on technical sections and improve speed and efficiency on ascents and descents. These are highly recommended for long treks. Use a pair of poles, not one. Leki and Black Diamond are the most popular, but cheaper, heavier equivalents are available.
• Small first aid kit: Personal medication, blister plasters (such as Compeed), pain killers, sun
  cream. There will be first aid support during the event.
• Mobile phone: Fully charged and ideally with battery pack. Waterproof case if heavy rain due; Ziplock bags suffice.
• Headtorch: Always pack irrespective of walk duration. Pack spare batteries. Handheld torches can be tiring to carry for long periods of time. A recommended brand is Petzl.
• Water bottle: A refillable, 1 litre water bottle, such as a Nalgene plus a 500ml bottle with electrolytes. Water reservoirs are useful for frequent access, but amount remaining is unknown. Carry a minimum of 1.5 litres and up to 3 litres in hot weather.

On average the 27km route in the mountains can take around 7 - 8 hours. This will be conveyed to you through our pre event joining instructions and again in the pre event briefing. 

The Virtual Trek time will depend on if you will walk, run or jog the 27km. 
Another factor will be if you decide to be part of a team or take on the challenge individually. You must complete at least 9km a day per participant on Friday, Saturday and Sunday during the trek weekend.

We have experienced marshalls who will be there to lead you throughout the challenge. There will be marshals leading the group from the front, marhsalls dotted throughout the convoy of participants moving along the route and also leaders at the back ensuring everyone travels along the route safely. A leader should never be more than a couple minutes away. 

Yes absolutely! You can join or create a team when registering for the Trek and Virtual Trek. You’ll see that we have leaderboards for where you can compete as a team (and individually) against other organisations taking part in the Trek. 

The Trek will take place along the main mountain area on the west coast, and as a result of the prevailing wind and the moisture laden air, mountain weather can change very quickly so it is important that you prepare for wet weather before your trek. That being said we do trek during British summertime so we always hope for dry and warm weather.

Your leader will brief you at the start of the day so you can better prepare but if you prepare for the worst British weather can throw at you on challenge day you can only be pleasantly surprised with the conditions.

If adverse weather conditions arise, the Trek leaders will confirm if it is safe to continue. 

Yes we will have prizes for both the Trek & Virtual Trek. 

For the Trek, prizes will go to top fundraiser individual, top fundraiser team, best individual trekking photo and best group trekking photo. 

For the Virtual Trek, prizes will go to top fundraiser individual, top fundraiser team, furthest distance individual and furthest distance team. 

The Trek is a self guided walk but it is a team challenge! It is not a race. We will be aiming to walk in a long convoy for as much as possible throughout the day. Your whole team will be relying on you to walk at a steady pace and support each other as you go! 

We like to keep big groups walking together as much as possible for morale and for marshalling. If you do decide to go off on your own, you won't be able access the support of our rolling team of experienced and Outdoor First Aid qualified marshals and Mountain Leaders. 

For the Virtual Trek, we will be awarding the furthest distance individual and furthest distance team. We ask that all participant track steps/distance during the challenge. 

Yes our communication team have put together a comms guide to help you. Over the last few years, we have all learnt just how important and powerful social media can be. The world has gone digital – so when it comes to promoting a cause, it’s important you feel 
equipped to navigate the world of social media. 
See the guide here.

If you would like more resources to help you smash your fundraising, visit our page here. 

Yes absolutely. Whether its family, friends or colleagues, we’d love to have them participate with you! They have to be 18 years or older to take part in the Trek in Wales, or anyone can join in the Virtual Trek.  Just make sure to get them all registered for either event in advance. 

The Trek does not offer any spectating for family. 

As much as we love four legged friends, the Trek is for humans only (sorry!). Assistance and guide dogs are of course allowed, please let us know ahead of the event at the trek@landaid.org so we can make any necessary adjustments. 

Pets are welcome on your virtual Trek!

Yes of course – get in touch and we can share our training plans.

Your profile page includes your personal distance tally so you can track your distance towards your target. This is a great way to keep your friends updated on your workouts!

If you track your workouts with Fitbit, MapMyFitness or Strava your distances will automatically add to your tally.

Follow these steps to track your KMs automatically:

1. Download the Fitbit, Strava or MapMyFitness app and set up your account

2. Log in to your [charity or event name] account.

3. Under the heading ‘Connect your preferred Fitness app’, click your chosen app.

4. Follow the prompts to connect your account

5. When you next work out, select ‘start your workout’ in the app on your phone. Once you end your workout, save your workout and your distance will be published to the tally on your page the following day.

If you have synced your app already but it is not working, please log in and re-connect it.

When using Fitbit, you must ‘start’ an activity and save it. Your daily steps will not automatically add to your page. If you are having issues, try syncing through BOTH your Fitbit and the Fitbit app on your smartphone.

When using MapMyFitness, you must ‘start’ your workout, ‘stop’ your workout and then ‘SAVE’ your workout.

Your tally will be updated each day with the previous day’s distances.

Remember, you can manually add your kilometres to the tally in your My Fitness Activity tab of your profile after registering. This is a great option if you’re using a pedometer or a different method of tracking your distances.

Follow these steps to manually add your KMs:

1. Log in to your account and select ‘My Fitness Activity’

2. Under ‘Add activity’, enter the date and distance

3. The number of KMs will now appear on your fundraising page!

The minimum fundraising target for the Trek is £800 per person to be raised by 15th November 2024. All participants must raise 50% of their fundraising target (£400) by 6th September 2024.

We chose £800, as will go towards projects that  could help fund a safe place for a young person to sleep for five whole  months.

Find out more about how we work this out click here.

The minimum fundraising target for the Virtual Trek is £100 per person to be raised by 15th November 2024. 

Yes, absolutely! Firstly take a look at the fundraising resources here. If you want to chat with us, drop us an email to: trek@landaid.org

Take a look at our fundraising top tips here. The easiest way to fundraise is to simply share your fundraising page on social media or via email. You can find template emails and social posts here:

Fundraising resources

The deadline for fundraising is the 15th of November 2024.

Yes absolutely! If you would like to create or join a team, you have an opportunity during event registration. Alternatively, get in touch with us ahead of the event and we can do this for you. If you have any queries, please get in touch. 

We recommend taking lots of photos throughout the LandAid Trek to share with your donors during and after the challenge. You could even record a series of videos to create a vlog or a reel to share on your social media. 

Be sure to tag #LandAidTrek so we can reshare and help you spread the word!