Welcome to Yorkshire team up with Yorkshire Cancer Research to replace ‘Tour de Yorkshire’

It’s time for a new challenge, as Welcome to Yorkshire and Yorkshire Cancer Research team up to bring you the Tour de Walkshire. To walk, cycle, run or push throughout the month of May and enjoy the great Yorkshire outdoors. The aim of the Tour de Walkshire will be to raise vital funds, as well as awareness, for an incredibly important charity and its life-changing cancer research in our beautiful county.

With the iconic, international Tour de Yorkshire cycling race postponed until 2022, the Tour de Walkshire steps in, as part of Welcome to Yorkshire’s year-long Walkshire campaign, to allow everyone of all abilities to take part and at whatever distance, individually or as a group and it’s the perfect way to get together with friends and family outside, as well as being an ideal opportunity for team building with colleagues, as lockdown continues to lift.

A host of celebrity participants will be unveiled in due course but we encourage people to please sign up to be part of the #TourDeWalkshire now alongside over 200 individuals and teams that have already done so through the link: https://join.yorkshirecancerresearch.org.uk/event/tour-de-walkshire-2021/home

All who register to be part of this fantastic charity event will receive a FREE Tour de Walkshire t-shirt AND if you hit the £250 fundraising target, a Yorkshire Cancer Research bottle and a Welcome to Yorkshire Y badge will be sent to each individual as a special thank you.

Yorkshire Cancer Research is the official charity partner of Welcome to Yorkshire’s #Walkshire initiative, which has captured the imagination of so many people across the county, the nation and the world, since its launch on New Year’s Day. A walk for every day of the year and more, #Walkshire is the most inclusive of campaigns and can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities, with wonderful well-being and health benefits. Walkshire’s popularity is immense with walkshire.com already seeing over 100,000 page views and the first week’s launch figures revealed a 1.5 million online reach and 3.7 million total impressions.

Statistics show that 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer and the impact on individuals, as well as their loved ones is immense. Every week in Yorkshire, 592 people are told that they have the disease. Yorkshire Cancer Research’s goal is that by 2025, at least 2,000 more people across the county survive cancer every year. Raising awareness, continued research and vital fundraising are all of the utmost importance to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

There’s also the option to kick-start your Tour de Walkshire fundraising for Yorkshire Cancer Research by choosing a ‘100-themed challenge’ as part of the legendary, late Captain Sir Tom Moore’s ‘Captain Tom 100’ initiative which will launch on 30th April, the date which would have been the celebrated Yorkshireman’s 101st birthday. So perhaps a Tour de Walkshire challenge of 100 steps, or from 100k to 100 miles, depending on your personal ability, just opt for Yorkshire Cancer Research as the chosen charity. https://captaintom100.justgiving.com/get-involved?charityId=11422

Director of brand and relationships for Yorkshire Cancer Research, Juliet Glendinning, said: “As Yorkshire’s independent cancer charity, Yorkshire Cancer Research is pleased to work with Welcome To Yorkshire to help people across our region. The pandemic has had a devasting impact on people with cancer, and has meant thousands of cancers have gone undiagnosed at an early stage when they’re easier to treat. We’re determined to change this. The Tour de Walkshire encourages people to get outdoors, be active and help save lives. Exercise has many benefits; it can help lower the risk of cancer and improve cancer treatment and recovery. So we would love to see friends, families, teams and organisations across the county get involved and do some good for themselves and for Yorkshire.”

Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive James Mason said: “As the Tour de Yorkshire cycling race has been postponed until 2022 due to the pandemic, we wanted to create an inclusive and exciting event to bring people together (following government guidelines of course) in the great outdoors, to encourage fitness and well-being, fundraise and also raise essential awareness for an amazing charity, plus showcase our breathtaking county. The Tour de Walkshire is the perfect way to do this and will be fun for all throughout the month of May, raising vital funds for Yorkshire Cancer Research, the outstanding official charity partner of Welcome to Yorkshire.
Cancer is not exclusive. Almost everyone in the county will know someone affected by cancer. As such this is a cause we should all get behind. Yorkshire Cancer Research undertake vital research to support those impacted by this disease whilst investing in groundbreaking medical advancements. We hope that Welcome to Yorkshire’s strong brand and global support received for its exciting events will help us to raise a significant amount of awareness and money for this important charity.”

Welcome to Yorkshire and Yorkshire Cancer Research are particularly proud of this Tour de Walkshire initiative, promoting the county, as well as fitness and well-being, and benefitting a crucial cause simultaneously.

For further information: https://www.yorkshire.com/walkshire/tour-de-walkshire