Resources
Download any resources you may need to spread the word about your challenge and why you're fundraising for vital dementia research.
How it all works
Got a question about Running Down Dementia?
We’ve got answers for you below. And if you still can’t find what you’re looking for, you can get in touch here.
The Challenge
Running Down Dementia is an award-winning virtual running challenge from Alzheimer's Research UK and parkrun, supported by Garmin. We're challenging you to run 100km (Pioneer), 300km (Epic) or a distance of your choice (Maverick) and raise £100 for cutting-edge dementia research.
Running Down Dementia runs from 1 March to 31 August and you can complete your challenge in any way throughout this time.
If you raise £200 you’ll receive a free Alzheimer’s Research UK neckwarmer and if you raise £400 you’ll receive a free Running Down Dementia running top - or if you can’t wait, you can buy one by clicking on the links!
By taking on this challenge for the UK’s leading dementia research charity, you’ll be helping to make breakthroughs possible in dementia research for the 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK and their families.
Go on, take on the challenge today! 😊
- Register to take part in Running Down Dementia.
- Follow the steps to create a Running Down Dementia JustGiving supporter page, where people can view your progress and sponsor you.
- Connect your supporter page to Strava where you can connect your device (see below FAQ on how to connect your device to Strava) or you can manually add your runs on your supporter page.
- Make sure you track every activity you do, otherwise it won't be counted towards your total.
- Get running! If you're looking for inspiration and motivation during your challenge, check out our Running Down Dementia Facebook group or get in touch to tell us your own story!
- Check your progress on the leaderboards and see how you, your local parkrun or your corporate team compare!
We must all take precautions to help reduce the transmission of COVID-19, and we encourage you to keep up-to-date with the latest government guidance. Current government advice is that you can go for a walk or exercise outdoors if you stay more than two metres apart from others. As Running Down Dementia is a virtual event, you do your activities in your own time and however you like (on a treadmill or out on the pavement) and track your activity on your fundraising page. Thousands across the UK will also be taking part in their own way, so although you’ll be doing it on your own, you won’t be alone. You can view the latest government advice here or if you have any questions email us at sportingevents@alzheimersresearchuk.org.
At the moment, the fulfilment organisation that we work with, Partridges, are remote working, like most of the UK. Therefore, all fulfilment activity is reduced during this period. This is in line with government guidelines, to ease pressure on the postal and delivery networks during this period, and to keep their staff safe. This means that any items that you order, or that you’re due, will be delayed. Don’t worry though, you’ll still get your item once the service resumes again and we’ll keep you updated. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
There are three Running Down Dementia Challenges: the 100km Pioneer Challenge, the 300km Epic Challenge and the Maverick Challenge where you can pick a distance that suits you! Whether you want to do more than 300km, less than 100km or somewhere in between - it's up to you!
Simply select your challenge when you sign up. All challenges have a fundraising target of £100 (but you can fundraise more if you want!).
Yes – we'd love for you to be involved again this year! We've changed platforms this year from Everydayhero to JustGiving (their sister organisation), so you'll need to set up a new fundraising page on JustGiving, but it will look very similar to your page from last year. We'd advise doing a short test run to make sure your accounts are set up correctly and that your tracker connected before you start your run!
If you completed 100km last year, why not challenge yourself to our Epic 300km challenge or set your own challenge as a Maverick?
Yes! If you don’t have a tracking device then you can add your runs manually on your supporter page, just login to your fundraising page and add your run on your activity feed.
a. If you have a tracking device, then you can connect your device through Strava, just click here. If you need support, then please read the following instructions to see how to link your fitness app to your JustGiving page:
- Connecting your FitBit to Strava: https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918087-Fitbit-and-Strava
- Connecting your Apple Watch to Strava: https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000161184-Strava-Apple-Watch-App-iOS
- Cnnecting your Samsung device to Strava: https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/360018601971-Samsung-Gear-and-Strava
- Other workout data import to Strava: https://www.strava.com/apps/data-importer
b. If you don’t have a tracking device then you can add your runs manually on your supporter page, just login to your fundraising page and add your run on your activity feed.
Yes you can, you just need to go to the fitness tracking area of your profile in order to update your challenge distance.
During this time, you cannot physically participate as a team, however, you can be part of a team virtually to compete against each other and to encourage each other through this challenge. A team can be anyone you like: friends, family, work colleagues or your running club. When you register, you can create a team or join one if it’s already been set up. If you’re in charge of setting up the team, follow these simple steps:
1. Create a name for your team while you’re registering.
2. Once you’ve finished your registration and have set up your own team page, use the “Invite Members” button on your team page to send email invitations.
3. If someone else has set up the team, just search for the team name when you’re registering and you’ll be automatically connected once you complete your registration.
Company: If the organisation you work for has chosen Alzheimer’s Research UK as your charity of the year, select your organisation name from the drop-down at signup so your challenge will count towards your company total.
Team: Teams are a great way to measure your kms and encourage a little friendly fundraising competition with people you know. Once you’ve signed up, visit your JustGiving page and click "Create a new team" or "Join an existing team" on the right.
Join our Running Down Dementia Facebook group to meet other people who are passionate about dementia research
Absolutely not! You can do it your own way – whether that's across the full six months or in a time that suits you. As long as you track all your activity with your tracking app you can complete the challenge however you choose.
When you raise £400 one of our team will contact you to say thank you and ask for your t-shirt size and delivery address.
You can also buy a Running Down Dementia running top here.
Once you’ve hit your £200 or £400 target then please allow 10 days for us to get in touch with you as we're currently still utilising the furlough scheme at Alzheimer's Research UK and most of us are only working part-time.
Of course! You can run, jog or walk your challenge and complete Running Down Dementia however you like. Or you can choose a distance that is less than 100km by choosing Maverick and entering the distance of your choice. Just make sure you track all your activity with your tracking app, or add it manually.
No, unfortunately not as they are two separate challenges. But drop us an email at sportingevents@alzheimersresearchuk.org and we can talk you through your options.
parkrun
parkrun organise weekly, free, timed 5km events at more than 500 parkland locations across the UK. The events are open to everyone and all you need to do is register on their site, print your unique barcode and head along to your next local event. You can register for free at: www.parkrun.org.uk/register. During this time, parkrun has suspended all of their events due to the public health recommendations - please do not run in groups at this time.
No, you can still sign up even if you're not registered with parkrun. Just sign up to Running Down Dementia, create a supporter page, connect a tracking device and off you go.
Alzheimer's Research UK is proud to be the official charity partner of parkrun UK.
parkrunners have so far helped raise more than £1.6 million for world-class research, which will help us in our mission to bring about the first life-changing treatment for dementia by 2025.
To join the group, you will need to already be signed up to the parkrun website. If you are, then will need to login to your parkrun profile here using your barcode number.
Click on 'groups' and then search for Running Down Dementia - each person can join up to 5 groups - one being your 'primary group' which displays next to your name in the results pages.
And that's it - you should be in!
Fundraising
Dementia is one of our greatest medical challenges but at Alzheimer's Research UK, taking on a challenge is what we do best.
The money you raise will help fund our pioneering research programmes to make breakthroughs possible for people with dementia and their families. Every £20 you raise will power another hour of life-changing research.
More people with dementia have died from COVID-19 in England and Wales than those with any other pre-existing condition. In fact, a quarter of COVID-19 deaths have been people with dementia.
One in three people born today will go on to develop dementia in their lifetime – but your incredible challenge has the power to change this through research.
You can find out more about what we do here.
Sharing your story is a great way to raise awareness of your challenge, Running Down Dementia and Alzheimer’s Research UK more widely!
If you have been affected by dementia or are taking on your challenge in an interesting or different way, the press may be interested!
We have an easy to use press release and guide, available at the top of this page. Simply follow the instructions to contact your local paper with your story. If you need support with this then please get in touch with us at fundraising@alzheimersresearchuk.org
When you sign up to Running Down Dementia an online fundraising page will be automatically created for you with a target of £100 (but you can increase this if you like!).
To make the most of your page, we recommend you:
- Add a photo – so everyone can see your face!
- Set a target – we know that pages with targets raise more.
- Complete the ‘About me’ section – tell people why you’re challenging yourself for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
- Share your page – as far and as wide as you can using email and social media.
- Update – keep updating your page and sharing it throughout your challenge.
During Running Down Dementia we’ll be in touch regularly to help you make the most of your page and share extra fundraising ideas with you!
Donating through Gift Aid means we can claim an extra 25p for every £1 you donate to our life-changing research. It won't cost you any extra, but will make a big difference to what we can achieve with your support. Please note, you must be a UK taxpayer to enable us to claim Gift Aid.
Organisations
JustGiving is the platform that's the home of our Running Down Dementia website and fundraising pages. We've been working with JustGiving (everydayhero before) for a number of years with fundraising pages across our sporting events.
We're pleased to announce that Garmin has become the official sponsor of our sporting events for the next three years, which also includes the Treble Challenge. We will work together to help reduce people’s risk of developing dementia by encouraging them to make positive lifestyle changes.
This challenge is supported by Garmin, who are giving all participants the chance of winning a Garmin Forerunner 45 every month! Share your running photos on social using #GarminRDD plus tag us and @GarminUK to be in with a chance of winning. The top distance and top fundraiser will also be gifted a Garmin prize! Full T&Cs here.