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elise-gallagher
29th February 2016

55 miles for 55 years: Bogle 2016

Bogle celebrates their 55th triumphant year as the North’s longest-running fundraising event
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TLDR

On Friday 4th and Saturday 5th March, the North’s longest-running fundraising event, Bogle, will be unleashed in aid of their chosen charity The Booth Centre.

Organised by Manchester RAG and celebrating its 55th year, Bogle is a 24-hour sponsored walk around Manchester. Completely volunteer-led, the Bogle is produced at a very low cost in order to allow as many people as possible to take part and raise money for charity.

The story goes that 55 years ago a group of lecturers from the University of Manchester were attending a conference in Lancaster when they missed the last train home. Rather than booking a hotel and staying put for the night they decided to walk the 55 miles back to Manchester overnight. Completely drained and without proper food and water, the lecturers had hallucinations of seeing the dreaded Bogle monster. Luckily, our lecturers made it back in one piece, whilst the infamous folkloric creature returns year after year to encourage potential participants to take part in the 55-mile walk.

Both challenging and rewarding, Bogle is unique in regard to charity fundraising events. This year’s landmark walk is all in aid of Bogle’s charity of the year: The Booth Centre. The Booth Centre is a day centre that offers activities, support, and advice to help and support the rebuilding of the lives of the homeless in Manchester. Providing education and training in order to help people successfully find new homes, improve their health and ultimately increase their confidence in order for them to transition back into the community and thus thrive.

Although The Booth Centre is an incredibly deserving charity, you are more than welcome to walk for a charity close to your heart. 2015 saw participants raise funds for over 100 different charities, including the likes of local schools, natural disasters, grief, disability, and diseases.

New additions have been made to Bogle. Instead of the 55-mile expedition, participants are able to choose between ‘Bogle Ramble’ and ‘Bogle Stroll’. Differing from the Bogle Stroll’s 55 miles, Bogle Ramble provides a lighter 26-mile option. Consisting of one simple circuit of the North loop, the route covers the city centre, Salford, Farnworth and Failsworth. Bogle Stroll’s mighty challenge involves an epic walk around Greater Manchester, covering areas including Manchester Airport, Stockport, Fallowfield, and Salford. Either route will amount to a full day’s walking and definitely will take its toll on your feet; stamina is a must to take part.

In its 55-year history, countless stories have been shared on their website, including that of Diana Martin’s. “My husband and I met on the very first Stroll. Hundreds of us set off in the dark on February 20th, 1962.” Although she gave up after an impressive 28 miles, the couple recently celebrated their Golden wedding anniversary. “The Stroll was sponsored by Guinness in those days so he got a good dinner, lots to drink and a tie out of it—not to mention a wife!”

2016’s Bogle will start on 5th March, to find more information on how you can get involved, please visit: http://www.manchesterrag.com/bogle/.


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