FAQs

Please click on any questions below to see the answers to common FAQs. If you do not see an answer to your question, please contact the event manager for your event at the email at the bottom of this page, or email info@curesearch.org.

 

Jump to: About the Hike | Registration | Personal Fundraising Page | Photo Upload | Video Upload | General Fundraising | Making Donations | COVID-19

 

About the Hike

A: Ultimate Hikes are 20-30 mile single day events that take place within a spectacular natural setting. They take place on the Saturday of Ultimate Hike weekend, with Pasta Parties on Friday night and Award Breakfasts on Sunday morning. Ultimate Hikers raise funds towards finding a cure for children’s cancer, the leading cause of death by disease in children. They take place on some of America’s most beautiful trails and come complete with a training program and all the weekend support you need to be successful. Shorter distances are available for all of our hikes.

Want to plan your own hiking event? Check out our Create Your Adventure program.


A: Please reach out to us at ultimatehike@curesearch.org and we'll provide all the information you need. For the safety and security of our event, we don't publish specific locations and times online.


A: Ultimate Hike is an incredible adventure, but first and foremost, it is fundraiser, designed to make a meaningful difference and change the odds for children with cancer. Ultimate Hikers are provided with all the tools and support needed to raise the $2,500 required to participate in the program. When you register for Ultimate Hike, you have until five weeks before your event day to try out all of the tools, get to know your support team, and raise funds before you formally commit to hike weekend and raising the funds. Funds must be raised by five weeks after the program is completed. Your staff partner is ready to help you with a plan to reach your goals! Contact ultimatehike@curesearch.org with fundraising questions or concerns.


A: The funds you raise support CureSearch for Children's Cancer, a national non-profit foundation that accelerates the cure for children's cancer by driving innovation, eliminating research barriers and solving the field's most challenging problems. We fight every day to make treatment possible and a cure probable for the more than 16,000 children diagnosed with cancer daily. Ultimately, by hiking with us, you are changing the odds for those children most at risk. To learn more about the lifesaving research supported by CureSearch, please click here.


Registration

A: We highly recommend that anyone new to the Ultimate Hike attend an information session prior to registration. We offer a variety of information sessions both in-person and via conference calls. To attend an information session, please click here.

If you have participated in an Ultimate Hike in the past, have attended an information session or are otherwise ready to register for the event, click the "Register" button at the top of the page and select whether you want to register "As an Individual" (if you do not have a team affiliation), "As a Team Captain" (to start a new team), or "As a Team Member" (if the team already exists).


Personal Fundraising Page

A: After you complete registration and pay your registration fee, you will receive an email with login instructions for your personal Participant Center page. If you do not receive this email or have lost it, please contact ultimatehike@curesearch.org, and we will send you a password reset email.


A: Please contact donorservices@curesearch.org, and we will send you a password reset email. This will contain your login name and a link to reset your password.


A: After registration you are given the option to set a personal URL for your page. To set your personal URL just log into your Participant Center, click the "Personal Page" tab, and click the "URL Settings" button next to Personal Page URL. It will look something like this: http://www.curesearchevents.org/goto/(name you select). So, for example, the personal page for a person named John Smith might be http://www.curesearchevents.org/goto/johnsmith.


A: YES. To change the URL for your personal Hike page, just log into your Participant Center and click the "Personal Page" tab. Click "URL Settings" next to Personal Page URL, choose the end for the URL that you prefer, and click Save. Note - if the URL you submitted is already in use by another event participant in our system, you will be asked to select another.


A: Yes! Please register as a returning participant when you sign up.


Photo Upload

A: YES. Once logged into your Participant Center click the "Personal Page" tab and then click the "Photos/Video" sub-tab on the right side of the page. Click "Choose File" to select an image from your computer, enter an optional Caption, and click Save/Upload to complete the process. Be sure to check your Personal Page to make sure the image and caption appear as you would like them to.


A: YES. Photos must be .gif, .jpg or .png files, and no larger than 6000000 pixels. A good rule of thumb is to try to upload pictures that are roughly 300-400 pixels wide/high, and around 500kb in file size. If you need a photo editor, you can try PicMonkey or Pixlr.


A: NO. While previous versions of our site allowed two pictures, our current fundraising software only allows one photo on your page. You may change the photo as many times as you like.


A: Contact the manager of your event by email. You can find their email address at the top and bottom of this page. Please include a detailed description of your problem and attach the photo you are attempting to upload for troubleshooting purposes. Please be aware that it may take time for our team to resolve your issue. Most requests are handled within 1-2 business days.


Video Upload

A: YES. You can upload appropriate YouTube videos to your personal page. Once logged into your Participant Center, click on the "Personal Page" tab, then click the "Photos/Video" sub-tab on the right side of the page. Under the Photos section click the radio button next to Video, and then enter the YouTube video URL and click Save.


A: NO. However, most personal video can be uploaded to YouTube if you have a personal YouTube account. YouTube.com has instructions for uploading a personal video if you are unsure of how to do so.


A: NO. Only one video can be displayed per page.


A: Contact the manager of your event by email. You can find their email address at the top or bottom of this page. Please include a detailed description of your problem and include the YouTube url that you are attempting to upload for troubleshooting purposes. Please be aware that it may take time for our team to resolve your issue. Most requests are handled within 1-2 business days.


General Fundraising

A: Our easy-to-use online fundraising site allows you to create your own personal web page and access tools to help you recruit team members and solicit donations. You can use our sample emails, or create your own, and ask everyone you know to support you with a donation to your personal page. We encourage you to visit your fundraising and training portal for even more ideas once you're registered. Login to your participant center and look for the file folder icon to find your portal.


A: YES. To send emails to members of your team or people who have donated to your page, just log into your Participant Center and click the Email tab. From here, select the Email Template you would like to use (you can choose from pre-existing ones or start from a blank message) and click Next. Set the Subject and content of your message and click Next. For step 3 you will set your recipients, either by adding/importing contacts or choosing from Available Contacts (which include anyone you have added so far, as well as Groups such as Donors, Non-Donors, Never Emailed, etc.). After you have selected your recipients click Next, and you will see a final draft of your email. Here you can save the email as a draft if you are not ready to send it yet, or save it as a template for future re-use. Click Send when you are ready to send the email. You can also use the sub-tabs on the right side of the page to see previously saved drafts, sent emails, or manage your contacts.


A: Yes:

Facebook Fundraising
We highly encourage all of our hikers who are on Facebook to connect their Facebook page to their fundraising page. It’s easy and we’ve seen people raise their entire $2,500 in a few weeks! Here’s how to do it.

  1. Make sure you are logged into your Facebook account on your computer and that no other Facebook accounts are open.
  2. Login to your Ultimate Hike participant center and look for the Fundraise with Facebook information on the right hand side of your screen. Follow the steps and you’re all set!

 

If you would like to create a birthday fundraiser or a friend would like to create a birthday fundraiser to support your efforts, please contact your Ultimate Hike staff partner and they will walk you through how to make sure the funds are credited to your account.

Please do not fundraise by adding a donate button as we may not be able to match these donations to your Ultimate Hike fundraising account.

Instagram Fundraising
At this time, we cannot apply funds raised via Instagram Fundraisers to your Ultimate Hike fundraising account. Here are two ways that you CAN fundraise on Instagram:

  1. Put your Ultimate Hike website link in your bio and refer to your bio whenever you post about Ultimate Hike.
  2. When posting, ask your followers to donate by texting CURE to 56512. This will direct them to a place where they can make a donation online.

 


Making Donations

A: Once you've reached the Ultimate Hike website for the event you'd like to donate to, click the "Donate" button at the top of the page and choose whether you'd like to donate "To a Hiker", "To a Team", or "To the Hike". The first two options will prompt you to search for the Hiker or Team to donate to. Then follow the steps for submitting your payment.


A: To donate to the event without specifying a participant or team, click the "Donate" button at the top of the page and choose the "To the Hike" selection. Then follow the steps for submitting your payment.


A: A receipt will be emailed to you using the email address provided on your donation form. If you do not receive one within 24 hours, please contact donorservices@curesearch.org.


COVID-19

A: At CureSearch, the safety and wellbeing of our participants, volunteers and staff is our first priority. In 2020, we successfully held four in-person events with new COVID-19 precautions, and plan to implement these precautions as long as needed. We will continue to monitor local COVID-19 conditions and, if needed, reschedule or postpone events in the interest of participant safety.

A: For the time being, many information sessions will take place virtually via Zoom. Please RSVP for a session here. Or, if you would like to schedule a custom information session for your company, team, or group of friends, please contact ultimatehike@curesearch.org.

A: Our hikers and coaches will be provided with updated training guidelines designed to further protect all hikers. These guidelines may be changed as needed, and include, but are not limited to:

  1. Meeting or exceeding all federal, state, and local guidelines regarding social distancing and other safety precautions.
  2. Virtual support for hikers who are not comfortable training in person.
  3. Participants who have had a recent fever, have been exposed to COVID, or don’t feel well must stay home.
  4. Masks encouraged, but not required as long as social distancing can be practiced and in accordance with local and state guidelines.
  5. Training hikes are open to registered hikers only.
Please contact ultimatehike@curesearch.org for a complete list of training guidelines or with questions. 

A: Our 2020 Ultimate Hikers achieved great fundraising success, despite the pandemic. We have expanded our virtual fundraising tools in our fundraising and training portal and are offering online team meetings to support your fundraising goals and provide real time support.

If you need an extension of your Ultimate Hike fundraising deadline, please contact your event manager.

A: Upon arrival at the event, hikers will be provided with additional guidelines and updates. These guidelines may be changed as needed. Here are some of the 2021 Ultimate Hike guidelines:

  1. Following all federal, state, and local guidelines regarding social distancing and group gatherings.
  2. Social distancing will be followed at Ultimate Hike meals. This may mean alternate meal locations and times and/or meals delivered to participants’ rooms. Non-participant guests will be limited or eliminated.
  3. Hikers are encouraged to contact staff with specific concerns regarding lodging to ensure all hikers are comfortable.
  4. Ultimate Hike start areas and aid stations will be restricted to participants, coaches, and volunteers. Finish lines will be handed on a case-by-case basis. New efforts will be made to reduce the number of participants at each area and social distancing procedures will be followed at all stops
  5. Participants will wear masks covering the mouth and nose at all times while in shared vehicles.
  6. Hikers will sign a COVID-19 waiver, complete a temperature check and COVID-19 questionnaire, and agree to follow COVID-19 policies at hotel check in.
  7. Hiker check in will be modified to encourage social distancing on a hike-by-hike basis.
  8. Hikers will pre-order trail mix and other food items, which will be prepared in an indoor setting with access to running water and gloves.
  9. Staff, volunteers, and coaches will wear a mask when they are within six feet of other participants. Hikers will be encouraged to do the same.
  10. Hikers will be asked to maintain social distancing while on the trail.
  11. Walkie talkies, first aid kits, and other items will not be shared.

 

Please contact ultimatehike@curesearch.org for a complete list of training guidelines or with questions.


CureSearch for Childrens Cancer

PO Box 45781, Baltimore, MD 21297-5781
brecka.putnam@curesearch.org | (800) 458-6223