You can participate in races not only for the sake of emotions and medals but also for the benefit of those who need help. Gallatin Mental Health Center, Hustle for Hope fundraiser, figured out how the running charity works in the world, and who can become a participant of the charity run.
A bit of history
One of the first mentions of charity runs appeared in 1988. The leukemia and lymphoma community suggested several runners to run a marathon distance and raise funds in support of those who need help. In return, the community paid the athletes for the road to the marathon venue and also arranged a unique sports training.
Now thousands of people all over the world are participating in charity runs.
The goal of charity runs
All over the world, charity runs are organized to help street children, cancer patients or other people in need of care and help. Everyone can choose a goal that will inspire him to run many miles distance. It’s fun: people run in clown suits, bring flags and balls; they run mostly not to win the main prize, but to show how fun it is to do charity work.
For example, in the Chicago Marathon, participants run in support of charitable organizations and collect about $2,000,000 for the marathon. Participation in a charity run is one of the most accessible ways to help. Everyone person can run, regardless of lifestyle, type of activity and even health. As a rule, the race is organized by a professional sports organization, and the foundation becomes a partner and collects funds, attracting its audience to the event.
The scheme is simple:
- the runner makes a registration fee that goes to a charity project;
- talks about it;
- draws attention to his participation, invites to cheer for him and, if desired, raise funds, thus expanding the audience of the fund and inspiring others with donations.
Why bother with a charity run?
This is too obvious that you will help make the world a little better by participating in such events. Besides this, there are at least three more reasons to participate in a charity run:
- Motivation. In the sports life of almost every athlete there comes a period when you don’t want to run. To revive the desire to train, it is sometimes not enough to look at your body. But if you don’t want to run for yourself, then maybe you’ll run for others;
- Opportunities. One can run under the flag of a charitable organization on any marathon. For those who have long dreamed of attending one of the major runs but they didn’t have any luck with either qualifications or the lottery, this could be a great chance to make the dream come true;
- Conscious choice. Sometimes, by becoming participants of the charity run, athletes can choose who exactly they want to help and which charity fund to give money to.
Where can I participate in the charity run?
There are a lot of places where you can take part in the marathon. First of all, choose a goal for which you are ready to run on the Internet. As a rule, the list of charitable funds is posted on the site of the marathon. One of the largest marathons in London is The Virgin London Marathon, The New York Marathon, The Great North Run, the Brighton Marathon, The Paris Marathon, The Amsterdam Marathon, The Berlin Marathon. In general, marathons are held in many large cities in Europe and the USA. They are also organized in Turkey and even in Thailand and Kazakhstan. Therefore, you can easily find a suitable event. You can also get acquainted with some of the nearest charity runs on a specialized website – www.runforcharity.com.