It’s Christmas time; the season of giving. What better time to look at making a difference in the life of someone. Earlier this year, I had decided that I was going to incorporate more charity runs into my racing. I figured it was a way of giving back to the running community and a big thank you to the sport that has given me so much in terms of self-development and taught me a great deal about drive and perseverance. Turns out it’s easier said than done and so yours truly have not fully engaged the process of running for someone or something other than self. Truth is, I find it somewhat intimidating to ask others to help a passion of mine. What’s in it for them? See, when I first thought of running for a cause, it seemed easy enough; sign up for a race and give a donation..pretty easy, no strings attached and doable only for a smaller number of races. It turns out that meaningful giving in running is a bit more involved than that.
You have only to google running for charity and a host of events and information will come up, which indicates the popularity of this method of entry into races from 5ks to marathons. So it’s not for a lack of information that I view this with some trepidation, as races are eager to impart how to best access information and support on how to proceed. What I’m a bit wary of is actually getting on a platform and committing to raise a certain amount of money within a specified period of time; the amount being a big issue and then the time frame allotted in which to do this. I’ll admit right off that a sales person I am not so the pitch just doesn’t come to me nor does it ever sound right, which leaves me questioning my motives cause this is not about me right?
Cause running has opened up the field of runners to just about anyone with a heart to do good, the bonus is exercise and the chance to do something one might not have attempted but for the pull of the greater good. In addition, there’s the added benefit of training teams and cheering sections This makes it a win-win situation as there are multiple groups with different models that allow runners to consider the cause – which runs from cancer research to providing animal rescue – race distance, fundraising minimum and training programs. The recent addition of crowdrise, peer-to-peer fundraising site, to the running platform allows runners who don’t find a cause they’re interested in to create a page and run for a group of their choice.(Runners World)
The causes are endless and the opportunities to make my running count are better now than they’ve ever been; all I need is social media, my friend lists and the ability to pitch my cause. I’m giving it a go for the New York City Half Marathon in March. A couple thousands shouldn’t be hard..wish me luck!
runningwithfaith 