I found another great long distance walk today, organized by someone on their own, to help a friend. Gav Thompson, of Newbury, England was inspired to plan a charity walk when his friend’s child died of a rare genetic disease. The idea gained traction and eventually 16 others joined him for a 52 mile walk. 17 others joined in for the final stretch on the last day of the event. The story was reported in the local paper, the Newbury Today and on the BBC.

So far the combined funds raised from all of the team members totals over £77,000 which benefits the The Jennifer Trust for Spinal Muscular Atrophy. You can read some of Thompson’s report on the walk on his Just Giving “Fat Man Walking” Page.

This Christmas season a record number of runners turned up dressed as Santa at fun runs in cities on either side of the Atlantic. Several cities were aiming to break the world record for Largest Santa Gathering. So which one took the prize?

On Saturday, December 1st the Las Vegas Great Santa Run was first out of the gate with 7,269 enthusiastic participants. You can even view the gunshot start with thanks to the complete running network, who have reposted the YouTube video of the event. Read more… »

Growing up in the Dallas area I’d long known about the Turkey Trot benefiting the Dallas YMCA. Each year on Thanksgiving Day runners turn out to run for a good cause. Maybe someday I will be able to make it to this event myself. (As long as I’m home in time for Thanksgiving dinner!)

The Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot is actually the largest Thanksgiving Day event of its kind in the country. The original Dallas YMCA Turkey Trot was held at the Old Fairgrounds back in the early 1940s. The long string of consecutive years began with the eight mile race back in 1968. It was then held at White Rock Lake until attendance grew so large that more room was needed and the event moved downtown. Read more… »

Bikes for Kids Utah held a 3K family bike ride, a 50K ride and also an exclusive ride with Dave Zabriskie on Saturday, October 6th. Zabriskie is a Salt Lake City native and is the third American to participate in Tour de France. The ride was held in Salt Lake City, Utah.

The rides benefited bicycle items that were given to children that same day. New bicycles, helmets, bike locks and instructions were given to 1,000 underpriviledged Utah second graders.

“Bikes for Kids Utah was successful on so many fronts,” said Debbie Reid, founder and executive director of Bikes for Kids Utah. “We had great support from the community, Dave Zabriskie, sponsors, presenters, volunteers and the cyclists. Seeing a smile on the face of one child while receiving a bike was enough. Seeing hundreds of smiling faces made it even better.”

Bikes for Kids Utah fundraises for their project through multiple sponsorships, a fundraising dinner with a silent auction and several fundraising bicycle rides. The fundraising dinner and silent auction raised more than $11,000. Sponsors include: Costco, Intermountain Financial Group, Mass Mutual, Murray City Rotary and SoBe Life Water.

Source: PPOL: NEWS

Anastasia Sowinski ran her first marathon when her mother was diagnosed with leukemia in early 2002. Sowinski, a Brookfield, Illinois resident joined the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program. Sowinski raised five thousand dollars and on the first anniversary of her mother’s death, ran her second marathon.

Sowinski has also ran three other marathons since her Team in Training days. So she has five marathons completed out of her goal of fifty, one for each U.S.A. state. She has run marathons in Alaska, Chicago (Illinois), Miami (Florida), Cincinnati (Ohio and Bloomington (Indiana).

She is preparing to run the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, October 28th in Arlington, Virginia. On December 1st she will run the Memphis Marathon in Memphis, Tennessee. Sowinski’s goal is to run three to four marathons each year.

For the Marine Corps Marathon Sowinski is raising funds for A Running Start, a charity that helps African children obtain a U.S.A. university education and to use their athletic abilities.

Source: WBBM Newsradio 780

The Hotter ‘N Hell Hundred (HHH) is one of the largest cycling events in the USA. Held in Wichita Falls, TX in August each year, the main event is the 100 mile cycling race. Riders can also choose the 25 mile, 50 mile, or 100 K course or the off-road bicycle race. This year the event drew 11,205 riders and 23 of those were members of “Race for Grace,” the first ever charity cycling team allowed to participate in HHH. Read more… »

The 32nd Annual Jamestown Classic has been divided into two programs this year. Held on Jamestown, Rhode Island. The classic is organized by the local Rotary Club. One event ‘Round the Island Bike Race’ will be held on Monday, October 8th (Columbus Day).

The new event is ‘Rides and Strides for Humanity’ which will be held on Saturday, October 7th. The event will begin at Ft. Getty. Participants can be active in a variety of ways — they can walk, run, cycle, skateboard or even ride a kick-scooter. They can do so to benefit a number of charitable causes — from the Jamestown Community projects, the Nicaragua Wheelchair Project, a Ghana Literacy Project, Pure Water project and a National Charities fund.

Participants can register online at the website. Adult participants must raise $100 and children must raise $20. T-shirts will be given to each participant who raises $50.

The Jamestown Classic is considered the largest bicycle road race in Rhode Island. More than 800 participants are expected for both Oct 7th & 8th programs. In the beginning the event raised approximately $800 and now the event raises approximately $18,000 for charity.

Source: The Jamestown Press