do I have to fundraise money to run in a race?

July 29, 2009 8:48 AM

do I have to fundraise money to run in a race? I have started running, and would to run in more races. However, it seems that all the races are centered around fundraising. What is up with that and do I have to do it? I just want to pay my registration fee, show up and run. Can I do that?
posted by esolo to Health & Fitness (15 answers total)

Yes of course. Find races that just have a registration fee and run in those. There are a lot of races that have a registration fee and the money from the fee still goes towards some good cause, so those are the best - no need to spend time fundraising, but you're still helping a little.
posted by KateHasQuestions at 8:52 AM on July 29, 2009

Actually, most of the races that I know of donate some of the entry fees to charity. I've done a ton of 5 and 10 K races, and I've never had to do any fundraising. I do have friends who have done marathons where they solicited for donations for Leukemia research, but that is the exception - not the norm.

Where do you live? How are you finding out about your local races?
posted by shrabster at 8:53 AM on July 29, 2009

Not at all. I've joined races listed on coolrunning.com, which gives all the information (distance, location, etc.) with a handy search feature to find races in your area.
posted by xingcat at 8:54 AM on July 29, 2009 [1 favorite]

I do maybe 12 races/year (mostly 5k, 5mi, 10k, occasionally further), and I've never fund raised aside from part of the entry fee going to charity.

Try Active.com. Or if you tell us where you live and what distance you are interested in running, maybe some of us can recommend races.
posted by teragram at 8:58 AM on July 29, 2009

Response by poster: I'm in Toronto, Canada. I have looked at RunningRoom website and just Googled for races. My question is not really about whether specifically non-fundraising oriented races exist, but rather what about the races that ARE specifically fundraising oriented? What is the etiquette there? E.g. There is a very popular Run for the Cure run happening every fall. What happens if I want to show my support to the survivors and run the course, but do not want to fundraise?
posted by esolo at 9:02 AM on July 29, 2009

it seems that all the races are centered around fundraising

Those are the races that do the most publicity, for obvious reasons: they need to get the message out not only to the runners, but to the donors.

Getting schedules through running clubs or websites is the way to find the other races.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:02 AM on July 29, 2009

Yes, in most cases, if you want to run in a fundraising race, you have to give a minimum donation to the charity. Most people cover that by fundraising, but if you want to just pay them a few hundred bucks, you can usually do that.
posted by decathecting at 9:07 AM on July 29, 2009

To answer your follow-up question, it is completely fine to just pay the fee and run in those specific fund-raising races like Run for the Cure. You're still paying for it, and that's going in part to the charity, and it's not like they only admit a certain number of runners so that you'd be excluding some more active fund-raiser.

Go, show your support, and enjoy!
posted by Pomo at 9:08 AM on July 29, 2009

Depends on the race. The Toronto Run for the Cure specifically says this "While there is no minimum fundraising amount to participate in the Run, we encourage all participants to set a personal fundraising goal of raising at least $150 to have your registration fee waived." Some races have high registration fees specifically to encourage fundraising [the RftC registration is $40] and many do not.
posted by jessamyn at 9:08 AM on July 29, 2009

If there is a minimum you must raise, the site should say so. Otherwise, you can pay the fee and not raise anything more.

From the Run for the Cure site:

"The Registration Fee:

The 2009 registration fee for adults and youth is $40 (t-shirt included).

During the registration process, adults can select to raise $150 or more instead of paying the registration fee. Youth can select to raise $60 or more instead of paying the registration fee. The t-shirt is included."
posted by teragram at 9:09 AM on July 29, 2009

Response by poster: I have seen the disclaimers on the websites, similar to the Run for the Cure one, but I guess I was just wondering what the UNSPOKEN rules are. Like whether people frown upon those running without fundraising...

I'd rather pay more for registration and not fundraise personally. Not that I don't want to support the cause, but I just hate asking for money.
posted by esolo at 9:11 AM on July 29, 2009

Why not "fundraise" by "donating" to yourself? That amounts to paying more for registration without having to fundraise from others.
posted by onshi at 9:15 AM on July 29, 2009

I was just wondering what the UNSPOKEN rules are. Like whether people frown upon those running without fundraising..

Who's going to know? You'll be one of hundreds of people, and it's not like they announce every person's fundraising total as they cross the line.
posted by Dr.Enormous at 9:21 AM on July 29, 2009

Just to reiterate what Dr. Enormous said, in all of the races I've done (in the Toronto area), there's really no way to know at-a-glance who has fundraised and who has not - don't worry, they won't make you wear a scarlet letter. ;)
posted by purlgurly at 9:23 AM on July 29, 2009

Not to be too crass, but if you donate the minimum, that may count for a charitable donation tax credit, as opposed to forking over the registration fee (which may not qualify as a donation) full disclosure: I am not a Canadian, nor do I prepare taxes, just saying that you may want to check it out.
posted by horsemuth at 9:52 AM on July 29, 2009