Running the Boston Marathon for Charity: A Personal Fundraising Initiative (Part Four)

Boston Marathon, Direct Marketing, Fundraising
Ten weeks from today, I'll be running the Boston Marathon for the seventh time in my life, the fourth time for charity. This year, I'll be running it for Children's Hospital Boston. Children's Hospital Boston is a 325-bed comprehensive center for pediatric health care. As the largest pediatric medical center in the United States, Children's offers a complete range of health care services for children from 15 weeks gestation through 21 years of age (and older in special cases). Children's records approximately 18,000 inpatient admissions each year, and its more than 150 outpatient programs and emergency services care for more than 300,000 patients annually. The hospital also performs 120,000 radiological examinations every year. For the 15th year in a row, Children's Hospital Boston was recently rated one of the nation's…
Read More

Running the Boston Marathon for Charity: A Personal Fundraising Initiative (Part Three)

Boston Marathon, Direct Marketing, Fundraising
After running for the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team in 1996, it wasn't until 2002 that I legged out the 26 miles and 385 yards between Hopkinton and Boston again for charity, only this time it was for a different charitable organization, The Home for Little Wanderers. Founded in 1799, The Home is a nationally renowned, private, non-profit child and family service agency providing services to more than 10,000 children and families each year. Compared to some of the larger nonprofits taking part in the Boston Marathon Charity Program (such as the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute), The Home Team was a relatively small team – but our individual fundraising goals were comparable. In exchange for the opportunity to run Boston officially, we were required to raise a minimum of $2,500 each, a…
Read More

Running the Boston Marathon for Charity: A Personal Fundraising Initiative (Part Two)

Boston Marathon, Direct Marketing, Fundraising
I may have clocked my best time ever for this race the first time I ran it – as a “bandit” – in 1981 (3:34:24), but the best experiences I have had in Boston have been when I have run the marathon for charity.Indeed, for those who are running it for a charitable organization, this historic marathon is not just an enormous challenge, it’s also an opportunity to make a difference in other people’s lives, a good way to feel like a champion come race day even though you may be pulling up the rear.The Boston Athletic Association’s Boston Marathon Charity Program is the quintessential pledge-based fundraising event for the average runner who otherwise might never have the chance to officially take part in such an elite competition.It’s a classic…
Read More

Running the Boston Marathon for Charity: A Personal Fundraising Initiative (Part One)

Boston Marathon, Direct Marketing, Fundraising
Everyone has heard of the Boston Marathon. It's the mother of all road races, the most celebrated of them all. Held each year on Patriot's Day, a holiday recognized only in Massachusetts and Maine, its legendary course stretches a long, laborious 26 miles and 385 yards, country point to city point, from the sleepy, little town of Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to the heart of the state’s capital.I get tired just thinking about it.But seriously, for a runner like me, any agony experienced along the way is worth the ecstasy at the end. It doesn’t get any better than crossing the finish line of what is arguably the most prestigious road race in the world.Meeting the eligibility requirements to run the Boston Marathon isn’t easy, though. For me, it would be next…
Read More