Charity running options

So you're considering running for charity and you keep hearing about ‘gold bond’ places, ‘own places’, ‘charity places’, ‘ballot places’ and now you’re as confused as someone filling out their tax returns.

But sorting out your charity running options isn’t as difficult or ‘taxing’ as you might think. Once we establish what kind of places are available then we can start to weigh up the weigh up the pros and cons of charity places versus own places.

The majority of races out there allow you to apply to enter yourself, but for some of the higher profile races demand far outstrips the number of places available (the Virgin London Marathon for example) so places become more precious. Charities are able to buy a limited number of places for these events and use these to maximise the revenue that they can generate from charity running.

Charity places for running races
In the case of the London Marathon, these places that charities buy are called Gold Bond places. The charities purchase Gold Bonds from the Virgin London Marathon, which guarantees the runner a place without having to go through the ballot draw. This is why charities ask for a minimum fundraising amount from their runners. This can in some cases be up to £2,000 because they need to recoup their costs as well as raising funds for the charity. (Charities also purchase places and require a set amount to be raised in a similar way for other race events, including ones abroad.)

Runners who opt to approach a charity with view to securing a Gold Bond or charity place need to remember that charities rely on this income so there’s little point in accepting a place when you’ve got little hope of reaching the fundraising target. There isn’t usually a penalty if you don’t manage to raise the minimum sponsorship target but charities ask that you don't apply for a golden bond place unless you are sure that you will be able to raise at least the specified amount. And of course, the charities are always on hand to help with your fundraising in any way that we can. 

Own place running
If you opt to go the other route and attempt to secure your own running place via a ballot or some other means for other races, this does mean that you still have the option of choosing to run for a charity.

In the case of the Virgin London Marathon, runners will be informed in October if they’ve got a ballot place. Anyone who secures a place in the Virgin London Marathon, can still run for charity – and won’t have to worry about reaching a specific fundraising target. You will just be encouraged to raise as much as you possibly can.

It’s well worth considering this option if you have your own place in the Virgin London Marathon, or any other race for that matter, so that you can make the most of your place by running for a charity. After all, there is only one thing more rewarding than running the race – and that's running it for charity!

Remember that anything you raise will likely be a bonus for that charity. The charity will only have to incur a small amount of cost in looking after you as part of their running team, so the more runners like yourself that they can attract, the happier they will be.

So which option is best for your running?
Having established the difference between own place runner and charity place runners, you may still be having difficulty decided which is the best option for you. Trying to secure your own place is not a guaranteed option because you don’t always know that are going to get place. Starting to train for a race in the hope of securing your own place and then seeing it not happen could be soul (or sole) destroying.

With the Virgin London Marathon, what many people do is apply for a ballot place in the hope of securing one for themselves, and also approach charities about securing one of their places so that they know they are definitely going to be running in the race.

Should they be successful in gaining a ballot place they can inform the charity who will then be able to allocate their Gold Bond place to another runner. Both runners can then still raise funds for that specific charity although the ballot place runner doesn’t have the pressure of a specific fundraising target. So it’s a win-win situation for both runner and charity.

Go the extra mile for charity, when running
If you’re running in a race then there’s little reason not to run for charity. By going the ‘extra mile’ and hooking up with a charity not only helps secure much needed funds but also ensures you have support from other fellow fundraisers? Being a part of a charity team either as an own place or charity place runner guarantees you won’t be alone on race day, as there’ll be plenty of others in the same boat! And you never know – you may even find each mile easier knowing that your every step is helping a worthy cause.

Reaching that finishing line, not only will you achieve your very own dream in completing the distance, but the funds you raise will also make a huge difference to others and even make the simplest of dreams come true.