Prepared to go that extra mile for your fundraising? Ready, steady, go..!

If you've ever considered running a marathon for charity, it's the time of year to start putting your plans into action - not just with training, but in securing yourself a running place.

The first week in October will see thousands of letterboxes rattling up and down the country as entrants to the ballot for the 2009 Flora London Marathon find out whether their application to take part has been accepted. For many, it could well be disappointing news, since the number of would-be runners always vastly outweighs the places available. Last year, through the ballot alone, there were more than 92,000 applicants for the 46,500 capacity race.

But runners who would like to compete on behalf of a larger charity or who don't have a specific beneficiary in mind could still be looking at an open field.

Not only is FLM one of the five biggest marathons in the world, it's widely considered to be the biggest single-day charity event of the year in the UK, raising almost £50million annually for a wide variety of causes.

A large percentage of this fundraised income comes from charity allocated places, also known as "gold bond" places. These are spaces that the organisers reserve for charities to allow them to recruit their own runners to support their fundraising aims. This means that even after the ballot has closed, you could still be in the running for a place…

Many charities will already be advertising for runners on their individual websites, and the FLM website carries a list of causes to whom it has allocated places. You will also find charities advertising for runners on our how2fundraise Events Calendar, so keep checking it regularly!

Running for a charity "team" is often considered to be one of the most fulfilling ways to run a marathon. Depending on the individual cause, you might find that your charity offers you anything from personalised training plans, to help with accommodation, food and drink before and after the event, or even a massage on the finish line. There's also the camaraderie of being part of a group-within-a-group, the social aspect ("team" pasta parties!) plus it's likely you'll be sent a training pack containing a wealth of helpful things like sponsor forms and a running vest.

Many charities encourage their runners to work closely with them in the run-up to the event too, which is great for motivation. You might be provided with your own "blog" on the charity's website, help with setting up an online donation page or even weekly emails to let you know how other members of your "team" are doing with their training.

Charity Allocated Places: The "Down" side

The flip-side of all of this support is the need for an increased commitment from the would-be runner. Training for a marathon may be daunting enough, but in return for your charity allocated place, it's likely that you will be expected to pledge to raise a pre-agreed amount of sponsorship, which may be higher than you had initially estimated. Amounts can vary, but demand for places is such that many charities will ask you to commit to an amount in the region of £1,000 to £1,500 before offering you a place.

Hopefully, if you're as committed to your fundraising as you are to crossing that finish line, a sponsorship pledge won't put you off, and help is always at hand:

• If you do make the commitment to run for them, you can bet that your charity will be behind you every step of the way.
• The Flora London Marathon site itself is there to help you.
• Running is well-served by specialist magazines, many of whom have an impressive online presence. How2fundraise's resident marathon runner recommends www.runnersworld.co.uk for its friendly forums, but try typing "running" into your search engine and you'll be amazed at just how popular it is!
• And our new how2guide for running events here is full of helpful advice on how to make the most of your marathon.
  

Further Inspiration

The "running redhead", Susie Hewer is well known in marathon circles for her amazing feats in collecting funds for the Alzheimers Research Trust. Having set herself challenges such as running seven marathons in the year of her fiftieth birthday, and being the first person to set a Guinness World Record for creating the longest scarf ever knitted while running the London Marathon (yes, you did read that right!) she knows a thing or two about running.

how2fundraise asked Susie whether the London race deserved its top-of-the-tree profile as a fundraising event:

"Most definitely YES because it has such a high profile and everyone has heard of it. Last year when I ran 7 marathons, no-one was interested in the other marathons, even the 50 mile race, but they all wanted to know about FLM! There is a huge amount of publicity prior to the event which is very helpful if you are fund-raising.

I've run FLM 4 times now and 3 of those were on gold bond places.

The first 2 times I applied I was rejected but then I heard about the Alzheimer's Research Trust and that they had a gold bond place available. At first I was really scared of taking on the commitment to raise £1500 but I actually exceeded it and raised £3500.

It is an amazing experience on all levels - the crowd support is second to none, you are running with 10s of thousands of people most of whom are raising money for good causes, the Press interest is high, your supporters can try to spot you on TV or even come to support you as it's a great day out.

Having said that, it is possible to fund-raise by running a different marathon - it's just that you have to work harder at getting sponsorship and really give people much more information about the marathon you are doing. Don't forget that in the minds of non- runners there is really only 1 marathon - FLM."

You can read more about Susie's fundraising on our "My Fundraising" pages here.