In approximately 33 days, the gun will sound on the Virgin Money London Marathon 2015 and over 30,000 runners will take to the streets to complete 26.2 miles. I will have the distinct honor of being among them. What makes this opportunity so amazing is that it combines two things that I love, running and missions. Inquiring minds have asked how running supports missions, and I can understand how the premise might be considered foreign.
The Virgin Money London Marathon 2015 prides itself on being the, “biggest annual fundraising event on the planet.” That is quite a claim, but charity runners have raised over “£716 million (that’s 1062493880.00 US Dollars!!) for good causes since the race began in 1981.” Fundraising works two ways: the race organization itself is not for profit, after race expenses, all funds transfer to the London Marathon Charitable Trust which then disperses the funds to various charities to include those organizations sponsoring race teams.
Each year hundreds of charities from the U.K., USA, New Zealand and Australia sponsor teams. Some of the 2015 charity teams include British Heart Foundation, Autism Speaks, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and my team, Links International. There are five runners on the Links team; four Brits and me, the lone American. All of us are working hard to raise funds to support the amazing work Links does such as clean water filtration systems designed to help the 748 million people who do not have access to an improved source of drinking water, community healthcare training programs, vocational training and micro-finance loans, just to name a few.
Many of my friends and family have already given generously to support this worthy cause and I am incredibly humbled by your belief in me as well as this global mission field that I am running for. My eyes still tear up with each new donation, and what those funds represent. Thank you! For those who would like to give, it’s not too late. All donations are tax-deductible, simply click on the link and you will go directly to the Links USA giving page: https://linksusa.cloverdonations.com/marathon/.
Running with Purpose,
Becky J Miller
“Warrior Princess”