Run for charity

Are you looking to raise money by running for charity? We’ve put together answers to some questions you may have, and hopefully inspire and motivate you. There’s lots of options - 5k runs, 10k runs, half marathons and marathons, to running challenges like tough mudder or ultramarathons, there’s a running event for everyone to take part in!

Why run for charity?

Training improves fitness and health but you’ll also be raising money to help save and improve others’ lives. Knowing that you are raising money for others will help motivate you through training. Picking a charity that helps a condition with a personal connection helps to give you the purpose to persevere.

How to run for charity?

It’s simple: find a running event through our event finder, fill in the form and submit, and we’ll send an email with everything you need to know.

Are you thinking of running an event we don't have on our site? No problem, let us know and we can still support you.

How to raise money for charity by running

Raising money, no matter how much, is a real motivator which will help you push through the tough training days – it’s the ‘why’ many people run for charity.

The wonderful thing is it’s never been easier to fundraise these days! Here’s a simple checklist to follow:

Set-up up a fundraising page – Facebook and Just Giving make it so easy to manage and for people to give to your pot.

Poster and sponsorship forms – these are great for sharing at work, both physically and through email. And we’re even made these for you, how easy is that?!
Get it on a t shirt – you can make a customised t-shirt to wear at work, during training, or just when you’re active. Be sure to include the web address of your fundraising page and make it loud and proud, you want to be seen!

What is a virtual run?

Virtual runs are great because you can do it whenever (before work, in the evening or during the weekend), wherever (on the road, around a track, on a treadmill or even your garden if it’s big enough), and over any distance (5k, 10k, half and full marathon) you like!

You’ll need to keep evidence of the distance you’ve covered for the virtual charity run you’ve chosen to take part in – fitness trackers are fantastic at capturing this without having to get a map out, but even a simple paper log and using Google Maps to plan or retrace your run is effective.

The Virtual London Marathon is an extremely popular option as it allows people to cover the famous race in blocks, but there are plenty of other events to enter.

How to choose a charity to run for

Did you know there are over 160,000 charities in the UK? Theses organisations need people just like you to raise awareness of their cause and the all-important funds they need to continue doing the magnificent work they do.

Think about charities that have come into your life in some way. Perhaps you or a relative work for a non-profit, or they make a difference in your local community, or like Anthony Nolan they’ve been there when someone close has needed support.

If you don’t know which charity to run for, we’d love you to consider running for Anthony Nolan! We give three people a second chance of life every day, and change the lives of many more people. By raising awareness and funds through running for charity, you can have an amazing experience and help the people we support – how awesome is that?!

Why run for Anthony Nolan

Just £40 can add a potential lifesaving donor to the stem cell register. The money you raise will help fund ground-breaking research and provide the best post-transplant care. More than that, getting out and about while you train and race in you Anthony Nolan vest will raise all important awareness – we need as many people as possible to know about Anthony and Shirley’s story and their amazing lifesaving legacy which carries one today.

As part of signing up with Anthony Nolan, you’ll be part of a larger charity team and you’ll see other runners with the #TeamAN vest running on the day! We’ll also provide you with: