How you representing?

So if you want to think of fundraising from a purely business perspective you should think in two terms:

1. Donations.
2. Exposure.

For those England fundraising types, you've probably gotten packets that give you several very good ways to do #1. Many of them will also give you #2, except you may stand there and think, "Why on EARTH do I need to do something to expose this charity?"

Simple. Because exposure brings awareness and awareness brings more awareness and ... more donations.

"But..." you reply, "this is a well known charity. This shouldn't be hard to raise money for."

That's where you are wrong.

When you commit to fundraising it is always good to commit to some level of exposure as well. A business wouldn't open a shop without a sign. A dentist wouldn't set up practice and then not tell anyone where they are. That is why you'll see charities with commercials, posters, and cheerleaders at the race.

People need to know the charity exists in order to support (or seek support) from it. You probably wouldn't have known about your charity without a personal experience, a friend who got help from it, a campaign on television or in the news that touched you, or even an advertisement seeking runners. Exposure is important and as vital as any donations you get.

So...

1. Wear your t-shirt or running jersey whenever you can. I wear my t-shirt for the National Autistic Society on Friday, and my jersey on my long runs.
2. Carry a few informational pamphlets and your collection tin wherever you go. It will remind you to talk about your charity and maybe get you some support.
3. Let local media outlets know what you are doing. Many radio stations and charities have Twitter accounts and don't mind retweeting people looking for donations. News groups will sometimes do profile pieces on people doing charity work of all kinds.
   
4. Blog. (Um, duh.) Tweet. (Double duh.) and Fan your group on Facebook. (TRIPLE duh.) Heck, add a support ribbon to your avatar.

There a many great ways to show support for your charity and help elevate awareness. My best feeling has come not from the donations (though it feels spectacular) but from a woman who saw me running in my jersey during a practice run. As I jogged by she caught my eye and said, "Thank you."

It's just a reminder that despite my own goal, there is a bigger cause out there.

Recognition and Lots More Running.

So, yay, VMGiving is Retweeting me! I may even get a bit of recognition in their fundraising blog! How cool is that?

It's nice to get a little bit of recognition now and again. People can scoff all they want at people tweeting and facebooking away about the miles they run, but we do it for a reason. Running, unlike many sports, isn't team enabled. Your competitor is always you. Yes, I know, people run in groups and for charities, but in the end it's your time. Not your team's time, not your charities time.

Your time.

So that's why loads of people don't run. It's hard, it's monotonous, and it's you against you. Someone is always BOUND to be faster, put in a better PR, and finish looking glorious instead of like they've been run over.

Thus, we runner's go for our little solo happy achievements and use tools to find encouragement to continue to race ourselves. I ran 14.65 miles yesterday through surprisingly good winter weather for England. I tweeted it. Sometimes when I tweet people tweet back "Good going!" or the ever-present English, "Well done!" And I smile and feel good about myself. I'm not out to make people feel bad because they aren't running (I am, matter of fact, a surprisingly terrible runner) but so that people know:

Yes, I'm actually training for a marathon. I'm taking it seriously. I'm raising funds. And my knee feels stiff.

Okay, so the last one might count as TMI *but* I'd rather people know I'm human and not super-human. Though, I think if I became super-human I'd really want to tweet about that.

Moving on.

I did make it through my run yesterday, but with a lovely and surprising stiffness showing up at about the point where my brain said, "Um. So hey and stuff. Did you know you've never actually ran this far?" It's in the knee that got injured in my only car accident - in which my own car hit me. (I was outside of it, swear.) Did I cry? No. I'm still actively working on researching ways to cope with this. It doesn't hurt that much, but I don't want to make it worse. So a rethinking is happening.

In related news I can say that Oxford has AMAZING canal and river walks. Now that the water has gone down I spent quite a lot of my jogging near the river. Peaceful and people happy to move out of your way (unlike running near the shops). I'm trying to see if I can create a run in which 90% of it is out on these paths. Definitely gets me distracted from the fact that I'm running this insane amount of distance.

So this week is going to be a lot of reflection on my current status so I can work on improving. I'm also going to hit the Virgin Money Giving forum and try to motivate people to raise for what they believe in. I encourage anyone who has any ideas to get on as well.

Peace out.

Goal raising and my FARTHEST DISTANCE EVER!

Okay, so I raised my goal.

After being asked to share with VMGiving I realized I needed to. You don't just spend a good chunk of the morning breaking down achieving doable fundraising goals and think, "Yep, and here I am, so super proud of my over-achievement!" Virgin was founded by a guy who doesn't believe in limits, so I had to raise mine.

P.S. - I really like the Virgin Money Giving site. If you are charity raising your life is much, much easier. Back in the days of dinosaurs and green screen mobiles a person spent a huge chunk of time tending to their donors and swearing they wouldn't pass out credit card information.

Anyways.

14.65 miles. That is what is on the register for today. I believe I ran 14.10, in a (now defunct?) Nike+ Half Marathon. The goal of this half, so I was told, was to take your Nike+ out and in 24 hours (which is lovely) run 13.1 miles or more. Seeing as when this happened I was in my final months of living in Houston I decided to run a huge area near my home. I found out that it was hot, carrying enough water/gel without people at rest stops is hard, people build directly into public sidewalks (Hooray for running through shrubs!) , and much of the damage from Hurricane Ike was still around. But I finished and I turned in my time and I never got my tshirt or keychain as I was promised.

Ever.

So I have that run on memory, but nothing further, and sadly, nothing better.

Until now, that is. Glorious Oxford with its glorious sidewalks and trails and bike paths! (And, of course, stupid Oxford with its far to easy to access outdoor running!)

In short, there isn't an excuse.

I did well on my last long run, and even though it wasn't tasty, the ROCTANE will be with me again. I really didn't hurt very much after wards with that in play, so out it will trot again. (Along with nummy chocolate and mint chocolate GU!)

So if you see me in these next few hours (I'll be wearing my jersey!) give me a shout or jump on and donate to my cause.

See you on the other side o' the bloggy.