AIBU not to raise money for my ballot place London Marathon.

[Nocharitymarathon]

I’m running the London Marathon tomorrow. I got a ballot place, against all the odds. I’m a long-term runner and have run multiple marathons including London and have raised money for charities every other time.

However, I kind of feel awkward asking people to put their hands in the pockets to sponsor me for something that is basically my hobby. I mean, if my hobby was chess, I wouldn’t feel like I had to raise money every time I had an important match. Or if it was football and I had a cup final, it wouldn’t be expected that I raise money for charity then either.

I work from home and have kids in secondary school so don’t really have the ability to do work place or school run whip-arounds. As my hobby is running, lots of others are asking around the running club to meet their sizeable donation requirements for charity places.

I’m also aware that with the COL crisis, times are tight for people. So, this time, I decided that as I am in an OK position financially, I would donate to other people’s charities rather than raise money myself. So that is what I have done. I’ve donated well in excess of £150 across multiple charities.

But I do get a shocked reaction from people when I say I am not raising money, people assume that the only reason you would possibly run a marathon is to raise money for charity, when actually I am just doing it for fun, because it’s my hobby.

I think I might feel guilty tomorrow when surrounded by charity vests.

AIBU not to have raised money?

Why would people sponsor you for doing something you enjoy? Well done on getting a ballot place , I’ve tried for so many years . Just go and enjoy every moment!

i get put off the charity places by the minimum amount you have to pledge to raise though. I’d rather get a place through the ballot then decide if I want to run for a cause.

Good luck tomorrow!!

it’s totally fine to run just for yourself, and your friends will probably thank you for not hitting them up for money!

I don’t generally fundraise when I do races (have done once when I did the GNR), but when I have done big races I have felt in the minority and people in the pen asking me who I was fundraising for felt a bit awks (people are just making convo tho). You will be surrounded by people with names of loved ones on their shirts etc. But it’s absolutely fine, we all have our own motivations.

I’ve just entered the LM ballot for the 9th time! Maybe this time!!

I ran it a couple of years in a row (champs/good for age place) and people were stunned that I didn't raise cash so the last year I did it I asked for sponsorship and raised a decent amount, people just like to get involved. I would have felt awful asking every year though as like you it was my hobby! I only told people I did it after the event most of the time.

Go well tomorrow!

I’ve run it for charity and I absolutely wouldn’t do it again, especially if I had a ballot place.

I agree with you OP especially as you already run. I have run London (was relatively new to running at the time) and raised a good amount but it was stressful, I wouldn’t ask people to sponsor me again
for anything!

Enjoy tomorrow- I would love to run it again but cannot face the training!

You don't have to do it for charity. I don't run, but I've done cycling for charity, quite a lot of it. But the longest ever one was just for me. Just because I wanted to do it. And I really enjoyed it 😊

Let us know how you got on OP, I’m watching just now, hope you have a fab race!!

Good luck op. Listening on the radio and getting all emotional. Wished I’d gone down now.

I’ve run over 30 marathons and ultras, I raised money twice, the 2 hardest ones, one through my workplace charity and one for mountain rescue who used the race as a fundraiser. Would not normally even think about it, as you say, it’s your hobby, why would you.

If you enjoy something, just do it without the extra fuss and virtue signalling!

Good luck ☺️

If it was someone who was running the marathon for the first time, I'd probably give them a tenner fairly happily. But for someone who is running marathon number umpteen, who didn't have to do training above and beyond their normal activity? Nope.

I assumed everybody did it for charity. So I felt guilty about finding it boring. It annoys me the way it takes over the news for the day.

Using this thread as an opportunity to shamelessly boast. DD run it in 3 hours, 10 seconds. She was aiming for a sub-3, but I am absolutely bursting with pride.

Now going out to corner random strangers.

Because you can then run it for a charity of your choice. The charity places for London cost the charities a huge amount so smaller charities don’t get a look in typically. You could then run it for your local whatever for example. But OP YANBU - I’d do the same!

I have had this before and I think it's because some people can't imagine anyone doing it for fun! I just suggest they donate to their favourite charity on my behalf, but if I knew lots of people running for charities I would just direct them to one of those people's fundraising pages.

Amazing time!! Well done to her. Hope she enjoys the recovery and celebration 🎉

Does it? I got in the car just before 10am. It wasn't on any of the R5 channels. I did find a channel after a bit and then came home and put the telly on.

The fact a world record has been made has indeed made the news, as it should.
Where has it dominated the news? Maybe the local London stations?

Fantastic!! Well done to your DD!

Superb! Well done to your DD 🌟

YANBU OP. I did my first half marathon for charity (a charity place with a minimum amount to raise for a prestigious race), after that I’ve always just paid my entry fee and run in smaller events, because it’s not a ‘challenge’ in the same way the first one was. That said, I sponsored a friend with a ballot place who’d decide to run for charity anyway today, because I’m a fan of the charity.

Hope you had a fabulous day @Nocharitymarathon, Yanbu, plenty of people run marathons without raising money for charity.

I got a ballot place and ran 15 years ago, it was incredible. I did choose a charity and raised £650 because I’m a cancer survivor and I’d lost both my in laws to cancer. It wasn’t a huge amount and if I’d run more marathons I wouldn’t have asked for sponsorship.

I haven’t been able to run for years due to injury but I’m doing a 50km walk this year and I won’t be doing it for charity. I’ve already been asked if I am raising money but I just don’t want to ask people to sponsor me for going for a walk, it’s not very exciting and nothing very impressive about it!

Im not a runner. Never was, never will be.
Got drunk and somehow applied for the ballot as a laugh.
Fucking got a place didnt I 😂😂 Absolute nightmare. I did it though, just to prove a point.
Didnt raise a penny

When DH used to run marathons (can’t now due to 2 dodgy acl’s) he had the same mentality as you. It was his hobby, which he loved, and he would never ask for sponsorship. He did all the main ones and didn’t even consider sponsorship once.

That’s bonkers fast.
well done to her!