Come take part in the Beijing Marathon on October 19th, 2014 this year to raise money for charity!
The Beijing Marathon is everything you’d expect – long, tiresome, requiring training, hopefully rewarding – except for one thing: it supports the Sisters’ Run, a charity event raising money for the projects that the Sisters serve. Although fundraising marathons are common in most countries, they are very rare in China.
The Sisters’ Run began in 2008 when 9 Sisters participated in the Beijing Marathon to raise money for charity. When the Beijing Marathon Committee started the program “Run for Charity” in 2011, the Sisters’ Run became one of the first charities they authorized.
What makes the Sisters’ Run unique is that it will be supporting and literally run by Sisters themselves; every year more and more Sisters participate in the run with habits and matching T-shirts.
Eighty Sisters will be coming from eight Chinese provinces to run in this year’s race. Their goal is to raise RMB 127,288,800 for 30 different organizations, including care for the elderly, orphans, students, lepers, and AID patients. As of June 30, 2014, they have collected RMB 43,704,451 – a great start, but there is still a lot more to be raised.
Official registration begins September 19, but you can make your interest known and get more information by leaving your contact details here. The coordinators will get back to you to confirm your place.
Participating in the full marathon costs USD 100 (RMB 618), and the half marathon costs USD 80 (RMB 495). To run for the charity, you must place a deposit of EUR 100 (RMB 829). If you raise more than RMB 2000, you get your deposit back.
The marathon will begin at 8am at Tiananmen Square. The full race will end at 5pm at the Olympic Stadium.
Participants in the full marathon (42km) must be 20 or older; half marathon (21km) must be at least 16; 9km must be at least 15, mini marathon (4.2km) must be at least 13.
Good luck to all participants!
Find more information on the official websites of the Beijing Marathon, Sisters’ Run, BRICKS Great Wall Appeal, or Jingde Charities.
See previous press coverage of the Sisters’ Run from the Beijinger, CNN, and China Daily.
Photo: Lumdimsum.com via WildChina
Leah Sprague is a high school senior and beijingkids’ intern for July. After living in Seattle for two years, Leah is super excited to be back in Beijing, where she lived from 2009-2012. When not at the office, Leah can be found biking or subway-ing around the city, soaking up everything before she leaves again in August.
