Run to help others (2)

Last week the organisers of the BMW Malta Marathon announced that the Razzett tal-Hbiberija will be the official charity for next February's race. I mentioned that big city marathons, like London and New York, have become famous over the years, not only for the amount of runners taking part, but due to the huge sums they generate for charity.

Think about it. If there were 29,000 runners in last April's London Marathon, how many were actually competing?

Maybe five males thought they stood a chance of winning. Another 500-1,000 may have been aiming to break a specific target time.

The rest... well, the remaining 28,000 participants were taking part for 28,000 different reasons. Some were using the event in a much more personal way.

A great many were running for charity. Every year London Marathon runners generate hundreds of thousands of pounds of much-needed sponsorship.

But these people are not dyed-in-the-wool athletes. They are not the men and women at the front of the race. Most are just like you and me, ordinary middle-aged people who may have been motivated by the loss of a friend, or family member, and wish to generate some money for a host of reasons.

Locally, a man called Alan Curry from St Aloysius Sport Centre, did just this. After his wife's urgent treatment, he formed the annual Lifecycle with a group of friends.

Each year a number of Maltese cycle across Europe, and each year funds are funneled back to St Luke's for additional dialysis equipment and supplies. Few of us can envisage cycling across Europe.

Yet most healthy people under the age of 40 should be capable of training up to complete a half marathon.

Last week's schedule showed how to get from a current 30 minutes of walking/jogging to being able to make your way from Mdina-Sliema by next February. There is no need to push very hard.

The finish line will remain open for three whole hours, maybe even a bit more. That's a long time. But do you have the courage to start?

I know, it's easy to reach into your pocket and give a small donation to a good charity. But there's a limit to how much you can personally give.

However, if you could find the will to begin, to commit yourself, I am sure many friends and relatives would gladly sponsor your effort.

One group of four runners in last year's BMW Half Marathon raised over Lm7,000 for local charities.

None of them are "runners".

I doubt if they take part in many other road races, and I fully expect they will be on the startline again next year.

Those "serious" runners who are taking part next February should make it a point to recruit at least one other person. A brother, a wife, a friend, even one who is a complete non-runner. And then help that person raise some sponsorship and begin jogging.

You see, the kind of people I am trying to reach out to, have probably never run in their lives. Much like those 28,000 in London. They may be active, but don't see themselves as runners.

So I don't want you to think of the preparation as "training" with all the negative connotations that implies. Don't even consider the BMW Half Marathon as a "race".

You have other, perhaps more important, reasons for being there. Please take a moment and think about this right now.

Could you do it? Could you take part next February in the company of one or two friends? Maybe get a small group together and just walk and jog the whole way.

The roads will be closed for traffic most of the way, so there's no worry about security.

If we, who are fit and healthy, cannot do something to help others, who can? With the wholehearted support of the organisers, see how you can participate in the BMW Half Marathon... for charity's sake.