Donations up by a fifth on last year ahead of Virgin Money London Marathon

Runners in the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon have been particularly successful in their fundraising, according to Virgin Money Giving. Donations through the platform, which is the official fundraising partner of the event, are up by a fifth on 2018. By this time last year £24.8m had been raised, with the average amount raised per runner was £2,100. But that is on target to be beaten in Sunday's event. Last year's final total amount raised was £63.7m, a world record for an annual single-day fundraiser for a twelfth successive year.   Why do people run a marathon? London Marathon sponsor, Virgin Money, has conducted research to find out what drives people to run a marathon. It's a popular challenge of course. Over two thirds (67%) of young Britons have running a marathon on their ’bucket list’ and of those surveyed 24% of men have already run one compared to 11% of women. Of those surveyed who are running this year: • One fifth do it to raise money for a charity close to their heart • One fifth do it for a personal challenge. • 22% of men and 14% of women are inspired to run purely for the enjoyment of running • 12% of marathon runners have taken on a marathon to improve their fitness • personal goals like weight loss (9%) and mental or emotional health benefits (9%) are also big motivators. • 10% of marathon runners find motivation in honouring a lost loved one.   What puts people off running a marathon? For first-time marathon runners, the biggest concerns are: • not being fit enough (63%) • the amount of time training requires (27%) • possibility of failure to complete it (24%)   What do runners invest in? The cost of the preparation for the event also raises some concerns, and many runners commit to this in different ways. • 43% feel that healthy eating is a priority • buying a new pair of running shoes (33%) • stocking up on gels and energy drinks (27%) • buying a heart monitor such as a FitBit (16%).  

from UK Fundraising http://bit.ly/2UXWFH5