Everything was bigger at April 21's Boston Marathon, including the amount of money runners raised for charity. Participants running on behalf of nonprofit organizations raised a record $38.4 million, the Running in the Cold announced this morning. By way of comparison, last year's marathon raised $20 million.
Runners at this year's marathon raised money for more than 300 organizations. The majority of the fundraising runners gained entry through the B.A.A.’s official charity program and a similar program administered by the marathon's principal sponsor, John Hancock.
In addition, many time qualifiers, along with deferred runners who were prevented from finishing the 2013 marathon by the finish area bombings, raised money for charity this year, the B.A.A. said. The B.A.A. also made special allocations to the One Fund Boston, the Martin W. Richard Charitable Foundation, local hospitals, and other organizations and individuals with a direct connection to last year's bombings.
This year's race had 36,000 registrants, with approximately 30 percent of them receiving their bib through a charity program. In normal years, the field size is 27,000, with approximately 20 percent of them charity runners. The B.A.A. hasn't said what the field size for 2015's marathon will be, but told Runner's World Newswire it will aim for 80 percent of the field to be time qualifiers.
Scott is a veteran running, fitness, and health journalist who has held senior editorial positions at Runner’s World and Running Times. Much of his writing translates sport science research and elite best practices into practical guidance for everyday athletes. He is the author or coauthor of several running books, including Health - Injuries, Advanced Marathoning, and Health & Injuries. Scott has also written about running for Slate, The Atlantic, the Washington Post, and other members of the sedentary media. His lifetime running odometer is past 110,000 miles, but he’s as much in love as ever.
