If you are a runner or even a walker, you have seen various advertisements for different 5K or 10K races in your area over many weekends. However, what many people don’t know is that most of these races are organized to raise money for a particular charity. This will outline what you need to do to start your own 5K for charity, from getting sponsors, working with the city and the police, to goodie bags with a t-shirt and silicone wristbands or a silicone bracelet inside.

The first step in starting a career is choosing a good location that attracts a lot of local people. People like to support local charities in their town and they like it even more if it’s a fun event too. Finding a clever and funny name is often all it takes to attract people, believe it or not. A great example is the Flying Pig Marathon in Cincinnati. People love the fun name and all the flying pig memorabilia and logos attached to it often signing up for that reason alone.

Once you have a location and a name for your race, you need to pick a good date that isn’t competing with any other events on the same day. Some people choose a certain holiday to center their run, like the Jingle Bell Run in December or the Shamrock Shuffle on St. Patrick’s Day. If the race is done well, people will sign up regardless of the time of year or the weather. Once the date is secured, you will need to obtain a permit to hold the race from the city, as well as enlist the help of the police to make sure it is safe for runners and walkers.

Now is the time to get sponsors and donations for the event. Major sponsors will be included in all race announcements and displayed on the race jersey for all to see. Local businesses often want this ad in addition to helping their community, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to get multiple sponsors. If a company doesn’t want to be a big sponsor, they can donate items to the runners’ goodie bag which can include coupons or products from your company or other small items like pads of paper or drink sleeves with your company name on them. If the goodie bag is exceptionally good, many runners will want to enter your race over others.

Good publicity for the event is the last step, aside from securing plenty of volunteers. Advertise with brochures, posters, on the Internet and also on local radio or television stations. The more volunteers you have, the better the race experience for the participants. Even kids can help hand out water at the water stations and hand out medals to finishers. having prizes for the top finishers is also a nice touch for the more competitive racers.