Are Charities Romanticizing Marathons?

You've probably been approached by multiple friends soliciting donations as they train for marathons in support of their beloved charities. You respectfully send what you can afford, secretly wishing you had the courage to try running, walking, cramping past that Wall to finish 26.2 miles. Raising funds for charity has taken marathon racing by storm, but is this trend better at setting the physical stage for lifelong running or churning out one-time charity marathoners at greater risk for injury?

That's one question being raised over at the Chicago Tribune. One notable Chicago running expert thinks first-time runners should try shorter races before a marathon. Poor charity training and preparing too intensely too soon begs injuries and a marathon one-off experience, instead of mentoring novices toward lifetime participation. He's witnessed charities paying more attention to fundraising than properly training runners.

What are charity marathoners saying? I just posed this question to a friend who finished two charity marathons with Team in Training (TNT). In his experience, TNT was invested in proper training, walking, running or run/walking. He acknowledged it's possible charities could abuse their fundraising fleet, but his experience has shown otherwise.

Over 100 comments to the article were mixed. Some elite marathoners criticize that slow-paced charity runners have no business attempting a marathon -- it's a race, not a fun run. Many philanthropic finishers bristle at that claim, retorting they train right, deserve their bib number and have fallen in love with the sport. After sifting through the comments, marathon snobs should unlace their running shoes in shame. If the charity training program is responsible, you line up right and the race has no time limit, who cares if you run, jog, walk/jog or walk/crawl to the finish by dusk? You've got more guts than me, and have raised major cash for an important cause. Oh, and it's OK to take a double-digit score on a Par 3 teeing off with an orange ball, too.

Your charity marathoner thoughts?