So I didn’t get in.

And at first I was super bummed and quite honestly, sour grapes about the whole situation. It seemed that everyone I knew had gotten in–even my husband!! (This will be his first marathon 🙂 )

And then I started thinking.

Well, I could go and cheer my husband on for his first (knowing that I’d be back someday because I have to run Chicago) or he could decline and both of us try again next year….OR I could run for charity! Something I’ve been wanting to and planning on doing someday soon anyway 😀

After talking about it with my husband, we decided yes, this was the race and year for me to run for a charity. I knew I wanted to run for something important to me and there’s nothing more important to me than my kids. That was the focus point in choosing a charity–how can I help children. So I started looking at the list and it wasn’t long before I came across….

The Ronald McDonald House Charity

How perfect is that??

If you’ve been a reader for a while, then you know that I have a thing, an unhealthy thing, I know, for McDonald’s. Me and Ron are seriously BFFs.

Helly + Ron = ❤

On a more serious note, I’ve mentioned before how I’ve been dedicating my miles for quite some time to a little boy who has an immune deficiency as part of the I Run 4 Program. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of charities specific to what he lives with. His parents often use a Ronald McDonald House when taking him or his brothers for doctor visits (in fact, they’re at one right now) and that’s a huge reason I chose this charity. It not only helps children, but parents as well. And sometimes we forget that they need help too

But I’m not going to lie–there are a few things that worry me.

Well, one thing.

I won’t make the fundraising amount.

And even though that is something that scares me, there are other things that make running for charity so appealing to me.

1.) It adds to the challenge. I mean, training for and then running 26.2 miles is already a difficult task and adding having to fundraise money ups the stress level for sure. But I’m up for the challenge. I feel like with each donation, I’ll be adding to my race’s purpose. I’ll be running for my charity but I’ll also be running for each person who contributed to my journey to get to Chicago. It’ll be fun. I can do hard things, right? 🙂

2.) It’ll be more than me. I think for me, running brings me a lot of self satisfaction. Like, I totally do it to make myself feel better, be healthier, be happy-all for me, me, me. Running for charity will mean that the race isn’t all about me, me, me but for others. For the kids who will benefit from my fundraising, for the parents who will forever be grateful for my help, for the people who donated–it will definitely be about them, not Helly.

3.) Motivation. I’ve talked about how bummed I was not being able to run Phoenix Marathon. I felt like I was so ready to nail that sub 4:30 I’ve been coveting for a while. I think adding running for charity to my training will motivate me to really push myself towards that goal in Chicago. I’m going to be pushing myself to raise money for my charity and not let those kids down and I will be putting that same effort in training for the big race and not let myself down.

4.) I’ll be part of a team. The kids that I’ll be running for will be my team. The people who will be fundraising with me will be my team (Hi Maxfitgirl!). All the people who contribute to my charity will be my team. I’m going to be surrounded by sooo much support. How freaking cool is that?

5.) A race day like no other. When I get to Chicago, having met my goal, I’ll already feel like a winner. Seriously. ❤

I hope everyone has a good weekend!! If you’d like to help get me to ChiTown,
click here for donation info. #helphelly begins NOW 😀

#TeamRMHC

Thanks to the DC Trifecta ladies Mar, Courtney, and Cynthia for hosting the Friday Five Link up! You guys are awesome!

–Have you every ran a race for charity?