We here at iRunFar have long resisted covering worthy causes and never expected we would. However, it has come to our attention that the U.S. National 100k team will not receive sufficient funds from USATF to fund the 100k team’s involvement in this November’s World Cup to be held in Italy. To help offset the $3,000-$5,000 cost per team member, the team has set up a fund. To encourage support for those runners who’ve earned a spot to represent Americans abroad, iRunFar will donate $6.20 to the 100k team for each of the first 10 people who leave a comment pledging they, too, will donate at least $6.20 to the team. (Team members and officials do not count! ;-) ) Keep reading to learn more about how you can donate to the U.S. 100k National Team.
iRunFar US 100k National Team Pledge-O-Meter
# of Pledges: 4 (one via phone)
Reader Pledges: $110.00+
iRunFar Match: $24.80
Total Raised: $134.80
(results as of 5/9 5:30 p.m. EDT)
We have word the the 100k team will be developing a website with an on-line payment option. For the time being, Tim Yanacheck, the RD of the Mad City 100k (a US 100k team qualifier), has set up a non-profit to collection donations for the team. Tax deductible donations can be sent to:
Fund for National Ultrarunning Teams, Inc.
P.O. Box 1807Madison, WI 53701-1807
Check out U.S. 100k team member Mike Wardian’s post over at Running Times for more information regarding the U.S. National 100k team’s situation.
Note that at least for the period from 1996 through 2005 Ultrarunners Supporting Ultrarunners (USU) raised funds for the US 100k team, so neither this problem nor the proposed solution are new. Some information regarding the USU efforts is available over at run100s.com. It appears that between 1997 and 2002 USU raised anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 per year for the US 100k team. Can anyone who was associated with the now defunct USU (it is defunct, right?) or who raced on the team in 2005 share how successful the USU fundraising effort was in its final fundraising efforts?
Just in case you didn’t know, the US 100k team placed very well at last year’s IAU 100k World Cup in the Netherlands. The US men’s team was 3rd and the women were 4th. The top American man, Howard Nippert,* was 8th overall, while Kami Semick lead the American women with a 9th place finish. (individual results)
We have also received word that the Teva U.S. Mountain Running Team is looking for financial support for it’s trip to the World Mountain Running Trophy to be held in Switzerland this year. Despite the fact the U.S. Mountain Running Team has a name sponsor (Teva) and many other sponsors, the team still falls short of fully covering US team members’ expenses associated with participating in the world championship. You can make tax deductible donations to the USMRT online at their website. Companies interested in sponsoring the US Mountain Running Team should go here for USMRT team manager, Nancy Hobbs’, contact information.
Anyone gonna chip in to help the US 100k National Team or US Mountain Running Team? Thought about US national teams needing to fundraise to cover the cost of competing in world championships? Frustrated? Put off? Thinking tu te demerde?
* The photo above and to the right is of perennial US 100k team member Howard Nippert at the 2007 World Cup race. Photo from Howardnippert.com.
