2013 Greater Manchester Marathon Official Charities.

If you would like to apply for a charity place please click on the logo of your chosen charity. This will take you to their own website where you will be able to find out more information about signing up for one of their places.

Although it will be an achievement for everyone crossing the finish line of the Greater Manchester Marathon, it is immensely rewarding to finish knowing that your efforts will benefit a charity.

Do good - feel good!

Taking part in order to support a charity generally means raising funds in sponsorship, which brings its own rewards – knowing that all those who have sponsored you will be willing you on all the way around the course, and the sense of pride you experience when you tell them that you did it – and they all tell you well done! And most of all the great feeling when you give the money you raise to your chosen charity.

Be part of a team

Often you won’t be alone in running for your chosen charity, and you will find other runners taking part for them too – you can normally spot them by the matching charity T-shirts you and they are donning! Often family and friends opt to run for the same charity. All of this means you will really feel part of a special team, and will get support and motivation from your charity team mates too.

Support

Many charities are keen to offer their marathon runners support in the lead-up to the race, providing kit, training advice, and some will even invite you to pre-race motivational events.

Motivation

All of these stages help with motivating you to keep training and to complete the marathon, and can help to prolong the elation you feel for completing this amazing challenge too.

Finding a charity to run for

If you want to complete the Greater Manchester Marathon for a charity, then you can choose between two options:

• Partner charities

The Greater Manchester Marathon has a number of partner charities. Each of our partner charities has an allocated number of places for the marathon.

• Charity of your choice

If you have a particular charity you would like to raise funds for, you will need to get in contact with them directly, to find out details of how you can best.

How much money to fundraise

The amount of money you need to raise will depend on the charity you are running for – some will let you set your own targets, and others may encourage you to reach a particular target.

Being an ambassador for your chosen charity

From the moment you begin telling people that you are raising funds for your chosen charity, to when you cross the finish line, and finally, when you hand over your well-deserved sponsorship money, and perhaps even get into your local paper for your efforts, you are effectively an ambassador for the charity. So, your help in raising awareness of your charity is important too.