Raising Funds for a RacingThePlanet or 4 Deserts Ultramarathon

Participating and competing in a RacingThePlanet / 4 Deserts Ultramarathon is life-changing.  It is an amazing experience that will stay with you forever – the friendships you form, the people you meet and the experience of pushing your limits outside of your comfort zone, all which can be applied to every aspect of your life.  It also makes you realize what is important in life, remembering that family, loved ones, and experiences make up a life worth living, not necessarily the tangible items in life.

That being said, it is a big commitment to financially support yourself for the registration, equipment and flights.  The overall cost will vary for each person, however you can expect to pay about US$5000 for a race – this includes the registration, equipment, and travel to the beautiful, remote locations.  If this figure does not seem attainable for you, there are several ways you might be able to gain financial support.

1) SAVING PLAN – Work out how much you can save a month.  Based on that work out when you will have saved enough for a race.  Then start saving.

2) FRIENDS & FAMILY – Many competitors have received financial support from their friends and family.  If your loved ones know this is something important to you, they may try and help you as much as possible.

• Plan a get together and let people know what you are doing, show photos from past races and explain how much it means to you.

3) SPONSORSHIP from your employer – Some competitors in the past have been sponsored by their company.  Explore different areas within your company, such as Wellness Programs, Team Building, CSR / Supporting a Charity and of course ways in which you might be able to promote your company during your training and the race.

• Wellness Arm - Many large companies have a separate wellness ‘arm’, where they will encourage employees to be healthy and balanced. Your company may be able to provide some or all financial support for you to participate if they understand how this will benefit them in the long run.  For example, you may become a more focused employee because of this experience; you may motivate others or you may be part of something your company is trying to promote such as work-life-balance.  If you require any supporting material, we are able to provide items such as:
  • "Live" photos sent to your company during the race
  • A “Feature” on you, highlighting your company, which you can send to media contacts

• Corporate Social Responsibility – Working with your company’s designated charity, raising funds and awareness is another way to encourage your company to support you.
• Team Building – Approach your company about doing a 4 Desert Race as a Team Building activity for a specific group of individuals.
• Client Engagement – you can potentially come up with a way that this can be linked to your clients.  Do talks afterwards about the charity supported, other CSR, work-life-balance or some other way to link the experience to your business.  Doing talks to your clients or getting them involved in your training or charity fundraising has proven to be beneficial.   It is also sometimes nice to have something else to talk about other than work.

4) CROWDFUNDING – There are many different online platforms where you can reach out to large groups of people to contribute to your cause of being able to participate in a race.  This requires research, time and a good plan.  Much information is available as this has become a popular way to raise funds for various activities.

5) SPONSORSHIP – The traditional way of representing different companies through sponsorship.  There are many different ways this can be done.  If this is your first time, it is best to focus on only 1 or 2 companies with whom you have connections.

TIP 1: 

Don’t just look for sports gear or nutrition companies – this is a good way to get free gear, but if you are after more than that then you need to think outside the box.

TIP 2: 

Before approaching a company consider what companies might benefit from sponsoring you and what they may want to get out of it. Primarily you are looking for a unique selling point about yourself doing the race that will benefit that company.  

6) CHARITY – Many competitors choose to support a charity during their race. We have several expert articles available on how to promote and raise money for a charity.  Raising money for a charity not only helps to promote an organization which relies on support, but also serves as a great motivator for you as you  make your way through your training and the race itself. 

It is very important to note that while there be opportunities for charities to support your race, this should not be the prime motivator for you to raise money for a charity.  It is also very important to make it clear to the charity before starting, how much of what you raise is going towards your charity and how much is going towards your personal funding.

If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].  We look forward to seeing you at a race soon.