Alan Maude met running coach Adam Krajchir through a mutual friend. Maude considered himself only a recreational runner; Krajchir was the coach of a group called Team for Kids.
Maude, a Scarsdale resident, joined for two reasons.
"The attraction to the club was it's a vehicle to raise money for a worthwhile cause and you can obtain guaranteed access into the marathon," Maude said.
The majority of people who want to run in the New York City Marathon are put into a lottery. Thousands are turned away each year. Team for Kids is a national adult running club and a Manhattan-based charitable organization geared toward preventing childhood obesity by raising money for the New York Road Runners Foundation, which is the youth services division of the NYRR. The club received 1,000 guaranteed entries into this year's New York City Marathon.
"I think many people that I've talked to, who signed up for Team for Kids, the only reason they signed up is because they didn't make the lottery," said Maude, who is also a first-year member. "But once they get in, they find out it's so much more than that. There's a lot of great spirit involved."
To gain access to a guaranteed entry, members have to raise $2,500. Maude, the 45 year-old vice president of Folksamerica, a reinsurance company, donated most of the money himself. He also solicited money from friends, some of whom agreed to pay per mile.
"I'm not even thinking about not finishing," he said.
But what makes Team for Kids unique is that the program provides collegiate- and elite-style talent while still raising $2.25 million toward youth running programs for the NYRR Foundation. The program serves approximately 1,500 kids a weeks in about 110 schools, mostly in New York, Tampa, Fla., and San Francisco, according to Krajchir, the head coach and program director.
"The program directly deals with youth obesity," said Krajchir, who also lives in Scarsdale. "We are addressing an epidemic here. The strength of the cause is undeniable."
With such a large group participating, nearly 1 out of every 35 runners in the marathon Sunday will be wearing a green Team For Kids shirt. Former Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller is a member, as is Dave Edwards, the Queens representative for the Five Boroughs Challenge.
"This is a significant charity," Maude said. "I didn't realize how big it was until I got into it."
There are 3,000 charity runners in this year's marathon who hope to raise an estimated $10 million. Fred's Team, a group named for legendary former marathon director Fred LeBow, will have 1,000 runners. They hope to raise $3.5 million for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Cyclist Lance Armstrong has a target of $600,000 for his foundation.
"Running on a charity team like Team For Kids is very much like playing for a college team at a major university," said Mary Wittenberg, the CEO and president of NYRR. "You suddenly have a home in a smaller group."
That's part of what attracted Greenburgh's Annette Wills, who is turning 42 tomorrow.
"The marathon is my birthday gift to myself," she said.
When Wills first ran the NYC Marathon in 2004, she got in through the lottery. But she needed somewhere to train. A bulk e-mail caught her attention.
"When I ran it for the first time in 2004, I told (executive director Cliff Sperber) that the quality of training is just superb. You have to experience for yourself to understand. ... It's kind of like going to a good restaurant where you're so satisfied with the service that you go back again. That's how I feel with Team For Kids."
Wills, who has two children, is in her third year with Team For Kids. She's raised money by hosting jewelry parties and friends' donations, but this year the real estate investor made a donation on behalf of her company.
"When I signed up for Team for Kids, I was just an individual that wanted to give back,'' she said. "When I did that, I did not know at the time the quality of training that I would receive."
Wills' best marathon time is 4 hours, 55 minutes. She hopes to run 4:30 Sunday.
"When you're out there nothing matters," she said. "It doesn't matter where you live, how much you make, what you have. It's very encouraging to see your teammates out there. You're doing it for the kids."
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