The ongoing wildfire in Australia has killed at least 27 people, destroyed more than 2,000 homes, and affected nearly 1 billion animals, according to CNN.
In the midst of its worst wildfire season, the organization “Relief Run” has been helping people to sign up for virtual solo runs that would benefit the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.
Runners who want to donate can participate in the races to raise funds and help the cause.
Australian athlete, Samantha Gash, said Relief Run would encourage runners to come together and help the cause.
Gash came up with the idea to raise funds after feeling devastated by the news of bushfires across social media.
She said on the podcast ‘Seize the Yay,’ “I came to this ‘aha moment’ where I was like, ‘Okay, well, what are my options?’ Because I can’t stay in this state of paralysis and being overwhelmed and being uncomfortable.” She eventually realized that she could donate and try something bigger to help the cause.
Relief Run invites runners to sign up for a half marathon, with a sign-up fee of $50 AUD ($34 USD) for each run. The money is then donated to the Australian Red Cross Disaster Relief and Recovery Fund.
Once you sign up with Relief Run, you can run or walk the virtual race from anywhere in the world. You can run at any time on January 18 (Saturday) and/or January 19 (Sunday).
You may even record your run through a Strava Challenge on the Strava app.
People across Australia and other countries have been organizing community runs to raise funds for a variety of issues.
Gash took to Instagram to announce that Relief Run has raised about $280,000 as of Thursday. If you want to contribute to help the cause, you can sign up through the Relief Run’s website and learn more about how to participate in the race.
