The GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon has announced its charity fundraising totals from the 2012 event. The combined total from the Times Colonist Charity Pledge Program, donations from the Victoria Marathon Society and participant donations totalled $325,500. The 2012 event was held on Sunday, October 7th.

The Marathon has four Official Charities: KidSport Victoria, Postmedia Raise-a-Reader, GoodLife Kids Foundation and the Kilee Patchell-Evans Autism Research Group.

Twenty charities also participated in the 2012 Times Colonist Charity Pledge Program (CPP) – the seventh year that this program has been adopted by the Marathon. “The CPP raised over $195,000 this year bringing the total monies raised by the Program since 2006 to just under $1 million,” says Cathy Noel, General Manager of the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon. “The charities worked hard over 2012 to raise awareness and dollars. The number of participants that run or walk and raise money for a cause is under seven percent so there is definitely room to improve in 2013. Thank you to all the supporters of the CPP this year!”

The CPP charities raise awareness and funds by encouraging individuals to run or walk for their individual cause, and by collecting pledges. The 20 charities are the BC Cancer Foundation, BC Schizophrenia Society - Victoria Branch, Canadian Diabetes Association, Canadian Mental Health Association – Victoria Branch, CFAX Santas Anonymous, CHOICES Adoption and Counselling, HepCBC Hepatitis C Education & Prevention Society, KidSport Greater Victoria, Lifetime Networks Victoria, Mount St. Mary Foundation, MS Society of Canada, NEED 2 Suicide Prevention and Support, Pacific Centre Family Services Association, Recreation Integration Victoria, The Arthritis Society, The OCTA Collective Society, Threshold Housing Society, USC Canada (Run for Biodiversity), Victoria Brain Injury Society and Victoria Women’s Transition House Society.

The top four fundraisers in the Times Colonist Charity Pledge Program were: Sister Lucy Dumont for Mount St. Mary Foundation - $9,063, Katherine Hart for the BC Cancer Foundation - $5,050, Evan Fagan for Mount St. Mary Foundation - $3,845, and Mei-Sheng Shanks, BC Cancer Foundation - $3,775.

The 34th Annual GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon takes place Sunday, October 13th, 2013; in addition to the Marathon there is a Half Marathon, 8K Road Race and Thrifty Foods Kids Run & Marathon.

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