15 Apr 2011 No Comments
McDonald's and Marathons
“My name is Joe and I am a drive-thru runner.”
Those are the words of Joe D’Amico, who has run 14 marathons, with a personal best of 2:36:54. Beginning at the end of February, he created the McRunner Challenge:
“I will eat only McDonald’s for 30 days and attempt a sub 2:36 at the L.A. Marathon on March 20, 2011.”
The rules are simple:
1. Can eat only McDonald’s for 30 days
2. Non-McDonald’s water, PowerGel, multivitamin and ibuprofen will be allowed (c’mon, I’m a runner)
3. Run lots of miles
4. Stay married
5. Have fun
6. Donate $1 for every McRunner Facebook fan through March 20th (up to $2,500) to the Ronald McDonald House Charities and raise an additional $2,500 via https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/mcrunner/lamarathon
As of April 14, Joe has raised $40,159 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana. We asked him about why he created the McRunner Challenge, how he raised so much money, and what he thought about the experience.
1. Why are you raising money for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana?
As a father, the Ronald McDonald House Charities’ support of children and families really connected with me. Also, my wife’s godparents are volunteers at a local House, and had such wonderful things to say about the work that the organization does. These reasons along with the McDonald’s support of the Ronald McDonald House Charities made it a natural fit.
2. What did you learn from eating only at McDonald’s for 30 days before the marathon?
I learned that I really like McDonald’s cookies! But seriously, I did learn a lot from the 30-day Challenge. Probably the biggest takeaway is that life comes down to the choices that you make. For every meal at McDonald’s I had a number of different options that I could select from. I knew that in order to be at my best on marathon race day, I would need to make the right choices. In the end, I finished with a new personal best marathon time!
3. You created a blog and a Facebook Page. How have each of these communities helped you in your training, fundraising, and goal of spreading awareness about the fundraiser?
Facebook was a very important tool from the beginning. We knew this would be the easiest way to create a community and share information. It also became the vehicle that fueled a lot of the media attention. When we decided to start fundraising, we personally donated $1 for every Facebook fan up to the first 2,500 fans. This made it possible for people to help without having to reach in their wallets. In addition people helped by re-posting the link to the McRunner Facebook page, on their walls, in order to drum up additional fans. (Note: McRunner has 29,998 fans!)
We also created a McRunner blog where we could share more detailed information about the 30-day Challenge and the fundraising. I wrote daily blog posts and posted Facebook updates to drive people to the blog. In addition we were able to give out both the McRunner.com and McRunner Facebook information, so that it was easy to learn more about what we were doing.
We plan to keep both the blog and the fan page as we look for our next big challenge!
4. Has social media been effective in helping you to raise funds? Which social media channels offered the best return for donations, and why do you think that was?
We used both Twitter and Facebook to spread the word. While we had about 650 followers on Twitter and many people were retweeting our story and updates, we don’t believe we would have raised so much money (more than $40,000) without our 29,000 fans on Facebook. What helped McRunner go viral was the ability for people to share and learn about the Challenge through Facebook. That popularity helped fuel media attention which in turn drove more and more people to Facebook. So not only were people clicking to earn RMHC that $1 per like, but they were also reading about the fundraising efforts and making donations themselves! The $40K raised was made up of donations of all sizes. There were MANY donations under $10, and it goes to show that small amounts really do add up.
5. What has been the most effective means of getting donations of everything that you have tried? Why?
With friends and family, Facebook was a nice way we could share the fundraising updates without having to directly ask for donations. Ultimately the media attention helped drive a lot of donations from people all over the country. While we did not set out to make this a national story, the popularity helped us raise more money than we thought was possible.
6. What did you try in terms of fundraisng that did NOT work well for you, and why do you think that was?
We tried to continue fundraising efforts after the marathon was over and that proved to be very difficult. For most people, the event signaled the end of the Challenge and fundraising.
7. What fundraising tips do you have for other fundraisers?
Find a way to make it fun and interesting. Also make sure to personalize everything and talk to people one-on-one. Social media is great for getting to a lot of people, but it is critical to remember that every donation comes from a person. Finally, if you can demonstrate your passion to the cause by donating your time and money, it is easier to get people to give their time and money.
8. Has this experience changed the way that you think about fundraising for a cause?
Absolutely. I now believe anything is possible if you set your mind to it. This has taught me to not place limits on what can be done. Creativity and passion go a long way in fundraising.
9. Would you do this type of fundraiser again (marathon plus McRunner challenge), or another fundraiser again? Why/why not?
I won’t be doing any food challenges for a long time! We are planning to continue fundraising through other avenues, such as McRunner shirts and running store events. We would like to do another challenge in the near-future as well!
10. Why did you choose to raise money with FirstGiving?
The ability to safely and conveniently donate through FirstGiving were critical factors. While we did receive some donations through checks, a majority of the donations came via FirstGiving. This made things much simpler for us and for those donating.
11. What kind of impact do you think this experience will have on your life?
I am now pursuing new opportunities to give back and become more involved in the running community. This experience has had a very positive effect on myself and my family. We could not have asked for a better outcome.
12. What is your best training tip for the marathon?
The marathon is won in the months before the race is run. The key to a good race day is getting in the proper training in the weeks and months before the race. Make sure to focus on getting in solid miles and being ready for the distance.
13. Did you feel that eating at McDonald’s only adversely affected your training or your health in any way, even though you ran a personal best in the marathon?
I don’t feel it had any effect on my performance. I ran a personal best by 40 seconds, with a time of 2:36:14 (5:57/mile). In terms of my overall health, I felt great in all of the training and during the race. I had blood work done at day 25 of the Challenge, and it showed that my cholosterol actually went down.
To support Joe, you can donation through FirstGiving at: https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/mcrunner/lamarathon
