ONE FOR THE MONEY ENDURING MARATHONS FOR CHARITY TESTS EXTENT OF A RUNNER'S COMMITMENT.

Byline: Evan Henerson Staff Writer

Non-profit organizations are always looking for people willing to stretch their wallets. Now some are seeking volunteers willing to stretch their legs as well for a game of ``Who Wants to Pant and Sweat for Charity?'' If you're willing to run a marathon, the folks at the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Arthritis Foundation and the American Diabetes Association - to name just a few - promise to get you in shape to do it.

Sound interesting? OK, here's where the carrot-and-stick principle comes into play.

First the incentives: If you sign up, you will get the sense of accomplishment that you've completed a marathon, a feat that easily makes many people's ``to do at some point in my lifetime'' list.

While completing this marathon, you will also earn the satisfaction of knowing that you're running - or walking, as the case may be - to raise money for a worthy cause. In some cases, you're actually running in honor of a specific individual, or in that individual's memory.

And if these factors aren't enticing enough, maybe the final boost will come from knowing your marathon will take place in a particularly scenic area, like Hawaii or Ireland. Raise enough money for the cause, and the organization you're running for will take care of your plane ticket and hotel accommodations.

Then comes your responsibility: discipline and donations. You have to bring in enough money for the selected charity - anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000 - to qualify for the program. And you'll have to get yourself in marathon-completing shape. A couple of the non-profit organizations have training programs in place designed to provide you with the training and, in many cases, with fund-raising savvy.

``Most of our participants are first-time marathoners,'' says Maura Krah, director of the Arthritis Foundation's Joints in Motion. ``You would think runners would be our target audience, but it's the fund-raising component that gives it more meaning to people. Fund raising is not something that gets hard-core marathoners fired up.''

``You need a purpose and a reason to go out there and take 49,000 steps and run 26 miles,'' adds Pat Connelly, running coach for the L.A. Roadrunners and the man who developed the training program for the Arthritis Foundation's Joints in Motion program. ``One is the satisfaction of using your body, mind and constitutional strength to go the distance. And you're doing it for people who are less fortunate, many of whom can't even walk.''

William Cameron found his own incentive. Completing a marathon was on his wish list even before he became a gunshot victim more than 10 years ago. Now 56 and gearing up for the Honolulu Marathon on Dec. 10, Cameron is using the Team in Training program to complete his first marathon. He has one lung and estimates that he is 10 years older than his next oldest team member, but he still plans to finish the 26-mile trek.

``The cause is worthwhile, and I owe it to myself to get back into shape,'' says Cameron, a television producer who is raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. ``When people who have had leukemia go into remission, and they've beaten it and they go out and take on a marathon, it's a real inspiration to those of us who don't have to fight that particular life-threatening situation.''

Most programs require runners to exercise five days a week, with a long group run on Saturday mornings. During their training programs, runners gradually build the time and distance they are able to cover. Along the way, they meet with running coaches, physical therapists and nutritionists. Many will participate in half marathons or 10K runs as a warm-up exercise.

But nobody will say it's easy. With five months of training, participants will drop out of programs for reasons ranging from exercise-thwarting injuries (hello, sprained ankle!) to an inability to generate the necessary money.

San Diego-based Athletes in Action, which raises money for physically challenged athletes, tries to relax the pressure by providing periodic rewards so people who come up short can still be involved. Raise $300 and you get five T-shirts; for $1,200, the organization will pay your entry fee. But you'll need to come up with $3,200 for the entire registration/plane fare/hotel accommodations package.

Even with the challenging requirements, program directors say their ranks are growing. Both the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Arthritis Foundation have added chapters throughout California and out of state as the number of participants has grown. With 57 chapters throughout the United States, the Leukemia & Lymphoma's Team in Training program boasts 75 percent of the people who sign up for the training program make it to the race. Those who make it to the starting gate - whether they run or walk - finish the marathon 100 percent of the time, says Lisa Mattasits, campaign director for the Greater L.A. chapter of the Team in Training program.

A more recent participant in the train-and-run-for-charity business, the Arthritis Foundation's Joints in Motion program, is also thriving, increasing from three training sites in Southern California raising $400,000 for arthritis research during the first year of participation to nine sites and a projected $1.2 million this year.

``I'm proud of us,'' says Krah. ``It's the people. The more they learn about the organization, that it truly is a critical organization in the community, the more attached they become.''

Personal connection is also a key factor with Team Diabetes, the American Diabetes Association's training program now in its second year of training and sending runners to destinations around the world. At the recently concluded Kona Marathon, 1,000 of the 1,200 participants were Team Diabetes runners, said ADA spokeswoman Marcy Woodhull.

The Los Angeles Marathon brings in more than $1 million for 50 charities each year, says Marie Patrick, executive vice president, who adds that a surge in participation in the past five years is largely the result of a wave of charity runners.

``We're very supportive of these programs and the people they train,'' says Patrick. ``From the staging of a marathon perspective, you have a lot more people running at slower times because these aren't world-class runners. These are average citizens running for whatever their cause is. How can you not support them?''

Whether or not there is a link between running a marathon and philanthropy, the number of people participating in marathons is also growing. In 1980, 120,000 people completed marathons in the United States. That number increased to 250,000 in 1989 and ballooned to 435,000 in 1999, according to Ryan Lamppa, a researcher for the USA Track & Field's Road Running Information Center in Santa Barbara.

Running and charity is a natural marriage, says Lamppa. These non-profits simply found intriguing ways to bring the two together.

``As marathons started showing signs of a second boom, training programs started developing across the country,'' Lamppa said. ``Someone with Team in Training saw this growth and said, 'What if we put together a training program and went out and pitched it?' It was a good idea, and it worked really well.''

With hundreds of non-profits fighting for a limited number of donation dollars, program directors acknowledge that - worthiness of a cause notwithstanding - the various programs are competitors. Where one program will boast greater access to hands-on training, another will tout a low expense ratio. From the participant's perspective, an extra day of touring abroad may appeal to some, while others will prefer the bare-bones, more-money-for-the-cause approach.

``Leukemia and AIDS - they're all very similar to ours and they're all great causes,'' says running coach Connelly. ``With the individual attention we give, we just try to give (participants) a little more.''

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) On the Run for Funds When marathon participants hit the road for charity, everybody wins (2) During her weekly training run, Jenny Kane of Sherman Oaks grabs a gulp of water. Kane is training for an October marathon in Ireland for the Arthritis Foundation.

Lexey Swall/Special to the Daily News