Would you pay to run in a charity race if the cause supported by the proceeds of the race was one that you do not support? Or, what if the cause was something you actually oppose? Not something generic like helping kids or fighting disease ... but a cause on which people definitely take sides, such as supporting a particular political candidate or cause, or something related to a polarizing social issue such as reproductive rights or immigration, or perhaps something supporting a religious viewpoint as to which your beliefs are completely different. Does it matter if the race in question happens to fit perfectly in your training schedule, or looks to be staged on a PR-worthy course, or simply offers a wonderfully scenic route? Would you bite your tongue and run it anyway, skip it entirely, or perhaps bandit the race as a form of protest? (P.S. I suggest that any answers gloss over the details of the specific cause or charity at issue. I think we already know that as a diverse community, we're going to all have widely divergent views on a variety of hot-button issues. I'm simply curious to read whether folks would run in "the enemy's" race, not who or what the particular enemy might be.)

Nope.

I don't think I could either, but I would be tempted. Its not always easy to find races that fit into a training cycle. This morning I was looking at race calendars for a race of a particular distance on a particular date, and lo-and-behold I was lucky enough to find a perfect event for my schedule. Then I looked at the website and saw where my money would be going. Uggh.

Then I looked at the website and saw where my money would be going. Uggh.

Which is one of many reasons I would never join Curves. For me, participating in any sort of event or business that supports something that I oppose gives the impression that I am a supporter. And if I have x # of $s to spend, I'd rather not spend them to fund something I don't agree with.

... but a cause on which people definitely take sides, such as supporting a particular political candidate

No .....................

No ... there will always be another race out there somewhere. Neil

Nope. In fact, there have been occasional local races that are in support of something that I do not, and I have not participated. But. Would you bandit such a race?

If it was a race I really wanted to do I would probably still run the race, much like there are many worhty cause races that I don't run in. I don't run races b/c they support a charity or a cause I run them b/c they are a measured distance with competition and police gaurding the roads - that is what I'm paying my $ for. I couldn't tell you what cause the last 5K I ran in was supporting nor do I care. I think it is great that some good causes can be helped by me running in a road race, but if someone puts on a race just to make $ that would be fine with me too. The person (or persons) putting on a race just make $ probably have some different political beliefs than me so by supporting that race am I supporting their beliefs? Maybe, maybe not, but I'm definately supporting the cause of having quality road races available to me, which is a cause I support

Which is one of many reasons I would never join Curves.

NO. WHY CURVES? I HAVE A NICE WATER BOTTLE HOLDER WITH A CELLPONE POCKET FROM CURVES. DW NO LONGER GOES THERE. I GUESS I AM A RUNNING ADVERTISMENT?