HOUSTON (September 24, 2014) – The Houston Marathon Committee announced on Wednesday that the Chevron Houston Marathon Run for a Reason charity program has surpassed the $20 million fundraising mark since its inception in 1995. The charitable program is designed for runners to fundraise for local charities. In 2014 alone, over 16,000 donations were made to the 60 official Run for a Reason charities resulting in a record $2.6 million raised on race weekend.

“Over the past five years, the Run for a Reason charity program has served as a platform for our participants to raise over $10 million, which allowed us to reach the $20 million milestone so quickly, but we hope to do even more moving forward,” stated Wade Morehead, Executive Director of the Houston Marathon Committee. “We are ahead of last year’s record-breaking pace and we are hoping to significantly increase the number of charity runners each year for the benefit of all of these wonderful philanthropies in the region.”

The largest single-day sporting event in Houston, the 2015 Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon sold-out for the 10th consecutive year. To date, the 25,000 participants have already raised over $730,000 for the races to be conducted on Sunday, January 18th. This brings the Chevron Houston Marathon Run for a Reason total to $20.3 million over the past 20 years.

To register for this year’s event as a charity runner, visit www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com to learn more about the official charities, as well as fund-raising and donation opportunities.

About the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc.
Established in 1972, the Houston Marathon Committee, Inc. (HMC), a Running USA Founding Member, annually organizes the nation’s premier winter marathon, half-marathon, and 5K. Over 250,000 participants, volunteers and spectators make Chevron Houston Marathon Race Day the largest single-day sporting event in Houston.  Race Weekend generates over $50 million in economic impact for the region annually.  In 2014, the Run For a Reason Charity Program raised a record $2.6 million and the HMC retained Gold Certification from the Council of Responsible Sport for industry-leading sustainability initiatives.  Host to 14 U.S. Half Marathon Championships since 2005 and the 1992 women’s Olympic Trials Marathon, the HMC conducted the nationally-televised 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials Marathon, which featured men and women competing on the same course simultaneously for the first time, vying for the chance to represent Team USA at the 2012 Olympic Games.

For more information, visit www.chevronhoustonmarathon.com or call 713.957.3453.