How running 100 miles raised over $20,000 for the Equal Justice Initiative

It's the end of May and a few things happened. First, George Floyd had just been killed in yet another display of incessant police brutality on Black Americans. What followed was a global tsunami of protests denouncing the complacency towards and lack of accountability in combatting racial injustices. Never in my lifetime has there been such widespread outcry for long overdue change. The message was getting louder: enough is enough.

At the same time, my friend told me about the idea of Tiny Gains. It's a concept made famous by Sir David Brailsford when he took the 2002 GB Cycling team with zero track record of success to winning 7 out of 10 gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He demonstrated that tiny actions, compounded over time, amount to significant changes. 

I then decided to set a personal goal of running 100 miles in the month of June, donating $10 for every mile I ran to the EJI. I thought it would serve as a bit of motivation (I was never really a runner) and in the end it would amount to a larger donation to a brilliant non-profit on the front lines of ending racial inequality. 

I thought it was a pretty cool idea that could gain some traction, so I asked my family, friends and coworkers if they'd consider donating a small amount for every mile I ran. What would happen if I could get 50 people to commit 25 cents per-mile? What if I could get their family, friends and coworkers to do the same? Would people I don't even know join in?

Then it got better. My CEO, Peter, wanted in. He committed $20 per-mile and challenged me head to head...if I outran him in total miles, our company would match the total amount raised (for what it's worth, Peter is not only extremely competitive, but he's also a proper runner).

30 days later and a few hidden Strava runs so that my competition couldn't see my tally, I logged 136 miles. Aggregating all 53 contributors' commitments, ranging from 10 cents to $20 per-mile, we raised $10,186. I also ran 11 miles more than Peter, which meant my company would match that, bringing our total to $20,372. 

The point I'm looking to make is that seemingly insignificant contributions or actions, compounded, actually lead to significant change. This brings me back to Tiny Gains. Don't think you can't make a difference because of limited resources or because you don't think your voice carries any weight. I believe we're living through a major catalyst for much needed change, and it's largely a result of small actions that have compounded around the world.

To all who contributed, thank you.

For those who don't know, the EJI is a non-profit that provides legal representation to prisoners who have been wrongly convicted of crimes, are without effective representation and/or have been denied a fair trial in an effort to end mass incarceration, excessive punishments and racial inequality. If you're interested in learning more, visit their website here: https://eji.org/

I also want to thank my organization, Axial. Not only did Axial match the total sum raised, but 25% of contributors were made by current or former Axialites.