New York Marathon 2011: Jennie Finch Proves Her Athletic Prowess in Race

One of the great things about the New York City Marathon is the diverse group of people that it attracts and the reasons that they want to run. A big part of the experience is seeing which celebrities run and the various charities that they support.

Jennie Finch, who is without a doubt the most famous softball player in this country and an Olympic gold medal winner, ran in the race just months after giving birth to her second child and took a different approach to raising money for charity.

According to the Washington Post, Finch started at the back of the pack and donated $1 for every runner that she passed along the way.

This turned out to be a brilliant tactic because Finch, who finished the race in 4 hours and 5 minutes, was able to raise about $30,000 for the Road Runners youth program.

There were a lot of celebrities and athletes that ran in the race, including Apolo Anton Ohno and Mark Messier, but Finch had by far the best money-making gimmick of all of them.

The fact that she was able to finish the race so soon after giving birth to a child is a feat unto itself, and makes me feel really bad about how lazy I am, but to devise such an easy way to raise money for charities was brilliant.

Finch should be an inspiration to athletes and celebrities who enter the New York City Marathon in future years. Her dedication, determination and hard work pushed her over the edge in this year’s race and she raised a ton of money for a great cause.

The next time you think about not doing something, feel like you don’t have the time or just don’t want to work for your goals, look at Finch and what she was able to accomplish in the past year.

She gave birth to a child, trained for a marathon and raised $30,000 for charity. It is a great story and one that makes me feel bad for using minor back pain as the reason for not going to work out in the last six months.