Donated to the Cause is a personal essay published in January 2012 in the "Front Porch" column of the Independent Weekly. It covers my continual bewilderment at the rise of running competitions and contemplates how similar events are all now fundraisers and whether that takes a little of the fun out of them.

A teaser:

On Facebook, I complete the circle of life every day by reading the status updates of friends and acquaintances. Births, weddings, deaths, more births: They're all there on display. Lately, it seems, there's a new element of living that I'd previously neglected. I'm talking about races, the running kind—anything that ends in "-athlon," "-K" or red-faced racers clutching their stomachs as they breathlessly pass a finish line.

Ostensibly, it's both the method of choice to raise money for every known charity and the trendiest way to announce a transition from out-of-shape blob to exercise hound. Watching from the sidelines, it's a little bewildering . . .

For the rest of this "Front Porch" essay, head over to the web version.