Major events

From the Virgin London Marathon to the Great North Swim, or the Big Fun Run in Cardiff there's a charity challenge to suit everyone.

There is a fantastic selection of major events across the UK and abroad - giving people of all abilities the chance to take part either as a personal challenge or as part of a charity team. Most major events have two kinds of participants taking part:

• Guaranteed place participants - people with a place from a charity
• Own-place participants - people with their own place in the event

As the demand for these major events is so huge, charities can allocate places they have been 'guaranteed' by the event organiser to individuals - in return, the individual raises an agreed amount of sponsorship for the charity. This way the individual gets a place in the event and the charity raises much-needed funds.

Individuals who secure their own place in the event (eg. through a ballot) can also get involved in a charity team, usually without having to raise a minimum amount of sponsorship as everything they do raises funds for the charity.