Adam & Carol's Mad Bulls Charity Site

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• Who are you and are you mad?

• So what races did you actually run?

• How long is a marathon anyway, and why?

• Which charities were you raising money for?

• What is Hope Pastures?

• What is a "virtual supporter"?

• Can I still have a "virtual supporter" if I sponsor you by post?

• Is there a fee for using PayPal?

• Why didn't you use a site like JustGiving to run your appeal?

• How does Gift Aid work?

• What will happen to this web site now the events have finished?

• What do I do if the web site doesn't work, or I have any other questions?

Who are you and are you mad?

If you found this site by accident, then let us introduce ourselves ...we are Adam & Carol Bull (hence "Mad Bulls"), and before Christmas 2006 neither of us had run more than about 10km in one go. For no special reason we thought that running a marathon might be a good thing to do at least once in a lifetime, and since we're both big Disney fans (we were married in Walt Disney World Florida in 2000) we thought the Disney Marathon should be the one.

...But then we saw the "Goofy Race and a Half Challenge", which involved running a half marathon one day and a full marathon the next, so we thought that would be an even more interesting challenge! Finally, we thought that since we were going all the way to Florida we might as well try the 5K Family Fun Run as well!

We probably are mad, but what the heck ...at least we raised some money for charity before they carted us off to the funny farm.

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So what races did you actually run?

We took part in the following 3 Walt Disney World races, which were held on consecutive days in January 2008:

• 5K Fun Run (3.107 miles = 5.000 km)
  We finished in 38 mins 23 secs

• Donald Duck Half Marathon (13.110 miles = 21.099 km)
  We finished in 2 hours 55 mins 44 secs

• Mickey Mouse Marathon (26.220 miles = 42.195 km)
  We finished in 6 hours 25 mins 51 secs

In all, that's a total of over 42 miles!

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How long is a marathon anyway, and why?

The name "marathon" comes from the legend of a Greek soldier called Pheidippides who was sent from the town of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians had been miraculously defeated in the Battle of Marathon. It is said that he ran the entire distance without stopping, but moments after proclaiming his message to the city he collapsed dead from exhaustion.

There are two roads out of the battlefield of Marathon towards Athens, one more mountainous towards the north whose distance is about 21.4 miles, and another flatter but longer towards the south with a distance of 25.4 miles. It has been successfully argued that the ancient runner took the more difficult northern road because at the time of the battle there were still Persian soldiers in the south of the plain.

In modern times, the choice of distance for different so-called marathon races was somewhat arbitrary. The first modern Olympics in 1896 had a marathon distance of 24.85 miles (40 km). Before the 1908 Olympics, the official marathon distance was exactly 26 miles.

However, since 1908 the well known 26 mile marathon has actually been 26 miles, 385 yards (26.220 miles). This is because, for the 1908 Olympics in London, it was decided that the royal family needed a better view of the finish line. The race started at Windsor Castle and organisers added an extra 385 yards to the race so the finish line would be in front of the royal box.

From that point, the marathon distance became 26 miles, 385 yards (42.195 km). The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) adopted the distance as the "official" marathon distance in 1921.

Sources: Roger Darlington and Wikipedia.

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Which charities were you raising money for?

All the money raised was split between 2 charities. One charity was Hope Pastures (our chosen charity) and the other was determined by votes from people who sponsored us.

Everyone who sponsored us voted for one of the following 8 charities, and the charity with the most votes won! This turned out to be The Alzheimer's Society (see the Welcome page for exact vote count). If there had been a tie, the charity whose voters donated the greatest total amount of money would have won.

• Alzheimer's Society
  "The Alzheimer's Society works to improve the quality of life of people affected by dementia in England, Wales and Northern Ireland."
  See www.alzheimers.org.uk for more details.

  
  

• British Heart Foundation
  "Our vision is of a world in which people do not die prematurely of heart disease. We'll achieve this through pioneering research, vital prevention activity and ensuring quality care and support for everyone living with heart disease."
  See www.bhf.org.uk for more details.

  
  

• Dogs for the Disabled
  "Dogs for the Disabled is a pioneering charity that trains specially selected dogs to carry out a range of practical tasks to assist disabled children and adults in order to achieve greater independence - we are the only assistance dog charity to train dogs specially for disabled children."
  See www.dogsforthedisabled.org for more details.

  
  

• Macmillan Cancer Support
  "Macmillan Cancer Support improves the lives of people affected by cancer. We provide practical, medical, emotional and financial support and campaign for better cancer care. Cancer affects us all. We can all help."
  See www.macmillan.org.uk for more details.

  
  

• Oxfam
  "Oxfam is a development, relief, and campaigning organisation that works with others to overcome poverty and suffering around the world."
  See www.oxfam.co.uk for more details.

  
  

• Shelter
  "We help 170,000 people a year fight for their rights, get back on their feet, and find and keep a home. Every day, we provide practical help to families and individuals facing homelessness or a housing problem."
  See www.shelter.org.uk for more details.

  
  

• Variety Club Children's Charity
  "For more than 50 years Variety Club Children's Charity has been helping sick, disabled and disadvantaged children. We provide Sunshine Coaches, electric wheelchairs, outings to exciting places, equip children's hospitals and help in many other ways."
  See www.varietyclub.org.uk for more details.

  
  

• Yorkshire Air Ambulance
  "The Yorkshire Air Ambulance relies solely on the generosity of individuals and sponsors to help save lives across the region. It needs to raise £6900 per day to keep its two helicopters and highly trained paramedics in the air. Each year we attend over 1,000 incidents requiring emergency air assistance."
  See www.yorkshireairambulance.org.uk for more details.

  
  

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What is Hope Pastures?

Hope Pastures (the Phyllis Harvey Horse & Donkey Trust) aims to rescue horses, ponies and donkeys that are being abused. As well as rescuing and caring for these animals, Hope Pastures hopes to provide an environment where young people can learn directly about caring for horses in a natural setting - this interaction helps educate young people about animal welfare and social responsibility.

Hope Pastures is just a few miles from where we live, and is our favourite local charity. We already annually "adopt" two of their residents ("Muffin" and "Mr Pickwick"), but we'd like to help more ...which is why they are our chosen charity for this event.

For more information, see the www.hopepastures.org web site.

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What is a "virtual supporter"?

Everyone who sponsored us chose a Disney character to be their representative (or "virtual supporter") on the home page of this web site.

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Can I still have a "virtual supporter" if I sponsor you by post?

We have now finished collecting money for this event, but people who sponsored us by post did still pick a Disney character, choose a charity, and leave a message just like those who sponsored us online.

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Is there a fee for using PayPal?

You do not get charged a fee for paying with PayPal i.e. if you decide to sponsor us £10, then that is the exact amount which will be collected from your credit/debit card by PayPal.

However, PayPal will deduct a fee of 3.4% + 20p from any money you pay us if you're in the UK, or 3.9% + 20p if you're outside the UK. The charge can't be avoided, and is just a standard credit card transaction fee. This means that if you sponsor us £10 and you're in the UK, the amount we will actually receive is £10 - 3.4% (34p) - 20p = £9.45.

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Why didn't you use a site like JustGiving to run your appeal?

Web sites such as JustGiving allow people to set up their own online fundraising pages very easily and with no knowledge of web site design. However, the transaction fees are almost twice those imposed by PayPal (so not quite as much money goes to the charity), and the site structures are fixed (so we couldn't have our road of "virtual supporters").

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How does Gift Aid work?

The UK Government operates a scheme called Gift Aid that allows registered charities to claim approximately 28% tax back on donations when the donor has completed an appropriate Gift Aid declaration form. Since Carol and I were the people who actually passed on the money raised, we completed the necessary declarations to allow the charities to claim back the tax.

For every £100 we raised, the charities actually ended up with £128.21*.

*Gift Aid could not be claimed for the £500 generously donated by Norwich Union, since they provided a cheque payable directly to the charity.

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What will happen to this web site now the events have finished?

This web site will remain in place as long as possible to show the final results, as well as showing some photos of us to prove our achievements!

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What do I do if the web site doesn't work, or I have any other questions?

If you have any problems with the web site, or need to get in touch with us for any other reason, please contact us at:

• Adam & Carol Bull
  1 Allerton Grange Gardens
  Moortown
  Leeds
  West Yorkshire
  LS17 6LL
  UK

  
  

• Tel: (0113) 293 9997

• E-mail: sponsor@madbulls.co.uk