Coast woman running ultra marathons to help a local charity

OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. (WLOX) - It’s 2023, and many have personal or group goals, whether it’s fitness, business, or something else. Amanda Ray with the Bacot-McCarty Foundation is going to run 200 miles this year for charity.

“I had some big goals to run in some ultra marathons. We decided why not turn this into a fundraiser and raise money for scholarships in our local community? We started a GoFundMe,” Ray said. “I had a race last weekend in Meridian called the Great Scorpion 50k. I won first place female. It took 5 hours and 48 minutes. The next race coming up is a 50 miler in Louisiana and a 100 mile race in Laurel. With this, we’re asking donors to match a dollar for every mile I run.”

So you’re thinking, why is she doing this? Ray says the motivation is to finish, and to raise money.

“You really can experience a lifetime of emotions when you’re out there for 24 hours and you’re running at night in woods by yourself with no one around you,” she added. “Something like this will keep me motivated and keep me pushing through to ultimately finish the race and end up giving those funds back to the community.”

An ultra marathon is any marathon race longer than 26.2 miles. The ultimate fundraising goal for Amanda is $5,000. You can learn more about her mission and donate on her GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ultra-running-for-a-cause

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