Give to Julie's Comrades Marathon 50th Birthday Present

If you know Julie, you know that she is a very outgoing, very friendly, very nice and a very positive person (she's in the center of the photo, sitting, in the teal tank top).

Julie's Instagram bio is "Coach. Coordinator. Community Enthusiast. Loves Detroit. Loves the running community."

Julie's 50th birthday is May 23, 2024.

For this big, milestone birthday, Julie's dream present is to run the Comrades Marathon in South Africa. Started in 1921, Comrades is the oldest and largest ultramarathon race in the world (it's 55 miles long). It's run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. This year's Comrades "Marathon" is June 9.

Airfare from Detroit to Durban is around $2,000. Several nights of hotels is around $1,000. The race registration fee is $235.

May 11 update: GoFundMe takes about 7% of donations in processing fees, so that is $225. And lets says meals, Ubers and side tours while in South Africa cost $500.

Will you please give a birthday gift to Julie by donating to this fundraiser for her dream, milestone-birthday gift?

Running and being active is a big part of Julie's life. Julie runs with several run groups such as Detroit's Downtown Runners and Walkers, RunDetroit, WeRun313, Running for Brews and Infinite Multisport. She has run races, trail races and ultramarathons all over Michigan such as Marquette and Woodstock. Julie got into running decades ago when her baby daughter was diagnosed with Leukemia as a way to raise money for her treatment. She has raised over $250,000 for Leukemia research since. She is the fluids coordinator for the Detroit Marathon. Her day job is teaching girls gymnastics in Oakland County. She volunteers with Detroit Ted X.

Again, Julie is a friendly, energetic and positive person. She brings people together. She's a big Detroit booster. She loves to run. Her dream present for this big birthday is to run the Comrades ultramarathon in South Africa. Will you please make a gift towards Julie's 50th birthday gift?

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