by Will Harlan

Running has typically been viewed as an intense solitary endeavor focused on shaving seconds off one’s personal bests. But a growing number of runners today don’t fit the classic loneliness-of-the-long-distance-runner profile. Instead of racing simply to better previous times, they’re running-often in teams-to help cure cancer, heart disease, homelessness, and other ills. Last year, charity runners raised close to $600 million for various causes.

“It’s a way to make my miles feel more meaningful,” says Asheville’s Robarn Danzman, who runs on behalf of One Percent for the Planet, a network of companies that give at least one percent of their sales to environmental causes each year.

As Danzman has discovered, running can benefit more than your sagging tummy. Here are a few easy ways to give your pain some purpose:

Team Up: Team in Training athletes-all donning their trademark purple singlets-fill the starting lines of virtually every major race in the country, especially marathons and half-marathons. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training (www.teamintraining.org) is the world’s largest endurance sports training program, and for good reason: participating athletes help raise funds for leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma research and patient care. In exchange for their fundraising, Team in Training runners receive personalized training by certified coaches, training clinics, a supportive group of teammates, and lodging and airfare to more than 60 accredited events in the U.S. and around the world.

“Running for others has helped put my own health in perspective,” says Marine Corps Marathon finisher Lee Read, who has helped raise more than $50,000 through Team in Training. “Many children with blood-related cancers are fighting for their lives. Their pain doesn’t necessarily have a finish line.”

Other similar charity running groups include Team Diabetes (www.diabetes.org), the National Arthritis Foundation’s Joints in Motion Team (www.jointsinmotion.org), and the AIDS Marathon Team Program (www.aidsmarathon.org).

Run for the Money: Don’t feel like joining a team? Create your own charity running campaign through First Giving (www.firstgiving.com). First Giving enables runners to focus on a cause that is personally significant to their own lives or interests. For example, runners are logging miles for tsunami relief, education efforts in Cambodia, and the memory of loved ones. Take, for example, 13-year-old Brandon Bornn, who was diagnosed with autism. He decided last year to run his first half-marathon to benefit the Organization for Autism Research.

“I wish autism were extinct,” says Bornn, who completed the half marathon and raised over $5000. “I don’t want to have it anymore, and I don’t want anyone else to have it, either.”

Even celebrities are getting in on the charity running craze. In 2004, hip-hopster Sean “P. Diddy” Combs collected $2 million for children’s charities at the 2004 New York City Marathon.

Race for the Cure: Even shorter distances can go a long way to helping charities. The Race for the Cure 5K benefits breast cancer research and honors both survivors and those who have lost their battle with the disease. Last year, over one million men and women runners participated in Race for the Cure 5Ks across the country, including one of the country’s largest-the Race for the Cure in Washington, D.C. Of the 100 Race for the Cure 5Ks in the U.S., 20 are held in Southeastern cities: www.komen.org/race.

Local Motion: Many local races donate some or all of their proceeds to specific charities. When planning your race calendar, consider choosing events that benefit a good cause. For example, The Deckers Creek Trail Half Marathon in Morgantown, W.Va., gives all of its profits to protecting the Monongahela River and nearby trails. And every August, the Relay for Clean Air, which stretches 100-miles from the Great Smoky Mountains to Asheville along the Blue Ridge Parkway, raises money and awareness to combat air pollution in the Southeast.