The St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend is the largest single-day fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, thanks to the efforts of St. Jude Heroes and those who donate to help St. Jude kids.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Unlike other hospitals, the majority of funding for St. Jude comes from generous donors. In fact, approximately 75 percent of the funds necessary to sustain and grow St. Jude comes from donors and fundraisers who are united in a common goal: Finding cures. Saving children®.
How fundraising helps
Cost to family: $0
Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing or food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
Our goal: 100% survival
Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80% since it opened more than 50 years ago.
Saving children everywhere
St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children.
Since 2002, nearly 250,000 St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend participants have raised more than $90 million for St. Jude
As a participant, you can become part of the legacy that's allowed St. Jude Heroes to help cover the cost of:
- acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment for nearly 100 patients
- bone marrow transplants for over 200 children
- 8,000 days in the ICU
- 4,000,000 meals for St. Jude patients
St. Jude patient Santiago, age 3, brain cancer, with his dad
What does being a St. Jude Hero mean to you? Tell us your fundraising story, and we may feature it to inspire other fundraisers.
All St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend participants are given the opportunity to fundraise. While fundraising is not required for general registrants, it's the best way to support the kids of St. Jude. We’ll give you everything you need — simply log in to your participant center after you register, and we’ll guide you from there.
We encourage all participants to meet their fundraising goal by race weekend, but Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum St. Jude Heroes have until January 4, 2021 to raise their committed amount.
Meet some of the kids of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
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Meet Maryelle
Maryelle was diagnosed with a rare disorder that left her family with little hope.
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Meet Jazzy
Jazzy is a playful person who loves going to the beach with her dogs. When she was diagnosed with brain cancer, her family turned to St. Jude for help.
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Meet Riku
While treatment for medulloblastoma is a difficult journey for 4-year-old Riku, his parents, Noriko and Jun, are there to give him strength and support along the way.
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Meet Alana
Alana didn't let a cancer diagnosis get in the way of her dreams for the future. Neither did St. Jude.
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Meet Alex
After it was found that Alex suffered from neuroblastoma, his family turned to St. Jude to begin treatment.
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Meet Calvin
Calvin's family turned to St. Jude for his treatment for a brain tumor because it has the world's best survival rates for some of the most aggressive childhood diseases.