Frequently Asked Questions

The Mace Games 2021 challenges you to cover 26.2miles in 31 days to help raise funds for the Mace Foundation and its charity partners. We know that everyone has different abilities, so whether you want to run, walk, cycle, skate, swim or even spacehopper, you can take on the challenge in any way that you wish. All we ask is that whatever method you choose, you make sure it is safe and a challenge for you, as this will encourage more supporters!

Mace Games 2021 takes place over 31 days and will begin on Thursday 1 July 2021 and finish on Saturday 31 July 2021.

You choose your own location. Whether you run around your local park, swim at a local pool or skip in your back garden, the miles all add up. Be sure to use the hashtag #MaceGames2021 across social media and on Yammer to share your photos with us from your journey.

Go for it – you can cover as many miles as you like and you’ll see yourself shoot up the leader boards! We want you to challenge yourself and strive for your personal best.

The idea of the modern marathon was inspired by the legend of an ancient Greek messenger who raced from the site of Marathon to Athens, a distance of about 40 kilometres, or nearly 25miles, with the news of an important Greek victory over an invading army of Persians in 490 B.C.

For the 1908 London Olympics, the course was laid out from Windsor Castle to White City stadium, about 26 miles. However, to locate to the finish line in front of the royal family’s viewing box, an extra 385 yards were added inside the stadium. Hence the marathon tradition of yelling “God save the Queen” in the last minute.

The Games will feature 339 events in 33 different sports, spanning 50 disciplines. Alongside five new sports that will be introduced in Tokyo, there will be 15 new events within existing sports, including 3x3 basketball, freestyle BMX and Madison cycling, and new mixed events in several sports. Click here for a list of all the sports.

We are asking everyone to raise a minimum of £30 for the Mace Foundation. There will be prizes to be won for the top fundraisers, so get your friends and family to dig deep. Find out how you compare to others on the leader boards.

JustGiving is an online fundraising platform - which you can use to collect your sponsorship. Your fundraising page will be set up automatically when you register to take part in the Mace Games 2021.

If you have already registered, you can access your page by entering the log in details you supplied when you signed up. You can share your page with friends and family to let them know you’re taking on the challenge and to encourage them to donate.

Yes, absolutely! It's really easy - you will need to register yourself first. At the end of registration, your JustGiving page will be automatically created. You'll be presented with the option to either join or create a team at the end of registration, or you can do this later from your fundraising page.

Alternatively, if you want to share your fundraising page, then make sure you set it up to represent both you and your team member/s, adding their names and updating the story to reflect the page is a team page.

Gift Aid adds 25p to every £1 donated, at no extra cost to the donor. It’s a Government scheme that enables charities to claim this ‘extra money’ from tax that people have already paid.

To allow us to claim Gift Aid, the donor has to be a UK taxpayer and have paid sufficient Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax to cover the amount the Mace Foundation will reclaim in the tax year. If you are fundraising offline, please make sure you send your sponsorship form to us so we can claim it.

No. If you’re based in the United Arab Emirates it is illegal to fundraise for a charity without approval from the Islamic Affairs. Unfortunately, we have not been given approval for employees based in UAE to fundraise for the Mace Foundation.

However, you can still take part in the Mace Games 2021, just log your activity and share your journey.

Please note we have approval to use this campaign page to make donations directly to Dubai Cares.

Asking people to donate directly to your fundraising page is the easiest way to pay in your sponsorship, as the money comes directly to the Mace Foundation and cuts out any admin for you.

If you’ve collected cash, then you can pay in the money yourself (using a credit or debit card) to your fundraising page. Don’t forget to send us any sponsorship forms so we can claim the Gift Aid. Or you can pay the money directly into the Mace Foundation bank account. Please contact the Mace Foundation for these details.

Please do not send cash through the post.

We’ll be keeping an eye on your total to see how you’re getting on. You can also use the hashtag #MaceGames2021 to keep us up to date on your progress and activities on social media or by emailing the team direct.

JustGiving is partnered with Strava, a training app which tracks and records your distance.

Because JustGiving is partnered with Strava, you can link your fundraising page to your chosen app. Your page will then be updated every time you complete an activity. That way your donors can see how you’re getting on.

If you don’t have Strava, you can also track your miles and distance manually, by logging into your fundraising page and adding the distance on your page via the update section.

You can manually add miles to your fundraising page to let your supporters know how you’re getting on. Just log into your page and click the 'add fitness' button there to manually log your fitness.

If you have any questions about the challenge please contact the Mace Foundation team.

The dedicated JustGiving support team is available if you need help with your fundraising page, making a donation, or anything else relating to JustGiving.

Take a look at their FAQ website for all the technical advice, as well as their top tips for giving your fundraising a boost.

If you don’t find what you’re looking for please call 0845 680 9720 or email help@justgiving.com