Every spring, thousands of New Yorkers lace up their running shoes for a good cause. Kenneth Cole recently updated you on the AIDS Walk, a longtime tradition in New York. And a couple of weeks back, the March of Dimes Babies Walk raised funds to prevent birth defects. In March, the New York Road Runners Club sponsored its annual 15-kilometer Colon Cancer Challenge. Last Sunday, two Mother's Day races (10 miles and four miles) raised awareness on domestic violence.

And Saturday, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates hosted the fourth annual Healthy Kidney 10K, a 6.2 loop of Central Park that has become one of the country's most prestigious races. Regularly drawing runners from around the world, the Healthy Kidney offers a $7,500 prize to the first male and female finishers, as well as a $20,000 bonus for besting the Central Park record, set at last year's race by Dathan Ritzenhein with a time of 28 minutes and 8 seconds. (Ritzenhein will be one of three American runners at the Olympic marathon in Beijing this summer.)

Naturally, many of the athletes in these events are motivated by a different cause -- their own health and a spirit of competition. As a runner myself, it's the competitive drive that gets me to the starting line and through the event, even in the dead of winter or the pouring rain. But afterwards, just knowing that my efforts have helped make the world a healthier, more civilized place makes it all feel worthwhile.

Most importantly, if you can't make the AIDS Walk, you don't need to wait a year to participate in an event like it. Running clubs and other organizations sponsor smaller but equally important walks and road races year-round. Check out your area's opportunities and lace up, get ready, and go for it.

[Image: the author after Grete's Great Gallop, a half-marathon in Central Park in honor of Grete Waitz, a nine-time champion of the New York City Marathon who was diagnosed with cancer in 2005