“Running Bitcoin” half marathon will commemorate Hal Finney

Fran Finney, the widow of early Bitcoin contributor Hal Finney, announced a charity half marathon in honor of her husband via Twitter on Dec. 27.

The event is called “Running Bitcoin.” It aims to collect funds for research into treatment for ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Hal Finney was diagnosed with the disease in 2009 before he passed away from complications in 2014.

Fran Finney wrote on Twitter:

“We are determined to find a cure for this devastating condition and any support you can provide will make a big difference.”

Event organizers are collecting donations in Bitcoin and fiat currency through the event’s website, located at runningbitcoin.us. Contributors donating at least $100 will receive a free t-shirt commemorating the event. The top 25 contributors will receive a Hal Finney collectible autographed by Fran Finney.

The campaign has raised over $8,600, including $4,023 from Fran Finney herself. Organizers aim to raise $50,000 in total.

The half marathon will take place between Jan. 1 and Jan. 10. Participants can cover the distance in a single day or throughout the event. Hal Finney participated in distance frequently running prior to his ALS diagnosis, and the Running Bitcoin event page calls the half marathon Hal’s “favorite distance.”

The event’s name also references an early tweet in which Hal Finney wrote “running bitcoin,” meaning that he had begun to operate a Bitcoin node. He was the second person to run a Bitcoin node after Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Fran Finney took over her husband’s Twitter account earlier this month to prevent his profile from being purged under Elon Musk’s anti-spam policies. She said she would intermittently continue to tweet from her husband’s account.