Raising Money for a cause question

Unless you spoke with the event director prior, it would be hard to get other participants in the same race to donate.   You can join an existing non-profit with relief effort in japan as their core mission.   Then attach link to your emails to friends and family etc.   There is usually a group that has done the hard work of creating a web site where folks can donate directly on-line via credit card.   See mine below.   I think it is a great idea for a great cause and doesn't hurt to have a little extra motivation to line up on race day.  

Good luck.

Easiest way is like he said, find an existing site that is set up for fundraising for whatever cause, its a plus if they you create a "personal fundraising page". That's exactly what I've done, and to make it easier to send people to my personal fundraising page, I purchased a domain name from godaddy that is easy to remember, and have it point to my personal fundraising page. When all is said and done, you should also check with your companies HR department, as some companies will match not just your personal donation, but funds raised.