When it comes to raising money for animals, PETA loves to be creative. And that’s when our PETA Pack program often comes into play. The PETA Pack is a group of runners who participate in various races—from full marathons to 5Ks—in the name of animal liberation.

This year, six of our runners will take on the United Airlines NYC Half marathon on March 17. This 13.1-mile race will begin in Brooklyn, make its way over the historic Manhattan Bridge and up FDR Drive, wind through Times Square (one of only two times it’s closed each year), and finish in Central Park.

Each of our vegan runners will raise funds for PETA causes close to their hearts. We’ll introduce you to one of our runners each week during the lead-up to the big race.

Meet Maria Reviello! She’ll be running 13.3 miles through New York City in support of PETA’s life-changing spay/neuter program. There’s no doubt that the simple act of spaying or neutering even one companion animal can make a big difference, and the facts prove it: Just one unaltered female dog and her offspring can potentially result in a whopping 67,000 puppies in just six years, and a single unfixed female cat and her offspring can result in 370,000 kittens in just seven years. These astounding numbers tell only part of the story. Although every animal deserves a loving home, there will never be enough families willing or able to adopt them—leading them to be surrendered to overburdened shelters or abandoned to suffer on the dangerous streets.

PETA’s free and low-cost spay/neuter programs are tackling the homeless companion animal crisis in a truly massive way. Our teams have sterilized 225,000 companion animals since this vital program first began, including more than 11,000 cats and dogs during the last year alone.

Maria is the ultimate cat guardian, sharing her home with Wendy and Sherman, two cats rescued by PETA. Spending time with her beloved companions inspired her to devote her run to helping prevent the animal overpopulation crisis, focusing on the suffering in New York City and its stressed shelter system.

Want to help even more? Create your own PETA Pack fundraiser today!