When thousands of people crossed the finish line at Monaco’s No Finish Line® last November, they were not really finishing anything.
In truth, they were only beginning.
On Monday, Children & Future completed the final chapter of the 26th edition of Monaco’s famous charity race by handing over €375,245 to 37 humanitarian projects supporting sick and disadvantaged children across five regions of the world. It was a reminder that while the kilometres may stop accumulating in November, the real journey starts only once the funds begin changing lives.
The figures alone are remarkable.
During the 2025 event, held between 15 and 23 November at the Chapiteau de Fontvieille, 14,440 participants walked and ran an astonishing 375,245 kilometres. Because Children & Future donates one euro for every kilometre completed, every lap immediately became practical assistance for children facing illness, disability or poverty.
Since its creation in 1999, more than 203,000 participants have covered almost 5.5 million kilometres, generating over €5.8 million for children’s projects.
Beyond Monaco, the No Finish Line movement has now expanded to 61 events worldwide, raising almost €7.9 million for children across several continents.
As for the 26th edition of Monaco’s famous charity race: Monaco itself received just over €103,000, with France receiving €137,114, Europe €23,743, Africa €98,526 and projects in the Middle East sharing €12,808.
The largest single allocation, €75,000, went to Monaco Collectif Humanitaire, enabling the organisation to continue arranging life-changing surgery for African children. In 2025 alone, 45 young patients received treatment through the programme, including six who underwent complex operations at Monaco’s Centre Cardio-Thoracique, while others were treated through partner hospitals in Mali, Madagascar, Senegal and Burkina Faso.
Closer to home, another project demonstrated that sometimes comfort can be as important as surgery.
Ten specialised “Calinanges” positioning supports were funded for the Centre Cardio-Thoracique de Monaco. Designed to recreate the reassuring sensation of being held, these ergonomic devices help comfort hospitalised children, particularly during moments when parents cannot remain at their bedside.
Elsewhere, the grants reflected the extraordinary breadth of Children & Future’s philosophy.
Families struggling through Lebanon’s continuing economic crisis will receive medicines, baby supplies, hygiene products and food through Les Amis du Liban.
Children from lower-income households in Monaco will gain access to holiday camps through the Association des Cœurs Vaillants et Âmes Vaillantes.
In France, bedside artistic workshops organised by Les Petits Princes will bring poetry, creativity and companionship to seriously ill children, while another grant will help adapt a vehicle for 13-year-old Dev, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy. Animal-assisted therapy sessions at Gustave Roussy Hospital will continue thanks to funding for the association Ani’nomade.
Across the Mediterranean, an Italian family will finally gain easier access to their first-floor home through the installation of a lift for four-year-old Adriano, also living with spinal muscular atrophy.
Perhaps one of the most moving stories comes from Morocco.
Funding for a medical caravan operating alongside the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles has already transformed the life of seven-year-old Saja, who has cerebral palsy. After receiving specialised braces, physiotherapy and speech therapy, a child who was previously unable to walk or speak has now begun taking her first steps and saying her first words. The same programme is expected to support around ten further paediatric surgeries later this year.
Education also featured prominently among this year’s projects.
A new multi-sports court is taking shape for 1,200 pupils in Ngaoundéré, Cameroon. In Madagascar, Fight Aids Monaco and its local partner SISAL continue helping children from families affected by HIV by funding school fees, meals, uniforms and transport while also working to prevent sexual exploitation. In Rwanda, renovation of a school serving 550 children has included a new roof, computers, classroom equipment and improved sporting facilities.
Taken individually, each grant tells the story of one community.
Taken together, they explain why No Finish Line has become far more than an annual sporting event.
For one week each November, thousands of people simply walk or run around a circuit in Fontvieille. Yet every lap quietly becomes surgery, education, therapy, mobility, nutrition or hope for children who may never know the names of the people who helped them.
That remains the quiet brilliance of Monaco’s biggest charity race.
The participants cross the finish line.
The generosity never does.
The 27th edition of No Finish Line Monaco is scheduled to return to the Chapiteau de Fontvieille from 14 to 22 November 2026, inviting thousands more participants to turn every kilometre into another opportunity to change a child’s future.
