A Bermudian who ran a US marathon in her bare feet has raised more than $6,000 to help children born with facial deformities.Vanessa (Ness) Madeiros this month ran the Twin Cities Marathon in four hours and 47 minutes with “feet unscathed”.She ran through the Minneapolis-St Paul area with 12,000 other runners, almost all of them wearing shoes.She has so far raised $6,150 of her $10,000 goal for the Face Forward Foundation.The charity that sends a medical team to developing countries each year, to do cleft palate and cleft lip surgical repairs on children who can’t afford the surgery. The team most recently went to Nicaragua. Cleft palates and cleft lips are facial deformities that occur during gestation, and can be treated with surgery often soon after birth.Ms Madeiros, 33, is a student at the University of Minnesota, studying sports psychology.She was inspired to raise the money by one of her five-year-old swimming students in Bermuda, Peter Strachan, who was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. Peter’s family could afford the surgery, but unfortunately many parents in developing countries cannot.Peter and his family travelled from Bermuda to Minnesota to cheer Ms Madeiros on during the marathon. He was joined by some of Ms Madeiros’ friends and family. She had a big hug from Peter after she crossed the finish line.“He was very excited,” said Ms Madeiros. “It was a long day of cheering and he managed the day remarkably well for a five-year-old. People were very supportive. Lots of runners talked to me about it along the run and the crowds were both shocked and enthusiastic that I was running in my bare feet.”Along the way she met up with one other barefoot runner at mile 24 and they had a chat about their experiences.She added: “I didn’t have any issues at all, besides feeling tired between miles 21 and 24.”Ms Madeiros will be accepting donations for the Face Forward Foundation until November 1. For more information or to make a donation go to www.crowdrise.com/barefoot4kids . Also, see her blog, www.barefootadventures.wordpress.com.