Part 5: Ubuntu - a runner's thank you note

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I think it wouldn't be a fair narrative if all I do is talk about the negative elements. So to give you a glimpse of the brighter side of things, let me start with introducing you to the two Team Asha SF running coordinators - Jennifer and Kristina. Throughout the season, I was lucky to have these two amazing people in the running group who would motivate me to not be disappointed at my failures. They would slow down to my pace to keep me company, talking to me the whole time - encouraging me to not lose hope, telling me about how everyone started out as beginners before becoming seasonal runners. While I was thankful for the company and the encouragement I received from both of them, I often felt some compunction on having kept them from training at their pace. I remember being overly apologetic about it, not realizing that I was apologizing for something way beyond my control. But they always told me that I shouldn't feel bad, and that we all need to start somewhere before we get better at it. Thank you both, for motivating me even when I felt low and kept missing practice runs.

A big shoutout to Payal who ran about 9 miles unofficially to just cheer me up, and give me company. She not only was there on race day, but also accompanied me during practice runs we had at Embarcadero or Crissy Fields. I don't think I could have done this without you, so thank you! A big thank you to Vishal (and Kristina again) who helped proof-read my fundraiser page when I was setting it up initially, and for giving me valuable feedback. I have immense gratitude for the people who donated to my fundraiser - you helped me meet my goal to fund a year's education for at least 10 underprivileged children in India. A shoutout to everyone else who supported me emotionally throughout the months that led to my race - be it Asha GT alumni who gave me running tips, my family who gave me moral support and encouragement, or my flatmates (Sejal & Aniket) who would accompany me on practice runs. As humans we often seek validation and assurance from people around us in our weakest moments and how we end up facing the challenges depend a lot on how these people react. I consider myself fortunate to have had such great people in my life who didn't pull me down, but helped me scale heights. 

Finally, I would like to end this series of blogs by talking about my motivation to run, and why this story began in the first place. I ran both my races to show my support for causes that I care about dearly - education of underprivileged Indian kids, and fighting the stigma against mental health conditions. I am happy to have done my tiny bit, knowing that I helped fund a years's education for about 10 kids thereby helping them have a better future. I would be grateful to every one of you if you could do your bit in any way possible for the society that we live in, for any cause that might be close to your heart. There are so many things that you could do - run/ bike for a charity fundraiser, donate to a friend or colleague's fundraiser, organize a birthday fundraiser, set up a charity event (e.g. paint night) fundraiser, sponsor a kid, adopt a kid, do a pro-bono project, go work on-site for a few weeks to help them with a project... the list is just endless.

It doesn't matter what you do... what matters is that you do it.

Thank you!

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