What Parthiv Hath Wrought

As the 7K Celeberation/Celebrity run at the Bangalore Marathon looms, it occupies many of my thoughts nowadays, including thought no. 21297.

This insane running endeavour started in March 2003, when an MIT graduate student named Parthiv Shah showed up at the weekly Asha For Education Boston chapter meeting and said he would be interested in helping us organize a marathon fundraiser.

Having always suffered from delusions of athletic grandeur, I signed up, and went on to finish the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC in 5:00:33. My only regret was not carrying an accurate stopwatch so that I could've shaved off those annoying 33 seconds and had a 4:xx:xx time.

The Asha marathon program grew last year, with AID-Boston joining in - the number of runners went up, the money raised, blisters, injuries, pain, happiness.

And it continues to grow. This year, Asha and AID have officially joined together to organize the fundraiser, and it already feels like it will be a smashing success.

And I can't help but sit here in Hyderabad with a silly grin on my face and wonder what has come to pass after those lonely, wet Sunday mornings when the few of us who could make it, slogged our way up and down the Minuteman Trail. Thanks Parthiv!!