The Marathon with a Message: MUSTRun 2014

Participating in a marathon always feels good but it feels GREAT if it is for a noble cause. On this early Sunday morning school students, several professional athletes, amateurs, and differently-abled individuals flooded the streets of Bandra to make H-West Ward disabled friendly.

       On the 14th of December 2014, Citizens Association for Child Rights and H-West Federation organized an event titled " MUSTRun"  that brought together all these people from different walks of life along with 500 municipal school students. The 4th edition of MUSTRun marathon flagged off from St. Stanislaus High School grounds and this year it included 6 races ranging from a 21 Km race (men and women) to a special 1 Km race for the disabled.The outreach was over 4000 participants and volunteers from all over the city.

 The main objectives of the marathon were to start an Access for All project to create a barrier-free H-West Ward which will ensure ease of access to infrastructure for the handicapped as well as to senior citizens, pregnant women and people with injury.  It also supported an Oral Health Awareness Campaign along with H-west Federation’s partner The Dental Nexus to spread the importance of good dental hygiene among the population.

Citizens Association for Child Rights was represented by approximately 500 school children in age group 11-16 years from neighborhood Municipal schools who participated in the 2 Km run. Last year , we had around 250 students participate in MUSTRun and it was heart breaking to see the students battle with discomfort as they ran without shoes. It was their enthusiasm and perseverance that helped them complete the race. Thus this year CACR worked towards raising funds to get all 520+ students new pairs of shoes and socks. Thanks to all the donors who gave generously.

Donation Appeal for shoes

Getting up on a Sunday morning is something that I resent, but the opportunity to make Bandra a disabled friendly zone seemed to be a perfect motivation for me. I was responsible to get the students of Petit School in Bandra to the location of the marathon. Even though it was six in the morning, all the students were full of enthusiasm and were ready to run. As soon as they had settled into the buses we drove of to the location. The students were getting more and more eager to run.

      Soon students from all the other schools poured in. Everyone had this new  found energy within him or her. All the BMC school students were given biscuits and bananas before the race so that they are energized. After a while the race began. The first one was the boys 2 Km run which was followed by the girls 2 Km run. Both the times I could see all the students ready and willing to win the race. All the by-standers cheered all the students and coaxed them all to finish the race. After the race all the students were given a while to rest followed by a food hamper, which they happily munched on. Seeing the joy and satisfaction on the faces of all the winners was priceless.It was Sunday morning well spent. We were happy to give a chance to these children to display their athletic talent.

Municipal school girls run at the 2km race at MUSTRun

Citizens Association for Child Rights had also organized a photo booth sessions for all the participants and volunteers present at the venue. Each person posed with a quote that they felt suited them the most. The quotes spoke about education, volunteering, and child rights among the various other topics. All the participants posed happily with the posters.

People happily posing to support child rights and education 

Soon the event came to an end with a prize distribution ceremony. All the winners were given cash prizes along with other goodies. All in all the event was a huge success that was covered by 25+ News Dailies and few televisions channels.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself with my team mates. Hope to do it again next time.

Meesha with her team members who helped make MUSTRun a success

-Meesha Gandhi, is a social media intern with CACR , a education non-profit based in Mumbai ,India. CACR works to improve the quality of education and health of school children in municipal (inner city) schools. 

Running inspiration from 'The Flying Sikh'

   Inspiration.It is something that touches you when you  meet enthusiastic positive people, watch a soulful movie, read a well written book, observe champions in action, and so on. There can be so many varied ways and individuals that can inspire us to work hard, to excel at our work, to fulfill our dreams, to follow our heart no matter what.  One such shining example is of Milkha Singh. 

From his humble modest beginnings to his life as an illustrious athlete, Milkha Singh’s story has been a compelling one. While his performances  have bought accolades for Indian sports, his life as a whole has  inspired millions to pursue their dreams 

Indian Athlete Milkha Singh 

  
Born on 20 November 1929, Milkha Singh lived in a relatively loving environment in the initial days of his childhood. However the tides turned when the Indo-Pak separation destroyed the lives of those living on the line of separation. The death of his parents in the ensuing massacre gave a rocky start to 12 year old Milkha’s life. An escape to the independent India on a train and starting a life in a relief camp made him tough. Having no one left to be dependent on, his survival skills kicked in and that made Milkha a strong young man with some incredible dreams and energy to bring those dreams to fruition.

Milkha Singh gained admission in the Indian military on the third trial in 1951 with the help of his brother. It was in the army that his potential for running and participating in competitive games as an athlete was recognized.  In the 1956 Olympics, he participated for the first time in an international sprinting competition only to suffer a crushing defeat on the international circuit. The failure brought in light his need for better training and thus he took a sabbatical for almost a year to undergo rigorous training. 

The fact that he never quit was the major factor in his success. In 1958 he made a comeback on the track when he got a chance to play for India at National games held at Cuttack. The tremendous training and discipline paid off and he went on to win a gold medal in the 400 meter run. The win was one of the defining moments of his life and also a golden moment in the history of Indian sports.

   Milkha Singh has broken various records at international level. In the 1960 race Milkha Singh received the title “Flying Sikh” for his exemplary performance. The title was bestowed upon him by Pakistani president Ayub Khan for it is said that this great athlete appeared to be flying on the track.  

Children running at MUSTRun in 2013 

He has broken various records in the 200 meter and 400 meter races and has received honors like Arjuna award & Padmashri award which are considered one of  the highest civilian honors by Government of India.Milkha Singh is highly disciplined when it comes to running. He is 81 and even now Milkha Singh’s voice is strong, still carries that firm conviction. He still remains a source of inspiration to many children and young adults who want to pursue athletics. 

CACR also encourages school children to pursue their passion of running and to give an opportunity to school children from public schools to display their talent. CACR is participating in MUSTRun Marathon where more than  500 students from municipal (inner city public) schools will be running on a track 2km long. 

    CACR is glad to be a part of such events that encourage children from the less privileged sections of society. So if you are in Mumbai on December 14th this year do join us to promote and motivate these young budding athletes 

--by Hitesh, a volunteer with Citizens Association for Child Rights a  non profit education startup working to improve quality of health and education in municipal(inner city) schools of Mumbai 

Lessons for LIFE from a Marathon

They say “the journey is more important than the destination”. Thousands of people participate in the marathons every year but only a percent of them actually win. Some of the participants leave it mid-way while some take a shortcut.

     

   This year Citizens association for child rights- CACR, a NGO working to improve quality of education in public schools on Mumbai India, was going to sponsor 70+ school girls from Municipal (inner city) schools to participate in India's only women marathon-DNA iCAN.

 I joined the DNA iCan half marathon (5km fun run) as a CACR volunteer on 9^th March 2014 at BKC,Mumbai and earned some of the following lessons of life:

• Challenge yourself:

    I was volunteering to accompany the Municipal students for the fun run, so initially I was in two minds whether or not  to participate in the race. Later on, I caved in and joined the race. As I was completing the 1 km distance,the 13-14 year old school girls finished their 3kms. I was surprised and thought it is due to the age factor that I am slower than them.

    But was it true?I realized that these girls had a single goal in my mind to win. For them the prize was the motivating factor. For me, there was no motivation, I ran for a cause. Could I challenge myself even if it is for a cause? We don’t challenge ourselves these days, either in job or in personal life. We are happy at the position we are. We use our weakness or economic scenario as our scapegoat.

Lesson 1: Challenge yourself, either in job for a particular position or in a business or in a marathon for 1^st prize or as a volunteer. Challenge keeps you active and happy. It also helps you overcome your weakness which you use as a reason of your failures. Use the mantra “I have to win” instead of “I will try to win”.

• Know your Basics:

For every challenge it is important to know your basics, whether you an impulsive person or planner, knowing the environment is important. I knew the basics of a marathon-shoes,outfit, and a loads of energy, but “knowing” is different from “implementing”.

   I wore the wrong size of shoe (I had only one pair which belonged to my sister and they looked cute). I paid the prize when my legs started killing me as the race started. Some of the participants had worn jeans which I thought was an outfit not suitable for a race and for a hot March Mumbai morning.

I like to walk, running is not my forte. I ran only once in a school, so running a 5km race proved to be difficult.

Lesson 2: Know your environment. Know your strength and weakness and accordingly prepare.

• Strategy:

My strategy for the race was to run, but I had neither the physical or mental strength for running as I had no experience. So I alternated between running and walking to complete my 5km. Most of the participant had similar strategy as I saw everyone alternate between walking and running.

It is good to be cautious but having a low risk strategy always doesn't work. Some of the best companies in the world, leaders in the world, crafted the riskiest strategy to win.

                        

For those who finished the race, their strategy was to walk, take break in between. For those who wanted to win, their strategy was to run and run with no break in between (reminded me of “The Tortoise and Hare Story).

 

Photo of school girls with few CACR volunteers after finishing the fun run 

Lesson 3: Make strategies along the lines of winner. Push and push but never take a break. Taking a break means reevaluating your work and negating it. So your strategy should be such that every milestone you take you win. Don’t stop at the milestone, continue moving forward.

• Be innovative:

As my shoes were causing hell to me, I decided to loosen the laces and continue with my walk/run. One of my colleagues suggested me to remove them and run, but I felt it was a funny idea. We follow the rules/ societal etiquette without batting an eye. I saw no one running without shoes and I thought I would look weird and may become a status update for someone due to this stunt.

Next day I opened the newspaper and I read an article where one of the winners decided to run without shoes. I was literally gob smacked.

I was still happy that irrespective of the pain in my feet I finished my race.

Lesson 4: Be innovative. Sometimes rules are meant to be broken to achieve something in life.

•  Focus:

Due to my shoe debacle, few people came to me to made me aware of the dangers of letting a shoelace run in all directions. I was embarrassed and happy at the same time. Embarrassed because of my silly idea and happy that people cared, but I also started thinking how did they notice?

When you are running or walking your vision should be forward, not upwards/downwards. Other things should be blurred to you.

Clearly, it was not the case. This is what we do in life; we are never focused in life. Something or other sways our vision, ultimately affecting our decision.

Lesson 5: Concentrate. Focus. Stop listening to gossip or be affected by political/economic/familial situations while achieving your goals. Success is never easy to achieve. There is something or other hindering you on your path to your goals

                                                   

• Apart from this there is one more important lesson I learned Opportunity. Few of the BMC-Municipal students completed the race in 30-40 mins. With proper training and motivation can these students win in the next marathon? Perhaps, they definitely had the potential. 

 Can they become the  next P.T Usha, India's running champion ? Do schools make Marathon as an opportunity to teach their students in the art of physical and mental strength? Do they use this opportunity to create the best runner in the world? I guess not... but they could start.I hope to get the message across.

  Sometimes you can change your life by changing the life of others.

JZ is a volunteer with CACR .   

CACR - www.ngocacr.com