The first time I heard about the marathon fundraiser was in an Asha meeting about 6 years ago. The NYC-NJ chapter was planning to start their marathon program that year. I remember thinking to myself, what an absurd idea ! Why on earth would my (or anybody) running 26 miles would inspire people to donate ? As a matter of fact, it did. And after 6 years, the marathon program has turned out to be one of the most successful fundraisers of Asha. Many of my friends have trained with the Asha marathon program and their experiences have dispelled my doubt and have convinced me of its merit. So this year, I finally decided to take the plunge and run the marathon. The only problem was that Asha Los Angeles chapter does not have a marathon training program. But, my university has one, and when one of my friends volunteering for Asha Austin offered to make me a webpage as one of the Austin Team Asha runners, I jumped at the opportunity 🙂

I have been training with my university team since September and my target race is the Austin half marathon on February 14, 2010, in Austin, Texas. I have pledged to raise $100 per mile for 13.1 miles. The amount raised will contribute towards the 16 projects that Asha Austin is currently supporting in providing basic education for thousands of underprivileged children in India, who would otherwise perhaps be denied of any education. Learn more about the projects here.

Asha for Education is a non-profit, secular, zero-overhead, volunteer-driven organization that supports educational projects in India in the belief that education of underprivileged children is a critical requisite for socio-economic change in India. You can find more information here.  Please sponsor my half marathon by clicking the donation link below and help me reach my fundraising goal.