It was a relatively cool winter morning in Mumbai on 20th Jan. When majority of the city was fast asleep in their blankets, over 150 Isha Vidhya supporters were leaving their homes to assemble at 5 am at the starting point of the Half / Full Marathon. They had been working for months, practicing for marathon and raising funds, stretching themselves to break physical and mental limitations.
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Year 2013 was the 5th year of participation in the Mumbai Marathon for Isha Vidhya. Many of the supporters started approaching corporate and individual donors for support of Isha Vidhya. With their concerted efforts, over 300 corporate employees from 13 corporate teams and 150 individuals ran and raised funds for Isha Vidhya. Our sincere thanks to ICICI Lombard, India Infoline, HP, MyIris, HPCL, BPCL, Manhindra Brothers, All Cargo Logistics, Himedia, Lanxess, Unidesign and Nirvana Ventures for sponsoring the Corporate teams and thereby contributing to Isha Vidhya’s marathon fund-raising effort in a very significant way.
This year saw the youngest fund raiser in Isha Jain, who has raised over Rs. 0.6 million by reaching out to her relatives, friends and family. 20th Jan, the race day, also happened to be her 16th birthday. Showing commitment beyond her age, she requested her friends to
donate to Isha Vidhya instead of buying her a birthday gift.
The marathon day was a combination of celebrations and competition. Some participants walked the distance while some bettered their race timings. Many supporters cheered the runners on the way. As it happens always, it was effortless for some and miraculous for some others!
Fund raising efforts of the volunteers has continued even after the event, with several donors coming forward to support the cause. So far, almost Rs. 10 million has been raised, with the final count still not over. These will go to construct new classrooms and provide scholarships to several hundreds of children as well as sponsorship of the Govt. School Adoption Program. The Isha Mumbai Marathon team of volunteers who planned, coordinated and implemented the entire Marathon effort is planning a get together of the Marathon runners and fund raisers in March 2013 to share, inspire and continue this journey.