Dear Friends,

I am happy to share with you that I did cross the finish line (26.2 miles) at the New York City Marathon last Sunday (Nov 5, 2006). I took 5Hrs 17 Mnts (only 2 Hrs 18 mnts more than Lance Armstrong, so I did achieve my goal of finishing within 3 hours of Lance's time !), and no, I did not finish last. There were 4,826 people who finished behind me :)

First of all, thank you so much to all of you who sponsored me for this "Run for a Dream" to raise funds for Lend-A-Hand India (www.lend-a-hand-india.org). As I was struggling from mile 22 onwards, your support is what kept me going. Of course, if you were thinking of sponsoring me and haven't been able to do so, it is never too late - the money raised will go towards setting up a vocational training center which will benefit over 200 deserving girls and boys from poor communities. Please click on the button below "Make a donation" or send us a check (details below). Thank you !

So, the weather on the day of the marathon was near perfect, the Sun almost never came out, the temperature did not go above 50s and hence I finished almost without a sweat (I wish!). As we started from Staten Island and onto the Verizona Bridge, the atmosphere was really magical and hard to describe in words. Imagine, being amongst thousands of people who have trained for countless hours and miles and now ready to take off - the energy was unbelievable ! On the road, kids were doing hi-fives, handing out orange slices and sugar candies and enjoying the day with their parents (and of course, wondering what is wrong with all these people - what are they running away from !). Around mile 11, suddenly I felt very hungry and literally filled my stomach with slices, candies and banana that these wonderful little spectators were handing out. Twice during the run, I had cramps in my left thigh, but with due help from medical team of NYRR, I was able to keep going. My favorite part of the course, running in diverse Brooklyn and Queens is like you are covering entire globe within 5-6 miles...and of course, entering Manhattan after crossing the grueling Queensborough bridge is simply magical - the loud cheers of the true New Yorkers on Mile 15 carries one through the notion of finish line in Central Park being just 15 blocks away but you actually have 11 more miles to go ! With injury in left foot during the training, new job and growing time commitment needed for Lend-A-Hand India, going in I had thought that, this one is going to be toughest of all - but support from you made this one, the easiest of all :)

Once again, thanks to Sunanda (my better half) for living through those early morning and lost weekends when I was training, my dear friends Win, Pooja and Min who came out to cheer me up, for best wishes from all of you and my co-workers and friends for patiently listening to my endless marathon stories! Thank you - could not have done it without you.

What next? Of course, a marathon in June-July will be great. I have been planning to run a marathon on the Great Wall of China or Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe for a while as my dream is to run a marathon in each of the seven continents, but for now, I am happy that for next few months to come - I don't have to eat bananas and bagels, drink seemingly endless bottles of Gatorade and get up at 5.30 am to run :- )

Finally, once again my all time favorite quote -

"What is at the summit of courage, I think, is freedom. The freedom that comes with the knowledge that no earthly power can break you; that an unbroken spirit is the only thing you can't live without..."

So join me as we try to make a difference...one step at a time ! one person at a time ! one family at a time !

Gracias !

Raj

For a contribution by check, please make the check payable to "Lend-A-Hand India" write "Sponsorship for Raj's NY Marathon Run" in the memo and mail to:

Lend-A-Hand India
784 Columbus Avenue #10G
New York NY 10025, USA

Read about my past marathons...Thanks for your continued support
New York Marathon (November 2005)
San Diego "Rock n Roll" Marathon (June 2004)
Paris Marathon (April 2003)