These words more or less summed up what I felt once I crossed the finishing line during the recently concluded Mumbai Marathon 2012. I am full of admiration for those who run the marathon year after year. It is always a pleasure to see so many people unite to run together, irrespective of whether they win or not.

It looks like the entire city came together to showcase the latent energy beneath and it turned out to be an awe-inspiring spectacle. Never will you see 38,000 Mumbaikars at one starting point rushing forward together with such intensity and in the process energizing everyone around.

My tryst with this event began last year when I participated in the Half-Marathon with a finishing timing of 3.5 hours. Not too impressive, I admit, but last year I ran for the experience – and enjoyed every moment! This year, I was determined to do better and I did practice for the past 2-3 months in great earnest – well almost, if it were not for my hamstring injury, which knocked off quite a few practice sessions. It was worth it at the end; I finished the race with a better timing of 2:54:34!

This race left me physically exhausted with some of my joints crying out for attention! I realize that this pain is temporary but the pride of completing the course is forever.

For me, running a marathon is similar to meditation where you shut out the outside world to focus on one specific goal or challenge with proper breathing techniques.

I was helped by the diet schedule I followed that was prescribed by my nutritionist Anjum Shaikh, who has a blog of her own (weightlossmantra).

A sea of humanity

Thousands of runners – approximately 38,400 in comparison to 22,000 at the 2004 inaugural event – joined together to put their bodies to the test at this event. I could see a lot of smiles and frowns as people of all ages set their hearts out on one target – the finishing line!

I met a lot of colorful characters during the race, including a 65-year old man from Surat who came brightly dressed in colorful attire! Celebrities too made their presence felt with their coterie of supporters.

It was very heart-warming to see the mentally challenged and the handicapped taking part in the event flanked by their loved ones. The smiles I saw on their faces will remain with me for a lifetime.

Mumbai Marathon 2012 – making a difference in the lives of Mumbaikars

I believe that the Mumbai Marathon is the right aphrodisiac for a busy city that seldom stops to admire the beautiful things in life. I was expecting more people to turn up to witness the event but Mumbai’s unusually chilly mornings kept them away. Nevertheless, I am proud that thousands jumped at the opportunity to associate themselves with charity and to run for a cause.

I joined my colleagues at Edelweiss to make our presence felt at the event. We were a competent team of 40 runners that were egged all the way even before we wore our running shoes!

I would like to end by highlighting two specific instances which will highlight what the Mumbai Marathon does to the city of Mumbai. At a time when most people preferred to stay indoors, I saw a small child of around 4, completely wrapped in woolens by his mother, standing on the pavement with her. He had a board saying “There is RELISPRAY here.” I broke into a smile as I ran past the child and his mother – Mumbai’s “big heartedness” starts very early in life indeed!

On the other hand, while running, I saw a few foreign nationals sprint past. I overheard one of them saying “Amazing bloody city – never seen so many people run like crazy at one time!” I gave them a thumbs up as I ran across and they smiled back. What a feeling it is to have foreigners saluting the spirit of Mumbai!

I am already charged up for next year’s event. However, the next event to follow is the Mumbai Cyclothon in early February – can’t wait to get out on the sea link again!

Experience shared by my team members:

With this thought, I am glad to inform you that two weeks from now on January 15, 2012, my colleagues from Edelweiss and I will run the Mumbai Marathon and our team is called i Live. By running the Marathon, we’ve taken on this challenge to raise money for the Chehak Trust.

About Mumbai Marathon: The 9th edition of the Mumbai Marathon is expected to see participation of more than 30,000 people, including some of the world’s most elite athletes.

Founded in 1998, the Chehak Trust seeks to empower girls and women, particularly from the Muslim and Dalit communities, to enhance community-based social capital. It has been working closely with these two communities in Jari Mari, Kurla and Dindoshi for over 8 years and in Shivaji Nagar, Govandi for the past one year. Chehak Trust is also supported by Edelgive, an NGO run by the Edelweiss Group to support philanthropic activities.

What makes the race exceptionally special for us are the many others who make the effort of the runners worthwhile by contributing to various social causes that make a difference to innumerable lives.

Mumbai Marathon 2011 helped raise over Rs. 120 million that benefited 132 NGOs. This year we hope that with your help this figure will increase manifold!

If you wish to contribute to the Chehak Trust, please email me at vikaas.sachdeva@edelcap.com or contact Beryl Henriques at 022 40886160.

Thank you for your support and generosity.

The young female activist, Asma Mahfouz, instigated the Egyptian uprising through a call for a protest on Facebook. Her post “People, I am going to Tahrir Square” followed by a vlog on YouTube that implored the people of Egypt to turn out on the streets, started a buzz that mobilized half-a-million people. I am not sure if Asma had foreseen the impact that her act would have on the history of her country. Neither had Hosni Mubarak, or for that matter, anybody else. That’s the power of online social networking! The protestors also used Twitter and YouTube to aggressively reach out to their fellow countrymen.

To me, Asma is the person of year. Undoubtedly, there have been others who have explored the world of technology to bring the society together for a single cause. But for a 26 year old woman to start a revolution is extraordinary and in a conservative society like Egypt is simply unimaginable. She challenged, she inspired, she unified and she led – her prowess is par excellence, giving womanhood, specifically, Islamic feminism, a whole new angle, a whole new perception altogether. She fought for the basic human rights of Egyptians: for freedom, justice, honour and human dignity.

I see Asma as the personification of the quote by Marianne Williamson the spiritual activist “As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence actually liberates others” Here is saluting the fearless young activist!

The year 2011 was a landmark year of losses and learnings in more ways than one: Bollywood witnessed the departure of some of its legends, the creative community saw the silent passing of some of its gems who added to its melodies, emotions and expressions, the world of cricket bid adieu to its messiah of determination, the religious fraternity lost one of its most influential teachers while the corporate race lost a leader who changed the connotation of a fruit forever. All of them taught us timeless lessons during their lifetime, undeniably.

At another level, the world’s most dreaded terrorist was killed within the confines of his own home and the execution was watched live by the most dominant administration in the world located thousands of miles away. Such a remarkable and novel use of technology! Again, a lesson learnt.

The year also heralded the era of realization of true power: the power of the common people. They came together for a single cause: change for better. They came together on a stage which unified them beyond the bindings of geographies, connected their thoughts and even fostered movements that changed the course of history: the social media.

“Occupy” the Social Media Mindshare

The online conversation about the Occupy Wall Street Movement turned global with similar movements across continents. In fact, the word “occupy” had been the “most commonly used English word on the internet and in print” over the past 12 months, according to Global Language Monitor, a media analysis company. Protestors from world over connected with each other by sharing live Twitter updates, photos and videos from demonstrations around the world. Sites such as Facebook proved to be the protestors’ key organizing tools.

Supporting the Occupy movement, Asma held a held a teach-in at Liberty Plaza on October 23 2011. Speaking about her support to the movement, she said, “Many of U.S. residents were in solidarity with us. So, we have to keep going all over the world, because another world is possible for all of us.”

Turing the ‘Hazar’ into Millions

The Indian version of the heroics of social media was relayed by Anna Hazare: the relentless crusader of the Jan Lokpal Bill. One might seriously question the abilities of a diminutive 74-year-old to create chaos and a perfectly uncomfortable situation for the central government. But Anna did exactly that and how: he personified a wonderful case study of the extraordinary translation of cyber activism into real-time activism on the ground. The synergy between social media and the electronic media was key to the success of the movement, driving ‘hazar’ (thousand) followers to multiply into millions in a matter of few days. Such was the power of social media to enable a never before phenomenon: to connect and protest.

Clearly, the weapon of new media has enabled the world, at large, to reclaim and reinforce the ethos of democracy and secularism, beyond the confines of nationalities, religion, race and faith, like the 9th edition of the Mumbai Marathon to be held in January 2012. Over the last 8 years, the Marathon has helped us connect with each other beyond social and economic barriers and run for a single cause: our city, the city’s deprived people, and the citizens endeavour for a better tomorrow. I earnestly look forward to running the marathon to re-connect with the Mumbaikar in me and rejuvenate the spirit of belonging to this tireless, strong city.

In 2011, radical populist movements achieved impetus and made an impact. Social Media will undoubtedly continue to change the way we live our lives and how we are governed into 2012 and beyond.

Here is to a more united, connected and social 2012!

Let many more Asma Mahfouz’s drive change in this world!