Belfast City Marathon 2009 Relays for Asha

Monday, 4 May 2009

When Deirdre approached me to ask if I'd take part in the Belfast City Marathon Relay to raise funds for Asha, I knew I had better run for it.

So it was a cold, wet Monday morning that saw fifteen women and men from HPC join forces as three teams to run a total of 76.8 miles. Waiting around in the rain on the side of a hill at the relay changeover point gave me a bit of time to think. Deirdre Harshaw had sent a 'good luck' text message as she was about to begin the first leg for my team, and so I knew that somewhere out there, HPC Team Three were legging it my way. It really wasn't a comfortable wait though, shivering, trying to keep warm, to stay focussed and motivated, wondering just how uphill the hill would be. Fortunately, I remembered Gordon Wright telling me that some of the children Asha works with in the poorest parts of India were excited, encouraged and affirmed to hear that people far away in Northern Ireland would be running just for them. Thinking of what they have to endure daily brought it all into perspective, and the though of raising a smile made it worth the effort.

Soon enough, my team member arrived, and I was off, music in my ears and the road under my feet. And before we knew it, we were all finished. The teams' final times stood at a respectable 4 hours 41 minutes, 4 hours 43 minutes, and 4 hours 52 minutes. The sense of teamwork, of church members coming together to do more than we could do individually, was a good lesson to learn, to be reminded that we come together for something bigger than ourselves, each playing our part. Deirdre Harshaw, Genevieve and Katriona Price, Jonathan Jackson, Gill and Nigel Johnson, Roger and Liz Elks, Barbara Foster, Jayne Forster, Peter and Sharon Yarr, Chris Bennett and myself made up the teams and represented good cross section of the Parish, and together raised over £1,500 in sponsorship for Asha.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored us, your money will go directly to assisting the poorest in India, bringing hope, empowerment, education and medical relief to the forgotten, under the guidance of its Founder and Director, Dr. Kiran Martin. For more information about Asha, you can speak to Daphne or Gordon Wright. And if you see Deirdre with a clipboard next Spring, get your running shoes on.

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