100.

The whole intent of this blog has been about running and how it can make a difference in terms of social issues and the empowerment of the underprivileged in India.

So, this year is no different from the previous years -

* I am fundraising for Asha and its going to be double the target from last year - $10,000
* I am going for a target race and its double what I did last year - a 100 miler.
* Its going to support a lot more efforts at Asha Austin - we have picked quite a few new projects - from supporting 3 projects three years ago, we have now grown to support 14 projects across India.

What does it mean to the underprivileged we strive for ?

To say that the marathon program or Asha's contribution made all the change would be an overstatement or just plain wrong. Organizations like Asha, AID etc. are nothing but tools. We are only a catalyst in the bigger picture. Having said that, the small efforts does open opportunities for the underprivileged we strive for - be it education for kids, employment for young adults, empowerement for the disabled or rights for the forcibly suppressed. The efforts of our project partners have been ably supported. This is evident in the success stories mentioned in our project pages over the years.

Every mile we add on, every dollar we raise, every individual we reach out to makes a difference.

What does it mean to me ?

Running is a passion and as I had mentioned in my earlier posts, without a soul for this passion it means nothing to me. I need your support to keep the flame in the soul going!

What did I do in the break ?

Right after my 50 miler as I had posted earlier I visited a lot of projects and was overawed at what the small efforts from our end at Austin could achieve. A detailed account of my site visits, updates from projects and the wonderful efforts our project partners undertake day in and day out is mentioned on our project pages. I have also blogged the experiences here.

I have video footage of my visits to some of the projects. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to know more.

What are the future plans ?

Yes, I do have some plans! I hope to spend a lot more time with all these grass roots efforts when I go back to India. I also hope to work with more such groups and learn from them. I wish to make myself more useful.