Benjamin Zahn

It has been a long time coming to this day. I’ve always wanted to go for a charity runs because it helps the less fortunate and its similar to giving back to the society. And on the 6th of may I decided to make a change and start a new. But first we have to go back a few weeks, at the start of April my friend had gotten a flyer that indicated that it was a run and then she asked me if I wanted to join cause it would be cheaper if we went as a group rather than signing up individually. I agreed and called a few more of my friends to join to get the discount price but after all it was for charity so I didn’t mind paying for it. The one thing I noticed as I got older is that now I tell myself its ok to give to charity and feel better compared to the younger version of me I always told myself why would you pay people money to run, sweat, have leg cramps and feel so tired at the end of the day? I guess this is one of the thing we get used to as we get older.
The next day I asked my mother if I could go the run and surely enough she said yes. I came to campus and signed up that day and as excited as I was I started training for the run. It was a 5 Kilometer run so I had to bring my A game to the table. I went to the gym every day with my friends Telvinder and Farah. We started off by jogging 1 kilometer a day and increased 500meter a day and by the time the run came I was confident that I could easily get through this run. We were really excited to start the run. But before we talk about the run we’ll talk about the diet.
In terms of diet I didn’t want to change the way I ate but I am very blessed to have friends that care for me because I am slightly obese and the reason why they asked to join the run was not just for charity side of it but also to get my health back on track. We started out by listing out things that I can’t eat and the types of food I should avoid. They also gave me a timetable to know when to have my meals so I have the appropriate time to digest and stay healthy. At first, I was very hesitant to follow a new diet plan not because I was scared but because it meant I have to alter a new lifestyle and that was what I didn’t want to face. When I told them how I felt they said that they would also follow the diet to show how much they care and support me and I was very touched, I agreed to the diet plan and that was the start to my new life.
Finally, the day of the run came and we were extremely excited and nervous at the same time cause after all that training we finally had the chance to put our efforts to use by attempting to finish the run. It was a night run so we were handed glow bands to wear during the. When the run started we started jogging first we didn’t join the run to win we just wanted to finish it and feel happy at the end of the day knowing that it was for a good cause. The first 1 kilometer was going good and the 2nd kilometer was when I was feeling fatigue and didn’t have any more energy. I started speed walking and Telvinder was by my side still full of energy wanting to run but I couldn’t so he join me by speed walking and then the 3rd kilometer my legs were wasted and all I could do is walk. Telvinder was encouraging me to start jogging but I just couldn’t so he also walked with me.
There came a time where I wanted to stop and sit for a while but Telvinder told me not too and man up and finish this run without stopping. He encouraged me and motivated me throughout the run. If he continued running I bet he had the chance to win this run but he chose to stay by my side and motivate me throughout the run. We Ended up finishing in the top 70 and was proud of my achievement.
I finally realize why charity runs exist and it is to let us feel the pain and struggle the less fortunate are going through and what we can do to help them. I feel blessed to be able to help the less fortunate and this experience has open my eyes to see that this world can be very unforgiving if we don’t fight.