Asha for Education is a secular organization dedicated to change in India by focusing on basic education in the belief that education is a critical requisite for socio-economic change. Asha has supported more than 385 different child education projects spanning 24 states in India. Since inception, Asha has disbursed nearly $4,000,000 to projects. In 2002 alone, Asha chapters raised and disbursed more than $1,000,000 to over 200 projects. To learn more about Asha For Education and the the specific projects it undertakes, please visit: http://www.ashanet.org

You can help by contributing towards my fund raising. Every dollar you donate will help underpriviledged children. All donations are 100% tax deductible. (Tax Id 770 45 9884)

I am a graduate student at Georgia Institute of Technology. I have been running for the past few years just to keep myself fit and ofcourse because it offers some momentary respite from an almost sedantary work life. My running has been on and off mainly due to problems in my ankles. This has kept me from indulging in long distance runs (>3 miles). The Atlanta-ASHA half marathon is in a way a bold attempt for me and I look upon this as an opportunity to give back to the people of the country I came from. I have run over 140 miles cumulatively over the past three months. The pain I used to have in my ankles is now under a manageable level. Currently, I have some problems with my left knee but it seems to be improving (icing, icing and icing!!). My lungs allow me to run at a rate of 9.5min per mile but my knees are not allowing me to go below the 11min per mile mark. Reading marathon related articles and talking to people who have already run the marathon has made me feel lot more comfortable about running. I have realized the importance of appropriate warm-up and stretching exercises, nutrition, rest and sufficient hydration more than before. And of course, running with a team makes you put that additional effort which you wouldnt have otherwise. I started my training on Aug 22nd and as of Nov 21st, I have successfully completed five 8 miles runs, one 10 miles run and one 12 miles run (Apart from the many 3,4 and 6 miles runs).

This marathon venture is my first attempt to raise money for a worthy cause i.e education of underpriveleged kids in India. I would request you to donate as much as you can. If you didn't know already, as a charity organization, ASHA ranks top in terms of organizational capacity and efficiency.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/7630.htm

Everyone working for ASHA are volunteers and most of them are students. There are almost no administrative costs involved and you can rest assured that 100% of your donation will go towards this worthy cause. Thanks for your support!!

Update as of Nov 18th

I am thankful to the following donors:

Race completed on Nov 23rd