Nilma Patel
I am 24 and have just finished studying to become a solicitor. I must be a glutton for punishment because I am now training to run a marathon!! I could never picture what running 26 miles meant, and whether it was something I could do….and then I realised that this was the opportunity to see how far I can push myself whilst helping raise money for charity.
When I signed up, I had many negative reactions from others who thought that I was crazy…and maybe they are right! One day when I was training, I fell over, cutting my legs. A passer by asked if I was ok and I just said "I just have to keep running". And like Forest Gump...I did just that. Hopefully this simple philosophy will keep me going.
I have also read some inspirational books and this quote stuck in my mind:
"We run, not because we think it is doing us good, but because we enjoy it and cannot help ourselves...The more restricted our society and work becomes, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable”
Hopefully I will take it with me from the start to the finish line and will try not to get carried away in a stretcher...!