The sun was yet to break through the clouds, and in the dark one could see kids gathered together, along with their parents. And as Dilbert would have it, there was rain. When the children asked what if it continued to rain, the organisers had a simple answer:“We will run in the rain.”
The Yellow Train Kids marathon saw over 600 children participating. They were running for a special cause – Children with special needs. Before they began, at the at the assembly point, they sang, There is no one else like me, there’s no one else like you. I am special . Among the runners were over 150 children with special needs from various organizations such as Prashanti Academy, Helikx and Amaze Charitable Trust. These children were in the age group of three to six and they participated with zest, energy and spirit.
The support groups for the event included Archana Patnaik, the District Collector of Coimbatore, who flagged off the race and the cyclists from Bikers Terrain who were there to provide safety to the children by sweeping them and cordoning off traffic. There was a tangible sense of community with a sea of budding runners, young, vigilant and enthusiastic, raring to take off at the start line.
S.V. Balasubramaniam, who heads the Sankara Eye Foundation ran the marathon with his granddaughter Satvika. He said: “It was simply excellent. We should certainly make this an annual event.”
Many other parents echoed this sentiment and wanted this to become a yearly affair. They felt the event brought out the fact that sports was all about preparation, enthusiasm and participation, much more than mere winning or losing. So, there were no losers or winners that morning. The anthem was: “This marathon is for runners, not winners.”
The event was well-organised. The registrations, the warm up, the water stations and the snack counters at the finish line ran smoothly.
“We had such a great Sunday morning,” exclaimed Jayalakshmi a parent. “Every child is unique. And, working with children with special needs is an exclusive task. The kids’ marathon reminded us that they are one among us.”
Another proud parent, Chitra, was delighted that the marathon provided an opportunity to children as young as four years to share and participate in an important cause.
