Rasipuram Rotary Mega Marathon 2018 : Step Up for a Cause

I recently participated in the Rasipuram Rotary Mega Marathon 2018, which took place near my hometown. The marathon was flagged off from the Thiruvalluvar Government Arts College in Rasipuram. As usual, I convinced my entire family to join me and register for the event!

However, as this was the first time the Rasipuram Rotary organizers were conducting the marathon, there were some organizational issues. The race categories were started every five minutes, disregarding the official start time. Additionally, there were no portable toilets or medical aid available, which was disappointing.

Despite these setbacks, I acknowledge that it's challenging to organize an error-free marathon on the first try. The Rotary Club has made a commendable start, and with time and experience, I'm confident they'll overcome these challenges and conduct a successful and well-organized event in the future.

Parents Atrocity: At the Rasipuram Rotary Mega Marathon 2018, there was a 3KM Run event category for children between the ages of 7-15. However, it was disappointing to see some parents losing their cool and shouting at their kids for not running continuously. The funny part was that these parents were not even running along with their children, but rather chasing them on their bikes and shouting at them.

It is essential for parents to understand that kids cannot run continuously on their first day. Today's children spend less time in free play and exercise than previous generations, who spent a lot of time walking and bicycling. Instead of yelling at them, parents should encourage their children to run using a firm and soft tone. It is important to promote a positive attitude towards exercise and instill a love for physical activity in children from a young age.

Rasipuram Marathon organizer should have set a necessary boundary for parents. They should not have let the parents inside the marathon trial. Also, lot of Vehicles were crossing the trails.

The Rasipuram Rotary Mega Marathon 2018 provided a fantastic platform for newbie runners and the people of Rasipuram to experience the thrill of a marathon. The cheering crowds at the finish line and the medals were a great incentive to keep going. I could see the excitement in the organizers as they handled the gunshot at the beginning of the race.

However, I hit a roadblock at the 4th kilometer. My shoes did not fit correctly, and my skin kept rubbing against the edges of the shoe, making it difficult for me to move forward. Despite the setback, I persevered and completed the marathon with great zeal. The certificate was provided in hard copy, but the medal could have been better.

On a positive note, the breakfast provided after the marathon was delicious, and we even received a free coupon for ice cream from Amilma Ice Creams as part of our registration. I have a fun story to share about our experience with Amilma Ice Creams, which I will write about later.

Interview with Rachana Krishna - Best Outgoing Student of VIT

Gone are the days where Best Outgoing Student Award are honored to the student with Highest Grades. These days, student should be highly creative, exhibit exceptional effort and must make a huge difference.

"Outstanding achiever" is every student's dream. 

I had the opportunity to interview Rachana Krishna who has bagged the VIT's Best Outgoing Student Award. In this interview, lets dive deep into Rachana's journey as she shares her interesting student life.

I hope students as well as others will find many of the tips useful and motivating.

Congratulations on achieving Outstanding Student award. Could you please introduce yourself?

Hi, I'm Rachana. I'm from bangalore, born and raised here. I did my B.Tech in Computer Science from VIT. Currently I'm working at Cisco.

What was your priority when you were a student?
When I started off B.Tech I only wanted to enjoy my engineering life but soon realised my kind of enjoyment lies in many things, achievements, accomplishments and not mere entertainment. Priorities are never a constant they keep changing with time. At each instance I had to focus on what was most important at that time and move ahead with it.

What specific activities did you engage in college to achieve outstanding student award?
Firstly, I never compromised on my main virtue as a student that is being academically good. I learnt the subjects to the best of my abilities and maintained good grades. Grades only matter to teach you school lessons but life lessons are completely outside of it. So I involved myself in a number of activities. I was always inclined towards sports and adventures and decided to become part of our college trekking club. I had a flair for speaking and writing as well and hence became a core member of some clubs and chapters like the Hindu E-plus, VIT community Radio for a short period. As I knew my strength was in the manegerial line I started working for my college fests and events.

How about your extra-curriculum activities? 
As I already stated, I'm into sports. I used to be an athlete in school. I couldn't really continue that in college however I used to swim in college as a hobby, play badminton occasionally. I also hit the gym in the evenings. I went on a number of treks and even organised trips to places like Coorg and Kerala where I had my share of adventure+learning. I did white water rafting, waterfall rappelling, kayaking, rock climbing.

What pieces of advice would you offer to the students who aspires for "Outstanding Student"?
One has to know what he or she wants in their life and there is no bigger achievement than this. A person who knows what he wants will make sure to reach the goal. By life I don't always mean the big picture but even small goals will do. Goals as small as hitting the gym everyday. They keep you motivated in life. This motivation can achieve anything in life.

Who was your mentor/s in your college? 
To be honest I have been my greatest mentor all life., because only you know what you want in life. However, My mom is my support system. I have a best friend from school who is often my go-to person to share with.

What was one challenge you faced during college and how did you overcome?
During college it's very common to look at others and compare yourselves. This is not wrong as long as you get something good out of it. But if this is something that's pulling you down its high time you understand that each one lives their own lives. I did face a lot of competition and was at many instances motivated to do what others were doing. But not everything is for everyone. When ever I thought someone was doing something really nice in their life I took that as a motivation to do something in my life. Peer-pressure if a big challenge, but I used it for my benefit. And ofcourse because I stayed in the hostel, I missed home a lot. This can often pull people down, so did it pull me. But I always remembered why I was here and what I as supposed to do.

What was your daily routine as a student and now as an Employee?
As a student first half of my day would be spent in classes and assignments. Second half I would spend some time on myself, meeting friends, gym, netflixing. I'm an early bird so my day ends a little quick. So far my life as an employee hasn't really changed much as I am still an intern and have my trainings.

Share us a time where you broke a rule for a student?
Oh I'm not a person who breaks rules usually. I don't think I have broken any major rules. Except I didn't always have an ID card around my neck. So yeah this was one small rule I broke.

What is your philosophy of life? 
You take  your life decisions because nobody knows you better than you. Have goals, they keep you motivated in life. The only people who matter in life are those who keep you going, ignore the rest. Work hard, party harder. And yeah there is no substitute to hard work. I believe that there are a number of success stories with smart work, but there are no failure stories with hard work.

What are your current interest and what is your learning right now?
I want to move into entrepreneurship and finance now. I'm reading more on these.

All the best for your dreams and Thank you so much for your valuable time! 

Congratulations Once again Rachana!  You truly deserve the award!!  Good luck with Everything!!! Cheers.