Zero to London Marathon 2022

This year, 'Life is too short' has brought a narrative shift for us as a family. We lost our grandad at the near age of 90 and couldn't make it back to Kenya to see him for one last time. We dearly wished Yarvi and him could have met in person. Our grandad, even at such great innings of life left with donating his eyes to help the children who could never imagine receiving such treatment due to poverty. 

We (Robin and Arti) are running the London Marathon on 2nd October 2022 to follow in grandad's legacy in some form and support Help Change Lives whose purpose is prevention and relief of poverty worldwide. They are committed to help street children, differently abled children, providing education and vocational skills, food, water, clothing, shelter, health aids, income generating opportunities and counselling.

What a better time to do this than for our birthdays this year! We've chosen this charity because their mission means a lot to us as a family and directly falls within our ethos. We were never walkers, runners or even gym goers! It is all grandad's generosity combined with Yarvi's compassion and love for yoga and sports that got us moving and here we are... Yarvi is equally part of this challenge as team captain to remind us of our cause! We hope that you'll consider contributing as a way of celebrating with us to make a positive impact. Every little bit will help us reach our goal. 100% of all donations received will be spent on the ground and nothing will go towards admin costs.

Now, more than ever these young people need our support. As much or as little as you can afford, its all appreciated. Thank you so much in advance xxx

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Thanks so much for yours,
RobiNarti

We freaking did it!!!!! Zero to London Marathon!

#londonmarathon #weruntogether #TCSLondonMarathon2022

It feels surreal even though in pain and still unable to sleep well just as yet! Robin Gosrani and I are exhausted yet the adrenaline rush is still quite alive. We finished the 26.2 flipping miles!!! Yes, 26.2 miles and hitting personal bests at many points despite injuries! 

As we said at our 22nd mile, if we can run the miles, you can help us help more vulnerable people with Help Change Lives! Let us do it! Please, if you haven’t yet done so then there is still time. We hope that you'll consider contributing as a way of celebrating with us to make a positive impact and we definitely can. 

An amazing day it was to run in support of Help Change Lives and running alongside our training buddies too, Paren Shah, Niyanta Shah, Bina Mervana, Rakhee Shah! The very early wake up at 4:00am was worth every single minute! 

A massive THANK YOU to Piyush Gudka and Dinesh Bhudia for training us!

We would like to give a special shout out to all the volunteers at Shishukunj London for tirelessly fuelling us with drinks and snacks at the support stops and meeting us with smiles and massive encouraging cheer. Without them I would have given up at between the 17-18 miles mark and Robin at the half marathon distance. They ensured I received massages and painkillers at the right time at 5 different moments across the route. I felt like I kept the first raiders on their toes, running left, right and centre to massage my cramped quads and hamstrings to keep me going. And Pallvee’s better half Parus for walking with me for a little over a mile to distract me from the pain and keep me moving!

Our shoutouts continue:

A big thank you to Pushpa Shah for not only coming so early during all our training runs to keep Yarvi but to also make a paper bouquet of flowers with her on Marathon day to give to us at #myfinishline. Grateful to my parents for bringing Yarvi to cheer for us. A final thank you to all our friends and everyone supporting our cause. Shani Gabbidon, Priyanka Shah and Tejal Mayur Malde for always believing in us when we doubted ourselves due to injuries. Tikooben for driving up and down the route to cheer for us! Beeping and hooting as she passed us before stopping at each lay-by to take videos and photos! Ketan Shah and famjam for keeping Yarvi across in the early days of our training despite the GCSE exams for her big brother Anuj.

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

Our final training run complete and ticked off! 

Running along the canal was peaceful and quite surreal in the early hours of the morning. The temperature was not what the body is used to so it was definitely time to test the gear! Both our recovery and training clothes! We shall let you enjoy the glimpse of the scenery along the canal.

We must admit it was one of our most enjoyable runs. Followed by breakfast in Wembley (Little India as Arti would call it). 

Robin managed to sustain running the 10 miles with the bare minima walking for a few minutes and the pins and needles not affecting him. I (Arti) did race my own expectation and completed the 10 miles in sub 2.0 so quite chuffed with an average of 11.45 minutes/mile.

We hope that you'll consider contributing as a way of celebrating with us to make a positive impact. Why support us? 

1. £10 is all it takes per month to support a Kenyan child with food, hygiene products, casual clothing and shoes for the year. This means reaching our target with your support we would help more than 24 children together in a year. 
2. £10 is the cost to provide a reusable sanitary pack for each girl affected by period poverty.
3. Charity begins at home - teaching Yarvi the importance of giving back to the community!

Now, more than ever these young people need our support. As much or as little as you can afford, it's all appreciated. 

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

Less than 3 weeks to go… and what a phenomenal journey it has been!

We began this journey with just running for only 2 minutes at first, barely even half a km (complete negligible mileage). We shall not lie, we quickly realised it was not going to be an easy walk in the park. The 4am wake ups and getting ready to get out of the door for both our short and long runs.

Many may know that I draw my strength to push and challenge myself through the uphill and downhill journey from Robin’s strong will and reminder of our cause. But what many don’t know is that my work crew is equally responsible for my strength. They encourage me, check in on me week to week and push me to take one step more to do more than my best. 

Today was a special walk in the park - in Epping Forest with my (Arti) daily work crew at The Point of Care Foundation! Great company and conversations - reflecting back on our individual journeys and as a team teaches us and brings out our inner strength to achieve anything you want in life! 

We hope that you'll consider contributing as a way of celebrating with us to make a positive impact. Why support us? 

1. £10 is all it takes per month to support a Kenyan child with food, hygiene products, casual clothing and shoes for the year. This means reaching our target with your support we would help more than 24 children together in a year. 
2. £10 is the cost to provide a reusable sanitary pack for each girl affected by period poverty.
3. Charity begins at home - teaching Yarvi the importance of giving back to the community!

Now, more than ever these young people need our support. As much or as little as you can afford, it's all appreciated. 

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

Signing up to the Virtual London Marathon may have been an impulsive decision but it has been another one of those great decisions! 

Had anyone told us that we would run a half marathon on a weekly basis for the last 6 weeks let alone running the 20 miles while on my period, we would have laughed at it until our sides would have ached! Oh yes, that is right I covered 20 miles in under 5 hours whilst being injured and on my period! I did it again with a better time a week later too! Thanks to Jitesh and Dineshbhai for the continuous push!

I would normally be bedridden and tucked in with a hot water bottle during this time. Running and walking the 20 miles was not a walk in the park. Our cause and the team kept us moving even with the locked knee. Robin has been equally strong to keep both of us motivated whilst he himself was injured too. He has kept me on my toes under a strict routine with strength training to support our recovery. It has been a journey of discovery of strengths as we challenge ourselves to rise over the many moments of physical and mental weakness.

Many may not know and we have learnt this the hard way, my recurring knee injury is possibly a result from hormonal imbalance as I fight off the peri-menopause and PCOS combined with the heavy mileage coverage. Women’s athletic permanence is affected quite severely by hormonal imbalances and it is time we increased awareness around this to get us the support we need and in time. I have been brushed off many times due to my age by the GP and referrals for any scans and tests are being piled under the ongoing backlog in the NHS and or getting rejected over blood tests that reveal nothing due to PCOS. We have taken a break from the training for the next two weeks to brush off the injuries and come back stronger. 

In the background of all this, it is also our little Yarvi’s first day of school life today! She is moving to primary school and it is a huge deal for her and taking over our calendar in all aspects for the excitement can not be contained!

We hope that you'll consider contributing as a way of celebrating with us to make a positive impact. If every £10 collected is allocated per month for a year (£120), it would sponsor a Kenyan child with food, hygiene products, casual clothing and shoes for the year. This means reaching our target with your support we would help more than 24 children together in a year.

Now, more than ever these young people need our support. As much or as little as you can afford, it's all appreciated. 

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

The strength of the team is EACH individual member. The strength of EACH individual member is the team.

Look who joined us for our group interval training mid-week for a 6am start!
One thing Yarvi enjoyed the most - sleeping in the fresh air, and one thing she enjoyed the least - not having her shoes to join us! At least getting her ready and out at 5.45am was enjoyable for her!

Dineshbhai and crew were great to get us started post injury and build our confidence again. Ever so grateful to Umaben for keeping an eye on Yarvi, as she snoozed off tucked in her pushchair, for us go off for a longer run to stretch our boundaries. That definitely helped us to run the long 20 miles scheduled on Saturday despite the injury.

That team spirit enabled both Robin and I to complete 10 miles with under 10 minutes of walking in a little over 2 hours quite easily. It was unfortunate I had a locked knee post 10 miles but we pushed to go further and complete the half marathon distance at 3 hours 2 minutes, a better time that when I did cover the half marathon distance the first time considering I had an injury. Robin followed shortly after... although we continued until we could no longer do so! 

Thank you Dineshbhai for rescuing us in your support car and with Piyushbhai for the various massages and stretches to relieve us from the pain as much as possible.

I (Arti) - at 15.6miles in 3 hours 44 minutes with walking the last 2 miles due to the locked knee and limping.
Robin - at 16.62 miles in 3 hours 50 minutes with walking the last mile due to knee locking in.

As we now know, no run is the same and as I have been told: training is scheduled to learn about the DO's and DON'Ts, our strengths and weaknesses and to remind us that we are on our own individual journey.

Our running group makes us strong in endurance and persistence, especially against injury! Our Yarvi makes our family of 3 a strong support system for each other!

We hope that you'll consider contributing as a way of celebrating with us to make a positive impact. If every £10 collected is allocated per month for a year (£120), it would sponsor a Kenyan child with food, hygiene products, casual clothing and shoes for the year. This means reaching our target with your support we would help more than 24 children together in a year.

Now, more than ever these young people need our support. As much or as little as you can afford, it's all appreciated. 

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

The good, bad and ugly!

We were scheduled to run 20 miles on Saturday (only yesterday) after last week’s 18 miles achievement. We also secretly knew how terribly too good to be true it was to have a pain free week after an 18 miles mileage. 

Of course Robin being the wiser, he took the decision not to run the scheduled 20 mile run and rest. Whilst I debated on whether to run in the heat and in came Robin’s voice to rise up to the challenge to train in all weathers because we don't know if it will be equally hot in October. This pushed me out of bed at 4.15am but Yarvi had other ideas. The little lady wanted mummy’s attention naturally. This meant no time for a warm up stretch and a red flag calling for a bad run!

This was the hardest run for me! It was equally painful as my pelvic pain resurfaced at 3 miles into the run… I may have underestimated the hard graft required as part of the route was similar to last week’s.

Being pain free should have been a wake up call for us not to take it for granted and keep up with our strength training and stretching plus our weekday short runs. Robin did attempt a short run of 4.5 miles in the week but was uncomfortable with the pins and needles down his left leg, probably from a slip disk resurfacing after many years. As for me - I was simply exhausted. I would jump at every extra minute of sleep I could get, maybe due to running on low B12 levels and fluid retention on my left foot. This in combination with the soaring temperatures should have been the other red flags for this 20 mile long run!

I am ever so grateful for my running buddy and inspiration, Paren (pictured) without whom I may have called it a day even before 10 miles. He kept telling me that we are only going to the support car to get lucozade for me. Practically almost pulling me along until we got to the support car. A couple of hundred metres before, my quads gave in and I had to say I am going back to the finish line via the support car, finishing at 13.75 miles! with a 13.28 minute/mile average! Training for a marathon is equal to an extreme sport for both the mind and body. 

No run will be the same and there will be some good, bad and ugly runs! It is time to take some rest and get back up again for a better week from tomorrow.

We hope that you'll consider contributing as a way of celebrating with us to make a positive impact. If every £10 collected is allocated per month for a year (£120), it would sponsor a Kenyan child with food, hygiene products, casual clothing and shoes for the year. This means reaching our target with your support we would help more than 24 children together in a year.

Now, more than ever these young people need our support. As much or as little as you can afford, it's all appreciated. 

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

A whooping 18 miles covered in under 4 hours... a bigger milestone was running the first 11 miles non-stop without any support breaks or walking in the scorching heat of 28 degree! 

The week was all about recovery and endurance especially as the last runs caused Robin pain in his lower back leading to pins and needles down to the IT band and ankle and me (Arti) alot of pelvic pain. We purely focused on strengthening our core and covering the distance. Speed - what is that when you can average at 13.17 minutes per mile eh?

Yarvi has been part of the recovery plan from the moment we set foot at the physio! She quietly but diligently watched Bhavesh Mistry on the treatment and exercises plan. Upon arrival at home, she was onto us ensuring we did exactly what was told. We were not allowed to bend our knees at times to making sure the ankles touched when we did the child pose to strengthen our ankles and calf. Super proud parents for her spark!

We are super grateful for all our family friends who stepped in last few weeks to look after Yarvi and for her special childminder being back from holiday this week. Pushpa aunty, at 70+ you make it to us at the early hours of 5.45am each Saturday morning and Yarvi looks forward to that lets us run peacefully. We have been managing the weekday runs with one of us running early morning and the other running in the evening. 

A special thanks to one of the experienced runners, Navin for pushing us beyond our limit and not letting me stop a little after 2 miles on Elstree Hill South. Without this, I would not have reached my milestone of 11 miles non-stop. Robin ran alongside, sometimes a few hundred metres ahead or behind giving my little competitive streak a wake up call.. We also got to have Paren's wife Rakhee join us, who is also training for the Marathon! The support car run by Mitenbhai and his son were the delicious fuel... tasty dark chocolate with fresh tangerines and lucozade... yum!

The Saturday route for the long group run on 6th August was enjoyable and memorable for us. It was full of laughs too along the way as Kamalbhai got Robin to act out the joke over his nosebleed last week... what would you expect if you were to chase a girl whilst running- ofcourse a nosebleed. Jokes aside, glad to know his nosebleed was due to the heat and nothing else. We do hope all the other runners are recovering equally well.

We hope that you'll consider contributing as a way of celebrating with us to make a positive impact. Every little bit will help us reach our goal. 100% of all donations received will be spent on the ground and nothing will go towards admin costs.

Now, more than ever these young people need our support. As much or as little as you can afford, it's all appreciated. 

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

Saturday 23 July's run was dedicated to our Yarvi! Turning from a threenager to a fourever wild toddler is an exciting time yet she was content with a sleepover and cake to let us off to train...making it possible for us to wake up at 4am to stretch and have a little something to eat before we set off for a 6am start from Stanmore Mandir with the training group.

Thanks to our friend Chirag Mehta who stepped in to fulfil the sleepover demand and take on the hurdle of a crying toddler in the middle of the night and not disturb our much needed sleep. Ever so grateful.

Marathon training is definitely partly building your stamina and endurance but mostly a strict will to religiously follow the training schedule prepared by Piyush Gudhka! The encouragement from Piyush Gudhka, Dinesh Bhudia and crew takes us a long way from easily completing the 10 miles to a wholly molly 15.68 miles in 3 hours 22 minutes. I must say the pelvic and hip pain was excruciating in the final mile but I remembered my fellow runner, Paren Shah's words - you are not allowed to stop! He motivated me with this when at the hill on Edgwarebury Lane by the farm. That was a killer just after 2 miles into our run!  

The most fun on this run was that Robin and I were able to run alongside each other guilt free for not planning a party for Yarvi. We enjoyed chatting and planning the little last minute surprises of what to do to celebrate her! This was all possible because at the age of 4 she is truly taking our training in her stride with pride...

A special thanks to Pallvee Shah from Help Change Lives for the tangerines and Lucozade with salt. Not to forget the many photos and videos she also took for us to mark our memories of this journey. We are running this marathon to get fit and healthy but also to make a difference in the lives of many vulnerable children and their families. Help us make a positive impact together on the future of these children.

We hope that you'll consider contributing as a way of celebrating with us to make a positive impact. Every little bit will help us reach our goal. 100% of all donations received will be spent on the ground and nothing will go towards admin costs.

Now, more than ever these young people need our support. As much or as little as you can afford, it's all appreciated. 

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

The post half-marathon training run - 14.85 miles in 3 hours 5 minutes 59 seconds!
This run was much easier than the half marathon and a bonus was we had Robin running again!

Covid definitely played the devil on us mentally. Especially Robin. He kept dipping into the world of doubt about whether he will be able to run the same. Holding the fort with injury flare up and giving Yarvi undivided attention since she came out of isolation meant no weekly runs for me.

We are grateful for our running buddy, Paren for checking on with us the night before. His advice- run across 4 lamp posts and then walk across 1. Best advice as you outdo this once in practice. The last mile was difficult for me as I kept cramping but unlike previously, we are both walking painlessly post the run.

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

OMG! A HALF MARATHON CONQUERED!
A bitter sweet achievement... 13.17miles in 2 hours 54 minutes and an overwhelming 29670 steps!

Resilient, Persistent, Strong-minded, Determined, Team Spirit... are some of the attitudes you definitely need for going from zero to a marathon but willingness to the cause of our run is what kept both Robin and I going this week. Unfortunately both Robin and Yarvi were down with covid. This did not deter both of them from being determined to keep tabs on me and ensure I got back with a spring in my heels. 

We are surrounded with inspirational coaches in our group of runners but your family and fellow runners are another thing altogether. A massive thank you to Paren who never left my side when I almost gave up and let him go ahead. Bina for training with me in the week. We did it together! Pallvee from Help Change Lives for the support car.

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

This weekend's run seemed easier and an improvement from previous runs for Robin, running an entire - 11.5 miles (18.5km) in 2 hours 16 minutes! I had to sit out the whole week as my previous injury flared up and prevented me from walking long distances too. 

Straight after the run, Robin had a nap immediately to recharge and probably on adrenaline thereafter as he made sure I did my exercises correctly combined with a massage and RICE routine. Running this marathon is not only about getting fitter and push boundaries but more so to also listen to our bodies and better our health. The team have been a great motivator to get me from the dumps about not being able to run. Robin would also not get this far without them.

Our Yarvi continues to be our strength and motivation to support Help Change Lives to build toilets, provide reusable pads and education for girls.

Despite the last few weeks impeded by injury for myself and the recovery continues for another injury... this week has been lots of fun in many ways. As a family, our little Team Captain, Yarvi continued to make us strive for the optimum with being our yoga guru. We would like to thank her yoga teacher, Bansri for instilling skill and love for fitness with such precision. Yarvi was actively present throughout our weekly warm up and strengthening exercises. 

As an extra, Robin covered 10.3m (16.58km) in 2 hours clocking an average speed of 11:44/m. I followed suit with 9.7m (15.6km) in 2 hours 4 minutes with an average speed of 12:46/m. This was not easy by any means, especially with having to wake up at 4.45am for a 6.00am run followed by a toddler's active demands. However, it is all worth it to get fit and more so to raise funds for a worthwhile cause close to our hearts.

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

This week we finally got the much needed visit to the physio and take stock on my injury. It was clear that a prolonging misalignment since my pregnancy with our Little Yarvi was causing many other connecting issues but we are on our way to recovery with that...Of course that means during the week I was unable to run and to keep my spirits up, Robin also decided to walk with me whilst running in between to challenge me on my pace. 

The improvement since our visit to the physio was quite visible during our group run on Saturday under the soaring temperatures of 21℃. I managed to keep up with Robin's pace as well as attempted to run part of the three major hills on our route - Elstree Hill South, Brockley Hill and Stanmore Hill...motivational!

Thank you to our team on the day for pushing us beyond our limit! Paren definitely missed you on our run and we hope you are recovering quick enough to join us back again!

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

The last few days since the Jubilee weekend were tough as I (Arti) had a fall whilst training. Recovery was slow but we did keep walking the distance for short training runs so as not to lose stamina. Equally we were very sceptical about whether the long run will be too soon... 

Today was hot!

We had the legendary Piyush Gudka, who has run over 100+ marathons guiding us on on our long run today pushing us beyond our limits. Ever so grateful for his positive energy and stamina. 

Check out our activity on Strava. We are super excited to reveal Robin ran the whole 11.7km (7.29 miles) and I had to break my run with some walking to keep my recovery on track. I was able to run the first 4.83km (3 miles) without a stop for walking.

Over and out for some much needed rest!

For everyone supporting us on our cause - Thanks so much for yours xxx

Who knew these two tiny feet hiding in purple unicorn magic shoes could have such a huge motivating imprint on us. Although, Robin and I are the ones running the London Marathon this October to support Help Change Lives, our team does not train without our little Yarvi. It begins with her as pictured cheering us on! Oh yes, she is practicing her cheerleading skills too!

This week was tough as Yarvi was slightly poorly and thus we couldn't train on the weekdays but she never let us have too long a break. A week was enough for her! She lined us up at the door and told us to follow the leader, her! Glad we did and next thing we know, we did it - a whole 7km (4.35miles) in one hour. We started off well with running 3km (1.86miles) of a run and broke it with walking 1km before running 1.5km and finishing with a walk of 1.5km. The adrenaline is high as we celebrate with a protein shake!

Thanks so much for yours xxx