“Run as if you were a doggy treat and all of them dogs were behind you.” –
Rashmi Bopitiya (yes, that’s me)
OSC’s Housing and Habitat service group launched their Home Run 2018, an annual 5-kilometer walk, run or bike to raise money for the service’s future events, on the 17th of November 2018. This year, however, my service group, Care for Paws, contributed and worked in partnership with Housing and Habitat and encouraged all participants to bring their dogs for the run too! Neglection is a grave issue in Sri Lanka with regards to domestic pets and as much as I have complete faith that the OSC community loves their furry friends, this was an effort to improve the relationship between our community members and their pets by encouraging them to spend more time together by doing an outdoor activity that both parties might enjoy.
And besides, spending more time with the one thing that loves you more than you love yourself could do you no harm.
My co-service leader, Disara Samayawardhena, and I collaborated with the service leaders of Housing and Habitat and organized water and treats for all the dogs that would be running and stationed one member from our service group at each water stop along the 5k run. We placed bowls, water and snacks for the dogs in each location, all which was bought individually by our service members who contributed immensely to the success of this project. Many hours were spent prior to the event where organizing and planning had to be done in terms of advertising the event and encouraging students, parents and teachers to bring their dogs, discussing and collaborating with Housing and Habitat with regards to who takes which shift and where, deadlines for collecting all the dog snacks, pre-ordering water from our school and even coming to school at 6.00 am to set up for the run!
The event, however, was greatly successful. Many people, parents, teachers, students alike brought their dogs for the run and it was truly a sight to behold. From beagles to German shepherds to golden retrievers to rescued dogs, they were all there! Amongst the chatter of people, the barking was a beautiful, if not a bit loud, sound that brought a smile to many faces. Students were introducing their dogs to each, trying to make them buddies, while others were sharing tips about how to take care of their dogs and others sharing funny stories about their beloved pets.
To put it simply, it was awesome.
On the other hand, all SAISA athletes were expected to participate in the run and me being one, I was expected to run hence, I couldn’t take a shift in the water stops which was unfortunate however, as soon as I finished the run, I greeted each dog that made it back with a bowl of water, 3 doggy treats and a pat on the back for a job well done. The run itself was quite tiring and I completed it in 45 minutes. I didn’t really run, given how I had badminton practice right after, so I jogged the entire distance at a relatively even pace only stopping to drink water or cross the road. My fitness wasn’t the best as I got tired disappointingly fast, but that was when my average speed was much faster than that of a jog and was more like a run and once I evened it out, the run was much smoother.
[Reaching the end after a long, hot run…Credits: Geck0Net]
To be completely honest, I’m not fond of running the first kilometer because it is usually the hardest but after that, I love it. I love the feeling of just running and running and running, passing others, trying to keep up with them, evening out to my own pace, just the sound of my footsteps my breathing to keep me company, reaching different water stations and feeling satisfied at completing another kilometer, getting closer and closer and closer to the end, and finally finishing it with a bunch of people cheering for you, that feeling afterwards, the satisfaction of completing a 5k jog, nothing beats that.
Given how successful this event was, we plan to do the same for next year and well,
I can’t wait!!