Marathon of Marathons - First Hand Reaction

As I boarded the plane to head to Athens, I knew it was going to be a special few days. This past weekend, I agreed to join a group of 250 people from the private equity industry in an effort to raise €2.5 million for various children's charities, by participating in the Athens Marathon.

This year's race commemorated the 2,500th anniversary of the Battle of Marathon and Pheidippidies’ historic run from Marathon to Athens. As the story goes, Pheidippidies ran 26.2 miles (42.2 kilometres) from the battlefield near Marathon back to Athens announce the Greek victory over the Persians, only to die on the spot from exhaustion.

The statistics demonstrate how worthy the cause is:

· Currently 1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2 children in the world);

· 640 million live without adequate shelter;

· 400 million have no access to safe water;

· 270 million have no access to health services;

· Nearly 11 million die each year before they reach the age of 5 (nearly 30,000 children per day).

I agreed to run the race partly because I believe in the cause, but also because I have always been fascinated by the abilities of marathon runners to clear their mind and stay dedicated to an incredibly gruelling and often lonesome training schedule. It is not surprising that many people from the private equity industry agreed to participate in this year’s event, as I think it takes similar characteristics to become a leader in our industry.

The weekend kicked off with a social, which helped me get an introduction to several people from the industry, including people from Pantheon Ventures, Apax, Coller Capital, and athletes who had flown across the world, from a triathlete, from the Future Fund in Australia, to a couple from San Francisco.

On Saturday, after a large carbo-loaded lunch, and a quick tour of the Acropolis, our attention turned to the task that lay ahead. The Athens course, is a combination of hills and heat, with temperatures touching 26^o (79 Fahrenheit), and a course that goes uphill for the first three quarters of the race.

Due to injuries, I was limited on the course, forced to walk nearly the whole marathon. But I was able to persevere through the heat and the pain, entering the old Olympic stadium and crossing the finish line well ahead of my goal. What was even more amazing, out of a group of 200+ entrants; nearly everyone finished the course, with most running or walking for the first time.

I think this weekend speaks worlds about how our industry can use make a difference in a non-business setting. Each of the participants who ran the race, no matter what time they finished, or how much pain they may be in, can sit back with icepacks on their knees and think about their accomplishments this weekend and the difference it will make for children across the world. I am amazed by the support I received in my efforts to raise funds, and even more amazed by the support of all the people in Athens who have helped us try and reach our goal.

There is still time to donate to this great cause, and we need support to get to our goal. At the moment we are short of our goal and do not plan on stopping until we reach it. Great firms within the private equity community, including 3i, Adams Street, Apax, Arcus, Bridgepoint, Campbell Lutyens, Capital Dynamics, Capvis, Coller, Ernst & Young, Lazard, Meridiam, Pantheon, Partners Group, PEI, Pomona, and Platina have all contributed significant amounts of money to the cause.

You can find out more about the cause at http://www.marathonofmarathons.com/

And you can donate here: www.bmycharity.com/v2/Rishi