I joined Cisco in Feb 2022 as a Venture Specialist with CX APJC, and the expertise has been wonderful to this point. Among the many many issues I really like about working at Cisco is how supportive the corporate is in the direction of volunteering and giving again. Cisco offers each worker 10 annual ‘Days to Give’ with the intention to contribute to the causes that imply probably the most to us; not solely that however Cisco additionally matches any donation we make to charity, greenback for greenback.

When I’m not at my desk, I’m an avid runner who has participated in lots of marathons (42.195km), each regionally and abroad. I ran my first marathon again in Dec 2018 on the Normal Chartered Singapore Marathon and it was a life-changing expertise. Whereas I suffered and hated myself for signing up, I noticed the great thing about the gap and was decided to coach correctly and cut back my time.From there, I set my objective to run the Boston Marathon.

Being the oldest marathon on the earth, it is usually probably the most prestigious due to its stringent qualifying instances for runners in addition to being considered one of six World Marathon Majors. Aspiring Boston Marathon time qualifiers have to realize a sure timing at one other marathon earlier than they’re accepted into the race. Attributable to this purpose, Boston is usually regarded as the “holy grail” of novice marathoning.

My journey to qualifying for Boston was undoubtedly not straightforward, it required plenty of perseverance, sacrifice, and self-discipline, coupled with the fixed doubts in my head about whether or not I’ll ever make it. After years of placing within the work and never giving up, I finally ran a Boston qualifying time of two:59:16 on the 2022 Gold Coast Marathon.

Previous to the Boston Marathon, I knew that there was an avenue the place I might make my efforts not simply to get to Boston, however my a few years of coaching might rely to much more. My plan for this was to arrange a giving alternative on Cisco’s new Neighborhood Influence Portal which permits me to lift funds for a charity of my selection. I used to be stoked at this chance, because it was a tremendous technique to do one thing I really like and in addition to offer again to one thing better than myself.

With that, I made a decision to lift funds for the Viva Basis for Youngsters With Most cancers. I’ve at all times beloved kids, and I really feel that these few years of rising up are the very best years a baby can have. I used to be blessed with a wholesome and powerful physique rising up, which allowed me to pursue my desires right now. Nonetheless, not each little one is lucky sufficient to have that, and I hoped that this giving alternative would assist to alleviate the consequences of most cancers on these kids and their households.

On April seventeenth, 2023, I turned part of historical past books as I accomplished the 127th Boston Marathon in a time of three:02:58. With the assistance of supportive managers, colleagues, and buddies, collectively we managed to lift a complete of SGD $17,393, together with Cisco’s 1:1 donation matching. I used to be so humbled by the quantity of assist I obtained from the individuals round me, the influx of congratulatory messages for my feat at Boston in addition to the fundraising achievement was overwhelming. I want to take this chance to thank everybody who supported my giving alternative, particularly workforce Cisco SG and CX APJC.

If you’re on the lookout for numerous causes to assist, be it giving again through volunteering or donations, the Neighborhood Influence Portal is the very best place to champion that. I hope you discover the means to offer again in any manner that you could, regardless of the magnitude. I’m already trying ahead to my subsequent marathon and fundraising marketing campaign!

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