A MESSAGE FROM Fundraising Page for Zeny
Oh Hey there! I'm Zeny and I'm so glad you've landed here. If you have a few minutes, I'd love to share why the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon is so important to me and why you should consider supporting me by raising money for Girls Gotta Run Foundation!
WHY NYC MARATHON?
Running has transformed my life. I started running 12 years ago--after countless years of saying it wasn't for me-- I quickly discovered it was my new-found form of therapy, a source of joy, relief, and it helped me process grief after my father's passing. I picked up running around the time my father became ill and was lucky enough to get a couple of good runs in with him--he could go a lot further than me at the time! On his 60th birthday--the last we celebrated together-- I made a surprise trip home, and as a family, we laced up and went for a run by the San Francisco Bay. It wasn't until he lost his untimely battle with Glioblastoma-- a highly aggressive brain tumor-- that I would realize how impactful that last run together was. Running became more than a workout, it would turn into a necessity for me and a way to feel closer and spiritually connected to my guardian angel.
WHY GGRF?
Growing up as a first-gen Ethiopian-American, there were not many public figures in American culture who shared a similar identity, so I turned to the long distance runners from Ethiopia. When we were younger, my parents would buy us posters of some of the greatest Ethiopian female runners like Fatuma Roba and Derartu Tulu to hang in our room. At that time, it was some of the only positive depictions we saw in the US media of Ethiopians. We'd wake up early in the morning to watch Ethiopians run in marathons across the world and yell at the television with passion and pride. For many in Ethiopia, running is so much more than a sport, it is a pathway to obtaining more opportunities. Girls Gotta Run Foundation is the only nonprofit in Ethiopia leveraging running as a means for empowering and educating women and their community,
WHY NOW?
In October it will be a decade since my father passed. He dedicated his life to building for others and creating opportunity for fellow Ethiopians, and I couldn't think of a better way to honor his legacy in the city that has changed my life.
If you've made it this far, thank you for reading my story! I hope you will support me and my fundraising efforts for the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon Fundraising. No donation is too small.
Please click on the donate button!
And if you see me training in these New York streets... say hello!
