My Silent Tribute to Bangabondhu by Running a Marathon wearing Mujib Coat.
The magic bell rang when I got the confirmation of participation in “Sheikh Mujib International Marathon 2021” which was held on 10th January in Dhaka. The race was a tribute to remember the home coming day of Father of the nation. As a runner, I was very excited because this prestigious AIMS (Association of International Marathon Association) certified marathon was limited to only 200 runners including 37 foreigners. The selection was made based on applicant’s age and previous race result. In different international races, Guinness World Record (GWR) has recorded many attempt by runners to complete marathons in country’s national dress, national flag and costume. This international marathon was a part of “Mujib Borsho” celebration; I planned to pay my silent tribute to Bangabondhu by running this race wearing a Mujib Coat. Evergreen Bangabondhu is always symbol of youth, motivation and energy. His signature dress is a tailored sleeveless black coat. This design became very popular across the globe. It has rich fashion sense and recognized as an icon of honor. Follower of Bangabondhu’s ideology wear it with pride. However, now a day’s people wear Mujib Coat in different style, tradition and celebration. I decided to run marathon wearing Mujib Coat. I had to customize my running gears, trained hard and finally on 10th January I finished 21 km in 2.16 hours. The race started at Army stadium and finished at Hatirjheeel. While running in Mujib Coat, I got tremendous support from the spectators, volunteers and co-runners. Everyone was happy, excited and motivated. Kids came forward to take pictures with me. It was an unique experience can’t be expressed in words. Last week I received, the AIMS endorsed Marathon Certificate. This certificate will qualify me to attend any international marathon. I have already applied to Amsterdam Marathon authority Holland to run marathon race. If everything goes fine I will be running on the roads of Amsterdam on 17th Oct 2021.I started running marathon since 2013. I have attended many marathons in home and abroad, to name a few Dhaka, Kolkata, Coimbator, Lisbon Marathon etc. From beginning of 2020 I started running marathon with carrying “Mujib Borsho” placard, I have attended almost all the marathons arranged in Bangladesh in the year 2020 say Cholonbil, Gazipur,Dhaka marathon etc. Running an international marathon wearing Mujib Coat was my dream and I am glad to fulfill it. Similarly in life, we all dream of things that we want to accomplish. All the dreams small or big comes to reality by taking one small step. Whether our dream is to write a book, start a business, travelling or anything, they all begin with taking one small step. So let’s not waste any more time. Our dreams can be accomplished by one small step at a time and consistently moving forward.
M Sadrul Ahmed Khan, Member, Bangladesh Awami League, Finance and Planning Affairs Sub-Committee