A Run for the Future Alumna Shares Her Story of Gratitude

Since 2011, more than 500 amazing young women have taken part in NYRR Run for the Future. The program teaches running to 11th-grade girls who’ve never participated in organized sports. At the end of seven weeks, each new runner comes away with a college scholarship and confidence and motivation to be active for life. Learn more about NYRR Run for the Future. 

When Warisha Siddiqui participated in Run for the Future during the summer of 2018, she didn't realize how much the program was going to affect her relationship with her family—in particular her father, who sadly passed away this past May after battling COVID-19.

“I look back at this program and how it led to memories with my father that I shall cherish forever,” said Warisha, now a sophomore at Tufts University. She and her father are pictured below at her high school graduation.

Warisha feels deep and lasting gratitude for her father’s support of her running. “My father came to support me in every race I did regardless of the heat or cold. He even has videos of my crossing each finish line,” she said. “He saw me cross the finish line at [the Harlem Percy Sutton 5K] and told me that he wanted to run beside me.”

She realizes having that support system helped her commit to her new exercise routine. “I don’t think I could’ve applied what I learned at this program without my dad’s constant encouragement and support,” she said.

Her father’s support of her training carried on long past the end of Run for the Future, a program that teaches high school girls to run and live healthier lives. “My father pushed me to continue running after RFTF by joining me at our local Open Run every weekend,” she said. “When the weather grew cold, he spent every day after work for a week fixing our old treadmill so I could run safely at home.”

He also encouraged Warisha’s healthy lifestyle. “He drove me to the farmer’s market to add fresh ingredients to our meals. There I learned his secret to picking the freshest veggies and sweetest fruits,” she said.

Her father not only supported healthy habits, he also started picking them up himself. “After the program, I walked the 5K distance from school to my home every day to keep active even when I stopped running regularly,” Warisha said. “My father saw this and walked every chance he could, walking from the subway station to our house instead of taking the bus or walking to the local mosque instead of driving.” The family is pictured below taking a walk together.

Now, these memories hold special meaning for Warisha. “Before contracting the coronavirus, he was the healthiest he had been in over a decade, but this disease does not discriminate,” she said.

Now Warisha wants to pass on what she has learned from RFTF and her dad to the next generation. “I have a niece who is two years old and I always run with her. I hope to teach her how to run properly,” she said. “That was something my father would’ve loved to do if he was still here.”

Warisha realizes that COVID-19 can affect anyone, and she is dedicated to helping those affected by the disease. She is on the board of the South Asian Political Action Community at Tufts, which raised more than $6,000 last summer for individuals and families impacted by COVID-19.

She remains full of gratitude for Run for the Future. “I would like to thank every member of the RFTF team who created a program that transformed my life,” she said. “I can’t fully express how much I appreciate everything this program gave me.”