Ready for the run of her life
A role model: Nishreen with her family
Nishreen Savanghan has always been a fitness enthusiast, as a child and as the 39-year-old mother of two she is now. However, taking up long distance running was more of a challenge than she thought. Despite this, her determination to push herself to the limits has seen her become the first Sri Lankan woman to enter the Ultra X Marathon run to be held from March 23-27.
But this is not her only aim, for Nishreen has a much bigger cause that is close to her heart — she will use her run to raise funds for the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama. This week, Nishreen gives us an insight into her journey, as she prepares to take on the biggest run of her life.
From an early age Nishreen loved trying out any sport. As she got older, she would do everything from gymming to cycling and swimming. The decision to try running came to her suddenly, and one morning in 2018 she got a few of her friends from the gym together and went to a nearby running track.
It didn’t come naturally to her, however. “I found that I couldn’t run 100m without my lungs being on fire, it was very difficult and I was struggling. I was very disappointed in myself,” Nishreen tells us. But she never gave up and kept trying, and gradually 100m became the full 400m circuit.
Nishreen Savanghan
When she joined the Colombo City Running and Colombo Night Runners groups, Nishreen found all the support and motivation she needed to get even better. “I found that my body could actually take the long-distance and I was enjoying it,” she adds. In 2019, she even started running half marathons of 21km with her friends. It was the positive reinforcement of these communities, with no runner left behind, that inspired her to continue.
In September, Nishreen’s Ultra X journey began quite unexpectedly. She got a call from a friend, who asked her if she would like to be the first Sri Lankan female to run an Ultra X marathon. She tells us her initial reaction was “no way!” as her goal at the time was to simply run a 42 km marathon for her 40th birthday.
In comparison, the Ultra X marathon is a 250 km run across five days. Runners will have to endure the hot and humid weather while running through an as-yet undetermined route through rainforest and countryside terrain.
Despite Nishreen’s initial reaction, it took just six hours for her adventurous spirit to change her mind.
The next step was to find coaches, and through the running community Nishreen got a hold of both UESCA certified running coach Tharindu Wickramasekera and certified Strength and Conditioning coach at Fhix45 Manoj Devasudan. As the Ultra X concept was fairly new to Sri Lanka, Nishreen tells us it took a while for her coaches to wrap their heads around it.
The three then did their research together and came up with a training plan, nutrition plan, hydration plan, and a mental plan. Her training began in September, and consists of workouts on 5 to 6 days a week including running and strength training. Nishreen also practises daily motivation, to help her focus and elevate her mental and emotional state. “This is 50% mind and 50% body,” Nishreen tells us.
Despite the exciting challenge she faced, Nishreen felt like there was something missing, like she could make this bigger than herself. The answer came to her through her own personal experiences.
Back in 2011, someone very close to Nishreen’s heart was diagnosed with cancer and received treatment at the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama. Here, everything from medication to chemo and radiation were free of charge.
As a result, every week they have a list of medication that is out of stock. She recalls waiting six hours for medication, only to be told it is unavailable. “For patients who have to come by bus from afar, this is huge. Two or three weeks is enough time for cancer to eat into you,” she tells us.
Just like that, Nishreen’s main goal became giving back to the hospital that had done so much for her loved one, by raising the money to purchase critical cancer medication through a structured and transparent plan that ensures no funds will be misused.
To raise the money, Nishreen collaborated with local crowdfunding platform TribeFunds to set up a Rs. 1.5 million target fundraiser, and has since raised nearly Rs. 770,000 through individual contributions.
More than the race, Nishreen finds that the journey itself has been life-changing for her. It has taught her everything from commitment and discipline to keeping herself grounded and not letting ego get in the way.
Nishreen says people have shared their own stories of loss and are finding some form of closure through her run.
Nishreen has pledged to all the donors who donate upto March 15 that she will have their names printed on her T-shirt for Day One of the run. “There are some people who want their children’s names, their father’s or sister’s names, instead of theirs to be carried. It’s very fulfilling that I’m able to help people find closure,” she says.
It has also inspired her daughters and her friends to take up running, which she is really happy about. She recalls with pride the moment her 11-year-old, who had previously never been interested in sport, completed her first 5km run last Sunday as part of CCR’s Couch to 5km programme.
Even her husband had never believed in long distance running. But the pair will be running 45km on Sunday (today). “I sincerely hope we make it! It’s going to be my ultimate test in terms of training.”
But Nishreen knows that everything she’s done so far has made her stronger. She also keeps reminding herself that she’s not competing with anyone else. “I’m running my own race. I just want to finish and raise funds.”
Despite the challenges in her journey to prep for this race, Nishreen is more than ready to take it on. “It doesn’t seem like a daunting distance anymore.” she says “I’ve taken my training to a different level, which I never knew that I could handle.”
| How to help | |
| With 48% left to be funded, if you would like to donate to Nishreen’s campaign ‘Ultra X – My Run For Cancer’ the fundraiser can be found on TribeFunds at www.tribefunds.lk/projects/apeksha Direct donations can also be made at: Name of Account – Tribefunds (Private) Limited Account Details – 100020001365, Nations Trust Bank, Colombo 3, Sri Lanka Deposit Reference – “ULTRA X – {Your Name}” Swift Code – NTBCLKLX |