Many athletes like to say that running is a perfect metaphor for life. We set the goal and start going one step at a time, and we go through ups and downs during the race, but we forge ahead to achieve our objective. It’s easy to see why it’s tempting to compare it to our year here in Lausanne, and the journey that we’ve been through over the last nine months.
If we were to define life in the IMD MBA, it would not be a quick sprint, as fast-paced as it might seem while it’s happening. It would probably be more like a marathon: we need to move quickly, but without losing sight of our overall goal. And nine months into the year, we are finally close to seeing that goal.
The run
While for a lot of us, the comparison would end at that, a group of MBAs decided to take it further. Next month, they will be putting on their running shoes to compete in the Lausanne Marathon. Twenty-seven people will run in the 10k, half-marathon and full marathon next month, and they are already training hard to be up to the task.
Building on the team that competed in the MBA Tournament, and who also ran in the Geneva Marathon on May 15th, the MBAs have come together once again to train and motivate each other. Running long distance requires a lot of preparation and discipline, and training together is the best way to keep each other accountable.
Nevertheless, despite the motivation already coming from being part of the group, the batch has another reason to run: a much more important one.
Meet Roxane
This is Roxane. She is my classmate Geoffroy’s niece and was born in February 2018. As you can see, she has a beautiful smile. She loves playing outside and spending time with her parents.
At the age of one and half, she was diagnosed with a 14cm long tumor near her lung, with metastasis everywhere in her body. She had to go through eight rounds of chemotherapy: she learnt to deal with nurses and doctors on a daily basis and adapt to the pace of the hospital. On 19 September 2020, after falling into coma for a month, she passed away aged just two and a half.
Roxane is one amongst thousands of children in Europe who die from cancer every year. Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children in Europe. Chemotherapy for children is widely different from that of adults, and research is lagging.
Why we are running
At Geoffroy’s initiative, we will be running in support of “Imagine for Margo – Children without Cancer”: an organization that fights against childhood cancer. Created in 2011, the association advocates and fundraises to accelerate research to better understand and cure childhood cancer.
For the race on 23 October, we have set ourselves the goal of raising CHF 3,000 between runners, cheerleaders and the entire IMD network. Each runner will give one franc per kilometer run and we are asking people to cheer on them while matching their donation. The IMD MBA office will also match every donation, up to CHF 1,200.
You can also help us achieve our goal and contribute to the cause by scanning the following QR code and donating. Together, we can win this race.
