I am a competitive person and everything just naturally fell into place when I got the opportunity to bring that competitiveness to running.

What I love about running is how it allows me to clear my head, clear my space. Sports can be a space for individuals to separate themselves from the world. At the same time, everything in the world seems to revolve around sports, from the Olympic games on TV to conversations on social media – anywhere you see, sports is there.

Having that representation where we see ourselves and our identities reflected in those spaces, will bring the fire and bring that light to individuals watching at home, who can connect and think, "Oh, this person identifies as x, y and z. This person is inspiring me.”

I think we’re arriving at a time where once we realize and recognize what our passion is, we need to take it, amplify it, and just move forward with it.

[As told to @Ragi Gupta — continued tomorrow]