Manju Ramanan: How many years of The Run is this?
Harmeek Singh: This is going to be the 11th edition. I think every year we seem younger, so we do not count the years; we are starting fresh.
Manju Ramanan: You are looking fitter from last year. Are you a sportsman yourself?
Harmeek Singh: I would not call it “Walk the Talk,” more like “Run the Talk” right now.
Manju Ramanan: So, tell me, was sporting a part of your childhood years? Were you always like this?
Harmeek Singh: Yes, I was a very avid follower of sports. I was mostly outdoors, something that this generation misses. I was someone who was very keenly involved in sports and was the school captain and university captain for both cricket and soccer. At a given point in time, I was looking to take this as a career as well.
Manju Ramanan: So, you could have been in one of the national teams?
Harmeek Singh: Not sure, but events have changed. See, I am here now.
Manju Ramanan: The values that you have today and the family that you grew up in; how does that reflect in all that you do today?
Harmeek Singh: I think the values that I got while I was growing up have left an indelible mark on me. I have seen a lot of strength in women, in times when people had set certain notions on them. I had stereotypes being broken in my home. My mother was a young entrepreneur, supporting my father in his fabrication unit in the electronics department, that we owned. We were supplying things across Asia, and she was at the helm, managing five hundred people.
Manju Ramanan: You grew up in Delhi, right?
Harmeek Singh: I grew up in Delhi, and at that point, it was like coming from that orthodox state, where people were still getting used to women working, and my mother was the front- runner. She taught me to be human before anything else, looking at things not just from another person’s perspective but from your own perspective too.
Manju Ramanan: What about the next stage of your life – your college years and the blossoming of ambition? What did you want to do at that time?
Harmeek Singh: I was not very clear, as to what I wanted to do because I would consider myself a very pampered child at that point and I was having a little bit of a foggy head. But these times teach you the reality of life and I learnt that really well.
Manju Ramanan: When did you come to Dubai, and what were the challenges you faced?
Harmeek Singh: There was a point in life when we lost everything in our business. I did not have anything that I could bring to the table as a professional degree. I only knew that I could write poetry or talk to people. I am a people’s person so I thought that I was good at sales too. So, I came over here with no idea what I was going to do and landed my first job in sales in 2003. I somehow managed to get a job because I did not want to go home empty-handed. I received my first salary of 2,750 AED.
Manju Ramanan: It does not matter where you start; it is where you reach?
Harmeek Singh: it is still a work in progress. The fact is, it is not about the money, but that gave me hope. That gave me the feeling that “ok I am valuable; I can earn something” and that was the starting point for me.
Manju Ramanan: So, what moved from there, from being from a full-time job to an entrepreneur because that is a different mindset?
Harmeek Singh: I think, being an entrepreneur runs in your blood. Working for someone was not what I was trained to do. I did not have any training background, and my first job led me to do rigorous hard work in sales. The company was into digital printing linked to advertising.
Manju Ramanan: Also, as a sportsman you wouldn’t retreat. That is a mindset, as well?
Harmeek Singh: That must be something embedded in me, I am a very bad loser so I’d like to see that if I fall, I get up, dust myself, and fight again. So, it was 10 months of rigorous training for me, and that was probably where I found myself.
So, the idea of hard work, the idea of having no one to support you no one to guide you apart from Almighty was the reason that you can trudge along. That responsibility came to me. I had nosebleeds every day, and I had to adjust to the weather as well, walking miles without having money to go on to the bus. That is the time that I figured out that I am not a prince, I’m very much human. I would see so many cars whiz past me and nobody stops for me but even today if I get an opportunity, I stop and help someone I can.
Manju Ramanan: Beautiful! That is an amazing thing that you stopped the generational expectation and you are the one who changes the course of things, the turning point is with you?
Harmeek Singh: Yes, we can change the way we respond to things. And the turning point is us sometimes and we need to recognize and acknowledge it.
Manju Ramanan: Was there a Plan A before Plan B?
Harmeek Singh: There was Plan A, but it was Plan B that took off and has a brand and a kind of history. Plus, it is a great conversation starter; So, it was always meant to be ‘Plan B.’
Manju Ramanan: Fabulous! So, plan B is the bigger picture?
Harmeek Singh: Plan B is a bigger picture and was coined back with the fact that it is a very creative way of having a communication starter. I think a million times I have been asked “Why not plan A” so it is a good strategy to start discussing and having communication but then again, the actual reason is after college I started something small not knowing anything but just for a fashionable statement. So, I took support from my father, and I lost everything on that, and my father asked, “What’s your Plan B?” So, to date, I tell him that this is my Plan B and that became a business and a brand.
Manju Ramanan: And then getting into the entire sports arena and getting women to run. 2017 is when it all started?
Harmeek Singh: In 2017, we got a contract with the UAE Athletics Federation and the Sports Council. Prior to that time, I had been working with them. I was also given the contract of being the first-ever expat as a strategy director for the UAE, representing UAE globally as well. So, it was an honour for me as well.
I figured that there is a lot that I can give back to society, looking at my experiences, and that is where it all started. And why women? Because I think women have always inspired me. I looked up to my mother for everything and she proved everybody wrong. that is still being continued with my daughter. And it is wrong to say that women are inferior, they are superior.
The fact is, we need to catch up to the notion, “Don’t ask women to fit into the world; make a world fit enough for women.”
Manju Ramanan: Women always have this goddess energy about them, and they nurture you?
Harmeek Singh: I firmly believe that women can influence you and neutralize you with a balanced perspective. Having strong women in your life will always get you into a good zone of thought process and good well-being.
Manju Ramanan: How does The Run inspire you? What were your takeaways from The Run?
Harmeek Singh: I have been part of the running fraternity; I was a part of the Dubai Marathon, which is the richest run since 2004, and I saw a lot of people take part in The Run. There is this immense happiness that you feel when you are ending The Run— it is the kind of feeling, that freedom, that you have achieved something even though you have not. It also contributes to your mental health to your physical health all over.
When I look at the women’s run and see those happy faces; fathers carrying babies and managing the cradles; I say, “This is it” and it has nothing to do with the commercial side of it. This is my project which is very close to my heart.
Manju Ramanan: and it is beyond boundaries—colour, race, age- AGE for most of it is quite interesting to see that it starts at a very young age. What is your cutoff age—from when to when?
Harmeek Singh: We have the cradle runners as well, we have 8-year-olds, so we are not limiting ourselves to a cutoff.
Manju Ramanan: and who is the oldest runner that you have had?
Harmeek Singh: we had Sandy Saxena who ran at an age of around 70+ and Ambika, who is also around that age. So, I think 70+.
Manju Ramanan: Movement is the mantra of The Run. So how do you see movement which not just contributes to your physical fitness but also your mental and confidence levels?
Harmeek Singh: We go into a little bit of a theory that, “Women’s sports have never been looked upon encouragingly and competitively as men’s sports have been,” and this has been something to agree you look at the last 20 years, it has just started to pick up. If you look at women to compete in the Olympics, the Indian cricket team, and hockey—all of this is just picked up to the point where people do not even pay any attention towards women’s sports.
It has also been a movement for women, to represent in an equal manner to men’s sporting, again it has been accepted by the Olympics. Inspiration comes from the kind of hardships that we see, the passion that we see. Hats off and salute to Vinesh Phogat who I saw and had tears in my eyes, and stood up, after such a long time; this is the kind of inspiration that you want to have. She is an out-and-out winner and champion. And I do believe medal or no medal she is, my champion.
Manju Ramanan: and let us hope she comes to run. We have sent her a message. Let us see if she makes it. That will be good. That will be amazing.
Harmeek Singh: Inshallah.
Manju Ramanan: What do you expect on November 3rd, 2024, at Expo City?
Harmeek Singh: I am expecting that we have passed on a baton to a lot of people. But the community is growing every day. So, the 3rd of November is just to come around and be together and be that kind of support towards the move that is started. So we are, not considering ourselves as a run but as an everyday movement. We are an everyday community. We are looking at being there to support each other. We are there to have knowledge hearing. We are there for women supporting women. We are supporting the idea on how we grow this into a culture. So that is where it is.
Manju Ramanan: Leading up to The Run there have been several announcements of many events. So, tell us about it. Do you have something coming up very soon?
Harmeek Singh: We are announcing The Run officially on the 28th of August, we are making this as a platform for also supporting Emirati Women’s Day. We are doing the Rove, on the 28th of August, and we have very very strong women and also very supportive men to join in on that day to announce and to be together holding hands that we are walking and running towards this milestone that probably this year, were going to grow without boundaries because if you might see its just women’s run right now. We are not limiting ourselves to Dubai. We are going places, and I hope that we are going to be looked at not as a brand but looked upon as something that everybody is involved with beyond boundaries. It is not something that probably belongs to me but belongs to everybody.
Manju Ramanan: you have also mentioned “men supporting women” which is a very important part of society today. Because everything that we talk about has men included in there. And it is very important for women also to be supported by men and men to support women. So, tell me about that equation and how are they going to be part of The Run as well?
Harmeek Singh: I’ll just take a little bit of a quote, from the faith that I belong to, from Sikhism, from Sri Guru Nanak Devji, “Sokhyo Manda Aakhiye, Jeet Jaman Raajaan” in English, it’s been translated to, “how can you say a woman is inferior or anything less than anybody else, when she is where kings are born from.” That’s where it is embedded, and I think that “men supporting women” is something that we are late on and are delayed on the fact that it is equal…we talk about race, we talk about colour, we talk about faiths but I believe that equality and everything that belongs to be fair to everybody has to happen on all levels.
Why is it always a woman behind a man’s success? Why can’t it be a man behind a woman’s success? And the fact that I have been talking about… and I might sound repetitive this is what I believe in, it is about time that we put up our hand. It is not about the stereotypes, it is not about the social eyeballs, we can always talk about this, and I support this.
Manju Ramanan: so, will there be a men’s run too?
Harmeek Singh: There would be a different run these are different routines. Apart from that, we are into other aspects, we have done a very consolidated approach to race awareness for cancer. Our Cancer run this year in Abu Dhabi was very very well received event. We are doing this in Dubai next year, as well. We are looking at different platforms, so it would have mixed runs as well.
Manju Ramanan: The sporting element is important in all of your activities?
Harmeek Singh: I may say this for the sake that I believe in it, but there are two languages in the world that connect people—business and sports. Sports is one beautiful thing, even if you are competing, even if you are winning or losing, you are together. Be it your biggest rival, or whoever if somebody is crying, we say that in the World Cup, and we saw that people came together.
We talk about India-Pakistan and everything else. Pakistan gave a good run, and they lost, but then there was a player who was crying, Rohit Sharma went over there and consoled. So that is what the beauty is you know, it connects people.
Manju Ramnanan: It is emotional as well and end of it we are all emotional beings and we’re born to be triggered and motivated and inspired at the same time.
Harmeek Singh: I beg to differ on that. we are emotional beings but we need to be reminded of that because at this point I think we are more towards the fact that how artificial intelligence is responsible for everything, but I think emotional intelligence is very important, and I think emotion is one thing that makes us human; making it extinct is going to be wrong to the new generation— be it the millennials, Gen X, Alpha, whatever generation, we have got a responsibility to let everybody be human.
