“I used to hate running. The reason I started was because I always wanted to run a marathon. It was just a concept—a real man should run a marathon,” laughs Milind Soman, model, actor and creator of Pinkathon, an all-woman’s running event held to raise awareness of breast cancer, to be held in the city on April 12.
Milind, whose rugged good looks and effervescent charm certainly add to the real man persona, admits to now being a running evangelist: he has been so for over a decade now, since his running debut at the Mumbai Marathon. “Once I did the half marathon, I was hooked. It is just amazing to know that you can run that much. It makes you feel invincible and that is addictive.”
And it is this need to share this addiction with other runners, especially women, that has emboldened him to start the Pinkathon. “Like most runners, I want more people to run. And though there are now many running events in our cities, women aren’t participating enough in them. A recent study published a report on why British women do not exercise and the top two reasons remain fear of judgement and the guilt of taking time away from the family. This is the same problem globally, including in India,” he says.
Regular exercise, according to Milind, is one of four factors that ensure physical well-being, the others being restful adequate sleep, correct nutrition and a positive mindset (“the most important of the four—if you have that you will automatically make the right choices”).
Which is why, he says, an all-women’s running event is required.
“A healthy lifestyle does help prevent diseases like cancer yet not enough women exercise. I know thousands of women who started running with Pinkathon and continued doing so after the event. It is a great thing—walking and running are the easiest things you can do to keep fit,” he says.
The event has grown from strength to strength since its inception in Mumbai in 2012. “There are nine cities this year— Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Srinagar, Delhi, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Pune, Bombay. It is great to see the energy and enthusiasm,” he says.
Milind, an advocate of running without shoes (his feet are rather nice despite that), says, “I run barefoot everywhere. Running is a natural activity and with my feet bare I am able to respond to the signal I get from the ground. Running barefoot has changed my form completely and I think it makes me less prone to injury,” he says, adding however, that one needs to ease into running this way gradually.
On his own training schedule, he says, “I run whenever I have time—sometimes five days, sometimes two. It could be in the morning, evening or afternoon but I see that I do it. You see, it is now something I need, something that defines me at many levels. I cannot imagine life without it.”
