Delhi women run for breast cancer

78-year-old runner was the oldest among 7,000 gathered at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium

September 15, 2014 08:20 am | Updated 08:20 am IST - NEW DELHI:

Participants of the SBI Pinkathon at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. — PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY

Participants of the SBI Pinkathon at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on Sunday. — PHOTO: R.V. MOORTHY

Over 7,000 women made their way to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at sunrise on Sunday to run the SBI Pinkathon in a move to raise breast cancer awareness.

After a foot-tapping Zumba warm-up, the run was flagged off to the beats of the dhol by Arundhati Bhattacharya from the SBI and Pinkathon founder Milind Soman.

The all-women 21-km run was flagged off first followed by the 10-km, 5-km., and 3-km with women from all age groups participating. The oldest participant was 78 years old while the youngest was a 12-year-old athlete. They were cheered up by family members, colleagues and friends. Some women even ran the event in support of the people they know who either fell victim to the disease or are battling it.

Mr. Soman, who obliged requests for a selfie, was overjoyed by the 50 per cent increase in participation compared to last year but said there was still a long way to go. Cancer survivor Deveika Bhojwani said she was overwhelmed by the sea of women who had come to show their belief for the cause of women’s health and breast cancer.

The mantra of the event was “Each One Kheench One” that encouraged people to bring along a partner to run with. On the sidelines, there were fun activities like Duathlon and Treadathon that kept the buzz alive and have corporates get involved.

Shailja, a Gurgaon resident was first to finish the run in the 21-km category, while Prit Lamba came first in the 10-km event, Meenu Kumari first in the 5-km, and Neeraj Kumari first in the 3-km category.

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