Five years ago, Viji Swaminathan would describe herself as introvert and lacking in self-esteem. Her poor self-image had a lot to do with being overweight. To get fit, she took up running. Besides improved health and self-confidence, running also imbued an inner strength that is obvious to people around her.
Her story of transformation is one of eight featured in Limitless, a documentary on Indian women runners. Viji is the only one from Chennai. The documentary will be screened at 3 p.m. on January 7 at Hotel Westin, a day before the Wipro Chennai Marathon.
“As I was overweight, I had very low self-esteem. I spent years feeling sorry for myself, but was unable to do something about it. Finally, in 2011, I decided to take up walking to lose weight,” says Viji.
It helped and she wanted to raise the bar. “I realised that unless I set myself a target, I would lose motivation. So, I began to run in half and full marathons all over the country. I also started my own running and training group — Unleash Your Inner Strength (UNIS),” she says. Her story interested those who initiated the idea of making a documentary on Indian women runners.
“The documentary crew, which had come down to Chennai in February, followed me an entire day, right from my morning jog to my work and household chores. They portrayed how running has changed my life, and impacted those around me too,” says Viji. “The eight women in the documentary have completely different stories, but the one thing we have in common is that running is a big part of our lives. Running is natural,” she adds.
