Think it is too late to start running? Meet Sundarambal Sairamesh. She started running four years ago, at the age of 42, when most people quit being outdoorsy. “All credit to my husband, who is a fitness freak. Though I was an athlete in school, I stopped running soon after. Then, I got busy with family, kids and work. But my husband, quite diligently, kept nagging,” she says with a laugh.
Things got a little serious when she was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism (a condition in which the body lacks sufficient thyroid hormone) at the age of 38. Doctors advised her to do yoga and hit the gym. “That was the starting point. At the gym, there was a running class every Saturday. There were four of us ladies, who ran together. And there I was, back on track after a long 24-year gap,” she says.
It was during one of those runs that one of them suggested, ‘Why not participate in a 3,000-metre run?’ “So we enrolled ourselves just for fun. But when I crossed the finish line, I knew something changed in me. I felt I had achieved something great,” she recalls with pride.
That was in 2012. What followed was a series of runs — 6k, 10k, half marathons and full marathons. Now, Sundarambal is 16 half marathons and four full marathons old (TWCM 2015 will be her fifth). She also won the first place in the Veteran’s Category — both in the Ultra Run (50,000 metres) at Javadhu Hills and The Wipro Chennai Marathon 2014 — and was among the 204 contingents to represent India at the recently-concluded Chicago Marathon.
“The results have been remarkable. I lost almost 16 kilograms since the time I started running, and my hypothyroid problem vanished. Not that just, I feel more confident about taking initiatives — both at my workplace and home,” says Sundarambal, who balances a nine-to-five job at a bank, housework, and two hours of running a day, with ease. “I wake up around 3.30 a.m.; do some cooking as my daughter has to take lunch to college; leave home by 5 a.m. for running (along with a Chennai Runner’s group called Pettai Rappers), and am back by 7 a.m. to get ready for office,” she says.
Over the course of the week, she switches been running, yoga and cycling. “Now, I am aiming at a Triathlon. I am participating in Cyclathons and also going for swimming classes,” she says, before adding, “I want to become the ultimate iron woman!”
Registrations close on November 22. Log on to www.thewiprochennaimarathon.com and register today!
