As many as 13 women from the country are going to take part in the Anantapur Ultramarathon beginning on Thursday evening in the district.
Teenagers Nandeeswary and Gangothri, undergoing boxing training at the Anantapur Sports Academy, will be taking part for the first time in the relay ultramarathon, as part of which they’ll run with 212 others to cover 40 km, a distance they’ll run for the first time.
The two girls, members of the Anantapur Boxing Club for one and a half years, watched their coach run in the ultramarathon last year. Since he encouraged them to take part in this edition, they took up the challenge and have been practising for a month.
They have been running each day for as long as they could, since registering for the event, and have been increasing distance and intensity gradually, the coach said.
“We want to set an example so that each year there are more number of girls in sports . It is important to understand that girls can compete at the same level as boys,” says Nandeeswary.
“When we box, we feel strong. It is a good way to learn self defence,” says Gangothri.
