This Woman’s day (8th March), I took the opportunity to invite a few well-known and respected women athletes to share their experience participating in endurance sports. Here goes…
Kavitha Reddy
A mother of 2 sons, Kavitha is the epitime of hard-work and dedication; she is a Boston Qualifier with a full marathon time of 3:38, and is set to run the Boston Marathon in April 2018.
What is the most challenging thing you find as a woman athlete?
Frankly I have not faced many challenges, but I may be an exception as I started running only 3.5 years ago & have since had the strong support of my family. My children too were by then quite gown up ( 7th standard + ) and could take care of themselves If I had started running earlier & when my kids were really small, I probably may have faced the many challenges that passionate women runners face . ie, doing the most difficult juggle of managing the household, kids, kids schooling routines & pursuing the passion for running at the same time. This juggle takes a huge emotional toll & requires great amount of personal discipline & support of the whole family to be able to pull off !!!!
Why do you participate in endurance sports?
Running has given me many things in life, the biggest of which is confidence in myself & my abilities !!! . I probably started running to avoid getting bored at home. That has now transformed into my primary passion and drives me to achieve way beyond what I earlier thought I was capable of. It has given me purpose, drive & a tremendous sense of passion It goes without saying that this also helps me keep healthy, energetic, positive & very important has helped me meet with & make some great friends.
What can be done to increase participation of women in endurance sports?
That is quite general a question & cannot be answered simplistically. Different segments of women face different challenges and there is no one size fits all approach here !!! I think it is fantastic that the awareness to sport, especially on running & cycling is seeing a quantum leap over the last 4-5 years. The sheer number of marathons & events in the city of late & the increasing sponsorship money coming in here will, I believe, continue driving this culture forward in the cities & among the urban middle & upper class Women in the smaller cities & the those who are economically weak in the larger cities too is where the real challenge is. This is where we need more efforts flowing in, in the form of sponsorship, trainers, training gear etc etc. I am looking forward to see specific action plans here from all & especially from the relatively better off sporting community.
Ayesha Bharucha
A budding triathlete, Ayesha recently smashed the ITU World Triathlon Abu Dhabi Olympic Distance Race in a time of 3h:20m.
Q. What is the most challenging thing you find as a woman athlete?
Honestly I don’t find any part challenging or an obstruction.. I would rather work around challenges that may come my way…. Why should any sport be different for a woman. I believe if you start something you need to work a way around it. Apart from missing out my workouts during an illness there are no challenges.
Q. Why do you participate in endurance sports?
I participate to improve and prove myself…. I enjoy Challenging myself and putting great efforts to achieve it.
Q. What can be done to increase participation of women in endurance sports?
Some times Women fail to believe in themselves and their strength..! Nothing is impossible without trying and believing in yourself. You will never know what you can achieve without trying… So I feel awareness through various seminars and a little push to motivate. This is important according to me because in our culture we woman are made to feel less capable. And I totally disagree.
Zareen Shaikh
A mother of 2, the amazingly fit Zareen is well known for the mind boggling yoga poses and exercises she regularly posts on social media. A proponent of clean eating, she completed the 50K Pune Ultra last year in 6h:15m and was a podium finisher at the recent Nagar Marathon.
Q. What is the most challenging thing you find as a woman athlete?
The most challenging thing as a woman athlete is making time for the workouts , from the kids , work and home routine.
Q. Why do you participate in endurance sports?
I participate in endurance sports to get a feeling of strength and accomplishment.
Q. What can be done to increase participation of women in endurance sports?
Women should share and talk about their experiences in sports more. They need to reach out to others who may take the step seeing the benefits others get.
Sumitra Joshi
A mother of 1 and an architect by profession, Sumitra started running just 18 months back and is deeply devoted to running and is one of the most consistent and hard working runners you will see on the circuit.
Q. What is the most challenging thing you find as a woman athlete?
As a working woman its challenging to balance your passion for running ,work & family. Specially when you have to do speed workouts like tempo run and stand on construction site for hours without excuses. After workout, rest time is almost negligible as I have to complete house chores and rush for work . I have to plan my schedule a day in advance considering next day’s workout.
Shweta Dakhane
A mother of 2 sons, Shweta juggles the demands of her sons’ sports, her own business and her passion for running. She recently won 1st place at the Jaipur Half Marathon.
Q. What is the most challenging thing you find as a woman athlete?
Safety …is single major challenge!
Q. Why do you participate in endurance sports?
I like to push my limits..challenges encourage me to do better!
Q. What can be done to increase participation of women in endurance sports?
Conduct group training programs for beginners, & follow it through! Not like just one off event! It should be a structured program for an year over with monthly events
Dr. Neelam Vaid
Neelam is an ENT surgeon and travels extensively for her work, yet manages to not just train but get on the podium in her category. She recently got on the podium at SCMM 2017, and is currently training for Comrades.
Q. What is the most challenging thing you find as a woman athlete?
Juggling my roles as a wife mother daughter daughter in law and ent surgeon.
Q. Why do you participate in endurance sports?
Because I like to push myself to test my physical and mental limits.
Q. What can be done to increase participation of women in endurance sports?
Support women and make them feel they are no less than men.
Smita Patil
A regular podium finisher at local and natiaonal events in her category, Smita runs her own Pilates studio, and still manages to train with diligence.
Q. What is the most challenging thing you find as a woman athlete?
As of today for me I don’t it challenging probably because of a supportive environment. However as a fitness teacher running my own Pilates studio I have many young girls and mothers who would definitely like to do the activities I practice and preach. Their challenge is “putting themselves first ” . Having young children and of course a family to look after, they find prioritising their joys a challenge. Secondly for every woman to prioritise her passion and be successful is a challenge due to her multi tasking responsibility. Just as a man returns from an intensive workout to rest his feet , a woman does not find time to do so. Hence a challenge to convert to performance.
Q. Why do you participate in endurance sports?
Most of them are an outdoor activity, long duration and definitely keeps you happy , energetic and challenged . Also you are able to do them in a group and so very fun oriented.
Q. What can be done to increase participation of women in endurance sports?
– more women oriented events
– no categories, ranks , prizes to avoid discrimination or weaknesses
– male runners should encourage the women in their houses to participate
– have team events like spouses, siblings , etc where one is a woman
Taru Mateti
A regular podium finisher at local and natiaonal events in her category, Taru manages to balance her IT job and her passion for running with poise.
Q. What is the most challenging thing you find as a woman athlete?
The need to balance various priorities is as challenging as ensuring that I don’t choose any “unsafe” routes or timings for my runs.
Q. Why do you participate in endurance sports?
I love challenges; the high gives me a kick! And I just love to run, it is so liberating!
Q. What can be done to increase participation of women in endurance sports?
Awareness, safety, enablers, mentorship programs, and onboarding programs would help.
Aakriti Gupta
A mother of 1, Aakriti has a sports background in swimming, badminton, etc and somehow manages to juggle her demanding work and her passion for running.
Q. What is the most challenging thing you find as a woman athlete?
Most challenging thing for a woman is to take out time for herself “Me Time ” I have a 10 year old son and I am working for an IT company with Operations team. I work in two shifts 6 am to 3pm and 11am to 8pm. I don’t have fixed off and don’t get weekends also. I get split weekly off and Yes I do work on festivals too. It’s very challenging to make time for myself from this schedule to practice my runs.
Q. Why do you participate in endurance sports?
Endurance sports is an individual performance. The pain and pleasure is all yours.Running makes me physically and mentally strong.It gives me clear thinking.Running is my big stress reliever. The most happiest thing is you make friends wherever you go.
Q. What can be done to increase participation of women in endurance sports?
The most important thing to increase women participation in endurance sports is by taking care of safety issues. By encouraging technical support related to endurance sports like do’s and don’t.The coaching programs like motiv8 can give women a big mental support. Organizing beginner’s and intermediate plans for every individual. Society should provide facilities and opportunities to participate women’s into sport. Any sport has its own cost. Endurance sports are very expensive. It’s should be affordable enough so that every women can go for it easily.
Revati Oak
A mother of 1, Revati had a late wake up call to look after herself, her health and fitness and found that running was her calling.
Q. What is the most challenging thing you find as a woman athlete?
Taking first step out of the comfort zone is very challenging. Odd hours of running to mend house chores and work duties is another challenge.
Q. Why do you participate in endurance sports?
To me 40 hit me with a sense of realization that the most ignored part of my life was my own body! To increase the self belief endurance sport is the most apt tool I found in last one year of my running.
Q. What can be done to increase participation of women in endurance sports?
Women will come out if the necessary support is extended by the immediate family and most importantly if taught correctly how to shed inhibitions and start respecting the soul where our ambitions reside and thrive.