Pinkathon Ambassador and Miracle Woman Mann Kaur are creating world records at the age of 102. A world champion in the 100-104 years category, she participates in the 100m, 200m, javelin throw and shot put events. She recently won gold in the 100m sprint at the World Masters Games held in Spain, breaking her own earlier record. “I started running at the very ripe age of 93,” she says. “And I am not going to stop. I intend to bag more medals and be a part of more competitions. Running makes me happy. And winning makes me happy.”

Kaur has started training for the next event in Poland in March 2019. And she has plans for the next three years, for sporting events in Toronto, Canada, 2020, and, Kansai, Japan in 2021. “I wake up at around 4 am, do my household chores, and go for my sprint practice,” she says. “I eat rotis, soya milk, seasonal fruits, juices, and kefir. I can run because I eat nutritious food and exercise. These are the two key ingredients of my success. My advice to people is to quit junk as soon as possible and always eat seasonal vegetables/ fruits. Home-cooked meals are best for your body, coupled with exercise.”

The Pink Plank

The world went crazy when Milind Soman posted a video of his mother, Usha Soman, doing a 1 min 20-sec plank wearing a sari. At 78, Usha Aai, as she is popularly called, is giving the world some amazing fitness goals. She started trekking at the age of 16. She has trekked till the base camps of Everest and Kilimanjaro and was on a Himalayan expedition at the time of going to print. “Being physically active was just a way of life,” says Usha Aai. “I always used to walk a lot. We didn’t have the luxury of cars or cabs at our fingertips back then. Technology and the work culture have made lifestyles sedentary, and it is ruining everyone’s health. Everybody just aspires to have more. They all go after their wants and hardly stick to their needs. If you just stick to your needs, keep yourself busy, active and happy, think positive all the time, I believe, that’s enough.” Usha Aai recently participated in a barefoot sari run, #SariNotSorry, with Soman, from Ahmedabad to Mumbai, covering a distance of 570km.

The Making of Sheroes

The Pinkathon team works with a number of communities to empower and encourage them. Running together encourages empathy. It creates awareness at many levels that help break perceptions of stereotypes and bring about social transformation. Pinkathon believes sports are a tool for accomplishing a bigger goal, bringing hope, inspiration and the joys of achievement to specially-abled individuals. This is why the team works with the visually-impaired and hearing-impaired community. Many such individuals, especially in India, struggle with establishing contact with the rest of the community and often live isolated lives.

Pinkathon aims to break them free from the societal barriers, engage them with the outside world, realize their capabilities and create friendships. For the Pinkathin team, a Shero is a cancer survivor. To empower the survivors’ community, Pinkathon organizes a Cancer Shero Trek designed especially for cancer survivors who wish to attempt adventurous activities but are reluctant to join a regular group. The concept of the trek is to provide a community activity where a person who has withstood the physical and emotional ravages of the disease, has a chance to test themselves in a safe environment surrounded by friends and caregivers. In 2015, Pinkathon started a new concept where pregnant women and women with infants strapped to their bodies participated in a Baby Wearing Walk. The main goal was to educate people on the advantages of breastfeeding and postnatal care. Today, every run witnesses participation from a bunch of baby-wearing mothers.