You’re never too old to run your first race,
even if you don’t have proper running gear. That’s
what 66-year-old farm worker Lata Bhagwan Kare
proved when she ran in the recent Baramati Marathon
in Maharashtra and won the senior citizen
division. Wearing a nauvari, a traditional Maharashtrian
sari, she started the race in slippers,
but after one fell off, she let the other go and completed
the race barefooted. She received a cash
prize of Rs. 5,000 and a certificate for winning the
3-km race.
Standing at the starting
line in her sari, she had
felt nervous and awkward,
as other competitors stared
at her. “However, when the
race began and I started
overtaking them one by one, I gained my energy,”
she told DNA. “While running I was talking to myself
and telling that I want to win this race, and I
did it.”