Associate Director-CyberSecurity with an MNC with passion for Fitness and community service. Founder Trustee -Guide Runners India, a Registered Trust. International Yoga Alliance - Certified Yoga Teacher. Formerly-Champion Runners coach-Skechers, Running Coach at Cure.fit. She was profiled as GameChangers2017 an elite list of 21 women across world. Six star world marathon majors finisher * and *profiled by world marathon majors who credited her with sparking a revolution in women’s running in India.
HSR Bellandur training was launched on Jun 30 2018 at Bellandur Central Mall. There was good participation from the residential communities around the mall. There was good support from Divya G, Saroj, Divya M and Rashmita in giving a continuity to the initative.
Sapna and Suverchas have been the most consistent training girls. On Oct 21st they took on the role og guide runner for visually impaired for girls from Mitra Jyoti Institute of Blind. The visually impaired girls and boys training happens 3 days a week at HSR location. More are expected to join from coming weeks.
Budigere training was launched in July 2018 and since then there are regular sessions every Saturday. Awesome effort by Ritika from Prestige Tranquility. She contributed greatly as a guide runner for visually impaired earlier.Budigere being very far off from the city center, the girls rarely make it to team get togethers at Cubbon, but we make it up with whatsapp 🙂
Vizag trainings celebrated their 3rd Anniversay in April 2018. The sessions are held every saturday covering basics of running and strength training. The location also registered for the 20 week training program launched by me for Pinkathon trainings.
The Hindu news paper covered the launch of 20 week program for Vizag elaborately !
PinkathonDay saw enthusiatice participation by the ambassadors !
Sheela Amrith Raj
Swetha R
Valli Nettam
Sreelakshmi Ronanki
Sonam Sokhal
Harsha Latha
Monika Kansaria
VAISHALI More
Other Pinkathon members n Ambassadors present:
Jyothirmayi
Sree Karuna
Durga Lakshmi
Saranya Srinivas
Rashmi Majji
Suguna Viswanadhuni
Zumba by our Fitness Ambassadors
Deepa Deval n Shama Parveen
Volunteers:
Satish (5AM Walking Group)
Raaki (Pinkathon Ambassador cum photographer)
Also a lot of women from across Vizag joined in.
Venue for PinkathonDay was beautiful RK BEACH ROAD, near Aircraft Museum
Time: 5:30-7:30am
Running distance:5km
Route : From Aircraft Museum to Park Hotel Junction n Back to Aircraft Museum
Since 2016 we started training as guide runners for visuallyimpaired.
These Girls and Boys are from underprivileged background and the challenges are immense.
Leading Ngo’s have nominated some of its best visually impaired athletes. These athletes have been selected after assessing their performances in previous races, Bangalore 10k was one of them. Since then, they have been undergoing rigorous trainings for around 6 days a week with my team.
Starting with their whole body physiotherapy assessments and blood tests, the athletes were given their nutrition support which included energy drink, pre run snack and nutritious breakfast post run.
They have also been provided running gear and shoes.
Their workout consist of 3 running days, two days of strength training, per week.
Also foam rolling, stretching sessions. Doctors and physiotherapists attend the sessions regularly to assess their health.
Apart from this there are few athletes from the Mitra Jyoti institute for Blind who join us regularly.
Pics from Pinkathon Bengaluru 2016
I strongly believe that every human being has her set of rights to achieve what normal people do. It was in a Pinkathon event that I learned that there were hundreds of them willing to run and undergo training and the journey started since then. These visually impaired women & kids are from underprivileged background and the challenges are immense.
Event: Training session at JP Nagar & HSR Samarthanam, Meet and Greet with new members, 2016
Event: First Aid session for Visually Impaired by Alert India, Jagadish, 7 Sep 2017
Event: Self Defence Session for Visually Impaired, Ritika and team, Sep 2017
Event:
Event :Bengaluru 10k training at Stadium.June 1st 2018 , Footballer Sunil Chhetri’s dad joined us as Guide runner for the day !
Event : Visually impaired athletes running Bangalore Marathon
Schedule 1 : Body assessments of VI runners
Date : 25th August 2018
About 10 visually impaired runners of Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled who will be running the Bangalore Marathon on 21st October 2018 are heading speedily towards progress. Since they will be the first set of runners in India to run a full marathon, their schedule is under stringent surveillance by their coach Bhumika and her team.
They underwent body assessment today with physiotherapists. This body assessment is the first major step in their training process since their diets for the 2 months to come will be decided according to their test reports.
Thanks to Dr Sitaraman from PhysiobeFit for the assessments and advise.
Event : Strength Training sessions at the gym and Kanteerava stadium, Aug to Oct 2018
Event : Running workouts, three days a week at Kanteerava Stadium, HSR Layout, some sessions at Bannerghatta
Many thanks to the running community for their donations of running gear and accessories. Huge contribution from Runners 360 and Pacemakers
Bengaluru trainings first started with Cubbon Park location! We achieved a major milestone onn Jan 26th 2018, as we celebrated 100 weeks of #PinkathonTrainings at Bengaluru #Cubbon Park !! Thank you Vasundhara for organic millet cake and thanks to PinkathonMilind Soman for encouragement and support !
Pinkathonday Celebrations continued at Cubbon Park on 27 Oct too! With medals and prize distribution.
A big thank you Balasubramaniam, Vasanthi, Vandana, Vasundhara,Preeti and team for leading and supporting the various events at Cubbon Park.
Kadugodi location started 4 months back. Lot of fitness enthusiasts came together with an identical goal… Fitness.
The USP of this location is excellent campus facilities sponsored by PNC Cognito School management. The campus has good facility to run a loop of 1 km and open ground for exercises and drills.
Great team effort by Sucheta, Hema Vivek supported by Saroj and Sudha!
“All Pink sisters started they routine practices with lot of determination and consistency following the 29 weeks training program designed by Head Coach Bhumika Patel ” says Sucheta
As they received the news of Oct 21st Pinkathon Day &NammaBengaluru Run all were excited as they got an opportunity to participate in an official run which was a maiden race as well for most of them.
Right from registration, distribution of bib and T shirt, participation in the race, till a strong finish all pink sisters the enthusiasm was sky high.
Kadugodi Training girls congratulations for a strong finish with remarkable timings for the maiden 5k race on 21st Oct 2018.
1. Shweta G – 45 min
2. Sangeeta Kumari – 40 min
3. Shilpi kantia – 45 mins
4. Deepa Chauhan – 44 min
5. Shalini Tomar – 56 min
6. Priyanka Verma – 56 min
7. Devi Murugapan – 50 min
8. Meenal Dubey – 47 min
9. Nutan Dhaka – 47 min
It was a big day for Kiran Johari too. She finished her maiden Half Marathon in 3:03:34 hrs gracefully. Kiran was very dedicated and consistent in her run workouts. Congratulations Kiran for an inspiring finish of Half Marathon.
Congratulations kadugodi training location for a big success on a big day!!
Recently a group of visually impaired girls etched their names in Indian history by running their first time Full marathon! Kavya was one of the finishers at NammaBenngaluru Marathon on Oct 21st and it makes me very proud !
Accompanying her to finish line was my colleague from IBM, Nandish Kumar, who has dedicated several hours to support the trainings.
Dr Rajneet from ColumbiaAsia Hospitals, provided good support with picking up nutritious food for her and ensuring they visually impaired had access to it. He has also done a few training runs with Kavya. She was provided with new running tshirts, running tights and sports bra. We would either do breakfast or dinner together on most training days.
Kavya is a 19 yr old visually impaired girl whom I met at Samarthanam, HSR. She was recommended to me by her wall climbing instructor as a very strong athlete. Samarthanam also has a sports facility providing her with adequate wall climbing training. One fine day, she called me herself that she was keen to join running. I gladly agreed :- ) She has been very regular and consistent. Since she joined later part of training, we still have work to do with her.
During her childhood days, a kid threw a stone at her while playing, because of which she completely lost sight in one eye.
Her Interests include Wall climbing and running Marathons !
Due to her progress and achievements in sporting activities (wall climbing, long distance running), she is completely inclined towards sports and intends to pursue a career in this field.
She was placed 3rd at the national level for wall climbing for visually impaired.
She has been selected to participate in an upcoming international wall-climbing event in France.
Her father is into agriculture and her mom and younger brother lend him a helping hand.They are supporting her to pursue her dreams.
She completed her 10th in a normal school from her native place, Tumkur and joined Samarthanam institute 6 months back.
She has recently undergone a 3 months’ course in technical and sector based skill training at Samarthanam’s Livelihood Resource Centre for the disabled. Although she intends to pursue intermediate education (PUC/11th and 12th) in the future, currently, she is seeking employment.
She is ready to forego her education at this juncture, depending on her progress in sports and is extremely confident and determined to succeed.
This day was a special one for Bangaloreans as they witnessed a very rare one of its kind phenomenon where visually impaired and cancer sheros put their mark in the world of fitness and health.
It was history in the making as visually impaired girls completed Full Marathon first time in India.
Bangalore Pinkathon Girls enthusiastically participated in making Pinkathon Day a huge success. The Ambassadors and Training Leads worked hand in hand for effective execution. The leads from different locations like Cubbon, Whitefield, Kadugodi, Bellandur/HSR, Jayanagar, Bannerghatta, Indiranagar, Cox town, Malleshwaram , Budigere ,Jeevanbimanagar etc for collection and distribution of bibs and T Shirts for participants at Kanteerava Stadium.
The most remarkable thing of Bengaluru is that it has recognized and emphasized on fitness of Visually Impaired athletes and Cancer Sheros equally.
Since last 20 weeks, with a need specific training format 15 Visually impaired athletes are being rigorously trained to run a Half Marathon and a Full Marathon which is an outstanding achievement for Pinkathon Training Bengaluru. Hence the choice of marathon and 5k route was based on NammaBengaluru Marathon route for timing record purpose, as this was a record attempt which would create a name in history books.
The training format also focused on the nutrition requirements of the Visually Impaired athletes. Bengaluru has experienced a day where darkness shared vision of success. On Pinkathon day we held their hand, walked their path from the dark to the light of glory. We are proud to announce that 5 girls and 2 boys explored the joy of completing their Full Marathon. 6 visually impaired girls with strong will power finished their Debut Half Marathon.
#PinkathonDayBengaluru VisuallyImpaired Athletes and guides
The perfect example of ‘Pinkathon mantra of fitness’ is Geeta, 50 yrs + the colorectal Cancer Shero. Her fighting spirit and dedication has made her so strong that she attempted her maiden Half Marathon. She is also a guide runner for a Visually impaired athlete on Pinkathon Day. Geetha strongly believes that a Cancer Surviviors need strong support from family and friends. She has proved that ‘life after cancer can be beautiful’. She says she dedicates her debut Half marathon run to Head Coach Bhumika who was by her side throughout the journey conquering Minds over Miles.
Associated with Pinkathon Training as Visually Impaired guide Ravi, a colorectal cancer shero started distance running during the last 3-4 months. He participated in couple of competitive 10ks with a sub 60 minutes timing. Ravi successfully finished his half marathon in the Bangalore Marathon on 21st Oct.
“As I stepped on the running track my face enlightened and eyes sparkled. I ran 5k with lot of aspirations. I reached the finish line leaving all my anxiety and stress behind. On the race day I not only merely earned a medal but also a satisfaction and confidence that now I can live a normal life once again.” were the feeling expressed by Seema a cancer Shero who set a fitness goal on joining Pinkathon Training at Cubbon Park location.It was her maiden 5k run.
We can proudly say ‘We are the power of yesterday today and forever’.
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Using COMMUNITY RUNNING as a tool, Pinkathon and it’s Ambassadors have empowered and enabled thousands of women across India to bring positive change into their lives. By understanding that by PRIORITIZING a little bit of time for themselves every day they can bring about change in physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. They can bring change in understanding the value they bring to their families and society, and respecting that value. They will be bringing change to the future of their families by INSPIRING BY EXAMPLE. Bringing the concept of health into every aspect of their lives. Making physical, mental and emotional health the driving force of every decision. The entire team of Pinkathon Ambassadors and leads had geared up as they executed every task to make the 21st Oct 2018 Pinkathon Day a huge success.
Many thanks to the team which volunteered day and night for the success of the event
Saroj whitefield
Sudha Whitefield
Prachi Hardikar Whitefield
Rashmita HSR
Vandana Cubbon
Vasanthi Cubbon
Geetha Cubbon
Uma pai Cubbon
Rajesh HSR
Vasundhara Malleshwaram
Dr Priya Jayanagar
Hema Jayanagar
Sucheta Kadugodi
Praveen Indiranagar
Shilpee Jeevanbimangar
Preeti Bhuyan Cox Town
Saritha Arra Bannerghatta
Rashmi Mishra Bannerghatta
Himani Manyata
Uma Pai Bannerghatta
Poonam Mishra Bannerghatta
The celebrations continued the week after with all locations meeting at Cubbon with prize distribution and sharing of experiences!
Bannerghatta location also had celebrations and prize distribution the following week!
Three Cheers to all who participated enthusiastically !!
On 21st Oct 2018, 2 hrs past midnight 5 visually impaired girls and 2 visually impaired boys with a spark in the eyes and a smile on their face set their foot on the track to explore the joy of completing their Full Marathon. They were also accompanied by 6 visually impaired girls with strong will power finished their Debut Half Marathon!
Big salute to the will power and the dedication to these girls and boys who set an example to the world that nothing can hold you back if you have strong hand holding you. The journey to the finish line was not easy. It had a lot of hard work, hours and hours of structured training, nutrition, fueling, motivation, pep talks, their comfort level and the most important a trust between the visually impaired athletes and the guide runner. 2GO Active Wear came in at the right time with the best sports gear – running bra, tights etc which we needed urgently.
A Big applaud for the guide runners to make the impossible possible as they put their heart and soul for continuous support to the visually impaired athletes throughout their journey to success:
For Full Marathon: Bhumika for full and Venkat for half, to be a strong support for Sunitha. Praveen Shetty to support Mala. Bhadresh for full and Sudha for second half, a strong support for Renuka. Nandeesh to guide Kavya, Rahul and Abhishek to support Nandeesh till the finish line. Sachin and Shekhar for support for Ajay.
#PinkathonDayBengaluru VisuallyImpaired Athletes and guides
The support mere was not in extending assistance by holding their hand, run on the track from the start lint to the finish. It was more beyond that. The guides were eyes for the athletes, they closely motivated them, took care of their needs of refueling during the race, comfort as they proceeded towards the finish line , a pep talk with them so that they don’t feel stressed out and tired due to anxiety. At times a quick massage to relax the muscles also was attended to. The route volunteers on event day Suma and Indra provided encouragement and support mid route. Vandana and Vasanthi the venue volunteers took charge of the visually Impaired tent.
Thanks to support team Vasanthi Gv, Vandana, Asima, Rinka Singh, Mansoor Runners360, Jayanagar Jaguars
Empowering VisuallyImpaired & Beyond 