“Running is a privilege, never take it for granted.”
I am Pooja Varma, a 45 year old homemaker. I am a mother of two young girls aged 20 and 16. My husband is a fitness enthusiast and he introduced me to the world of running. I started my journey as a runner in the year 2009 when I weighed 79 kg. As my husband belonged to the medical field, he encouraged me to take control over my body weight and do something concrete about it as it posed a risk of developing lifestyle diseases like hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart diseases. I began my journey with 100m of running and walking twice a week. I had to make a few changes in my diet too. Slowly and consistently, I increased my distance and started losing weight and I currently weigh 57 kg.
Running taught me that hard work always pays, consistency is the key to success and if you are persistent, nobody can stop you from achieving your goals. Managing my family, running, and working a very demanding job from 7-5pm was not easy at all. So, I started running at 4am, and then went to work at 7am after doing household chores. My day used to end at around 10pm after taking care of my kids’ academics, projects and my own preparation for the next day.
I took part in a 6k running competition last year and after securing a podium finish in the first event itself, I discovered that I can run fast enough even at this age. Hence began my journey as a competitive runner. To increase my pace, I incorporated core and leg strengthening exercises into my fitness regime.
I got immense love and recognition from the running fraternity for which I am very grateful. Their appreciation encourages me to stretch my limits and to explore my strengths. The only message I want to give to the women out there is: Make fitness your first priority, your family revolves around you and your lifestyle will motivate your kids and spouse to be fit and healthy.
My suggestion to the beginners is to go one step at a time. Take things easy. Don’t compare yourself with anyone because it’s your own journey, it’s your own battle and you are the one who has to win it. Listen to your body and don’t push it too hard. A good pace comes with consistency, persistence, determination and hard work. And last but not the least, diet plays a very important role in your fitness battle, so maintain an optimal one.
Profile
- Participated in 10 events in the year 2017 and achieved podium finish in 7 events.
- Participated in Mumbai Ultra 12-hour run and clocked 71k in it.
- Ran from Mumbai to Pune in November’17 under the Pinkathon banner and covered 160k in three days.
- Qualified for the National Games by securing first place in 1500m (Gold medal) and third place in 400m (Bronze Medal) in Master’s Athletics Meet.
- Brand ambassador of BSF Half Marathon organised in Delhi in the month of October.
- Brand ambassador of #Run4Diversity run.
- Hiranandani Thane Half Marathon (10th place overall in 10k category).
- Also participated in IDBI Half Marathon and BSF Half Marathon.
- Brand ambassador of IDBI Federal Life Insurance Half Marathon, Mumbai.
- Brand ambassador of Kanya-A-Thon organised in Gurugram.
Achievements
2017
- Secured second place in BNP Monsoon 10k Run.
- Got first place in GSC Spirit of Sport 10k Run.
- Secured first place in Conserve the Water Run 10k.
- Achieved first place in Spandan 6k Run.
- Secured second position in Vasai-Virar Marathon (21k).
- Achieved third place in Pinkathon 21k category.
- Secured second position in Intencity 10k run.
2018
Since Jan’18, participated in five events wherein achieved podium in three events-
- Secured first place in 10k in open category (18-45) at the #Run4Diversity event in January’18.
- Got first place in my age category and overall second place in GSC Spirit of Sport event in 10k.
- Achieved overall second place in BNP Ultra 25k Run with a timing of 2.15 hrs.
- Achieved first place in ICT 10k run.
- Represented Maharashtra in 38th National Masters Athletics Championship 2018 and bagged three Gold medals in 10000m, 5000m and 4*400m Relay and a Bronze medal in 1500m.
- Secured third place in Nashik Half Marathon.
- Achieved fifth place in 21k at Tata Mumbai Marathon.
Also representing BIG Duathlon Challenge 2018 as their Brand Ambassador
