Yes! That is the unexpected and surprising
tale that emerged from the Baramati marathon as Lata Bhagwan Kare outran
every other runner in her category to emerge victorious at the event.
She took everyone – the organizers, the
spectators and fellow competitors – completely by surprise, as not only was this
her first ever race of such a kind, but she also established a big lead over the
remaining participants within minutes of the start.
Everything about this runner was a surprise
element, right from her being 61-years-old, to running barefoot and the fact
that she wore a traditional nauvari (Maharashtrian sari) while running.
And the final bit of the puzzle that stumped
everyone present was the fact that not only did she perform well, but she beat
all the experienced marathoners in the fray to finish first.
Kare is a farm labourer who stays in a town
called Pimpli, which is about 7 km away from Baramati. Some of her relatives
informed her of the event just a few days before the main race day after which
she left to compete.
“When I came to know about the competition, I
decided to participate in the event. I gathered courage and informed my son that
I wanted to run the Marathon. Initially, he gave me a weird look as in his
opinion it was not possible, given my age. But I was determined, so he finally
gave in,” Kare told DNA.
She revealed that she was used to walking one
kilometre every day to get home from where she worked and that it held her in
good stead during the event.
“I used to go for morning walks daily, but I had
never run. If I had even tried to run, people would have found it strange and
they would have asked me uncomfortable questions,” Kare laughed.
Kare stays with her husband and son in Pimpli
where they have been residing for three years now. They originally hail from the
Buldhana district and had migrated to Pimpli for work.
Kare revealed that she felt a little nervous
standing at the start line – “I felt a little awkward, as all the other
participants were staring at my dress. That also made me a little nervous.
However, when the race began and I started overtaking them one by one, I gained
my energy. While running I was talking to myself and telling that I want to win
this race and I did it.”
Kare, in fact, did not start the race barefoot;
she initially ran with her slippers on. But she did away with them a few metres
into the race, when one of them slipped out from under her foot and she decided
to abandon the other one.
Organizer Sachin Satav said on this surprising
development, “We never expected a participant like Kare to be the winner of the
race. It was pleasant surprise. We were extremely happy while handing over the
trophy to Kare.”
After her miraculous run, there was only one
question on everyone’s mind – whether she would run more races in future?
To that query she replied – “I want to. But only
god knows whether I remain as strong then as I am today.”
