She can. And she did. For Neelam Rajput, a run in the Stayfree Women For Change DNA I Can Women's Half Marathon on Sunday morning, was in part an effort to silence her inner demons.
She can. And she did. For Neelam Rajput, a run in the Stayfree Women For Change DNA I Can Women’s Half Marathon on Sunday morning, was in part an effort to silence her inner demons. When she came second, clocking 1:28:03, she knew she had finally beaten all odds.
The 24-year-old had suffered a serious head injury last August when a tempo ran into her and her siblings. The period of recovery, she recalls, was the worst phase of her life. Confined to a bed for at least a month, the athlete found her dream of hitting the tracks again crushed. She had stood second in a 5,000m national-level race in Kerala four years ago.
But Rajput, together with father Maruti Kadam and husband Sachin, refused to let fate have the last laugh.
Once she was fit enough, she started training. “I started with 5km runs and gradually increased the distance. My husband used to ride beside me on his bike to record my timing,” says the first-year MA student of Uran.
Today, her usual lap is a 20km-run in the morning and a 15km one in the evening, with Sachin still beside her on his bike.
“I’m very proud of what she has achieved. Just before we left for the marathon, I told her not to worry and I knew that she will do exceptionally well. And see, she proved me right!” says a chuffed Sachin.
Rajput isn’t putting down her running shoes yet. Instead of basking in the glory of her win, she has already trained her sights on the nationals. In the evening, she headed to Pune for the trials. If she is selected, she will be part of a national camp in Bangalore.
Her dreams aren’t limited to a win in the nationals, though. It’s an Olympic participation she is aiming at. “I will train really hard so that I can meet this goal.”
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