What better way to celebrate Women's Day a day later than with your sister? Even better, how about celebrating it with the siblings running together in a marathon?
That's exactly what Lalita Ravichandran and her sister, Radha Sundaresan, did on Sunday by taking part in the 10km event of the 'dna I can' marathon.
"Running instils confidence in ourselves. Also, when you cross the finish line, it's very liberating," says Lalita, an assistant manager in RBI, accounts department, CBD Belapur branch.
The duo has been running marathons together since 2004. "I'm amazed by the Palm Beach Road and wanted to run on such a beautiful stretch. So I decided to train for the Dream Run of the Mumbai Marathon," says Lalita.
"After successfully completing that run, I just knew that I wanted to continue running. Radha couldn't believe that I was capable of running that distance. On seeing me, she too started training. We now run all the possible half-marathons that are organised in the city."
So do they train for the marathon? "We get time only on Sundays as we are working on all the other days," says Lalita. "We run together so we can motivate each other when needed. It's good to have your sister for company."
The sisters say that they were motivated by their mother, Laxmi Bala Subramaniam, who always encouraged them to stay healthy. "Even though she ensured that we never neglected our education, she made it a point to convince us to take up some form of activity," pointed out Radha. "Even now, we call her up after every run, and she feels really happy knowing that we have completed the run."
The only problem they face is the fact that Lalita has diabetes and so has to carry her medicines with her for every run. "Radha carries all my medicines for me. But I don't fear anything. I firmly believe that it is all in the mind, and if I don't worry, it won't affect me," says Lalita.
(anil.dias@dnaindia.net)
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