Andrea Reinsmoen ran not only because it was her passion, but she also wanted her daughters to follow suit and get the feel of running at an early age.
“Mummy’s finished running,” three-year old Sofia Reinsmoen exclaimed. She ran to the finish line, two steps at a time, along with her sister, Linnea (6), and hugged her mother with all might.
Andrea Reinsmoen, sweating and panting, was equally overjoyed at being encouraged by her daughters.
Competing in the Stayfree DNA I Can women’s half marathon, Andrea ran not only because it was her passion, but she also wanted her daughters to follow suit and get the feel of running at an early age. “I want my two girls to be sporty. I wanted them to get out and see other women running and say ‘Oh, it’s normal’,” she said.
A tri-athlete from Ecuador, Andrea teaches at the American School of Bombay. The 37-year-old grew up running in the mountains of Quito and even did fencing and wind surfing for her country. But Mumbai, where she’s been for four years now, is a home away from home, thanks to the various marathons held in the city. “I am more of a tri-athlete. I can’t do that in Mumbai, so I do the marathons. It’s great to have a competition and get the women out in the open and make them run,” she said.
For Eleanor Foot, what started as a fun run, ended with a podium finish. Running in only her second race ever, Eleanor finished third in the 10km run. Hailing from San Francisco, Eleanor was on a three-and-half month visit to the city.
She had enrolled for the half marathon but since she was leaving the country on the night of the race and hadn’t trained much, she decided to go for the 10k run. “I signed up for the half marathon but chickened out. So I took up the 10km — and way to go, I won,” she said. “I am inspired by this and will continue running hereafter,” she added.
New York’s Jenna Bredesen, working as a bartender in the city, was relieved to find a platform to pursue her running. “This race was nice and flat. I am glad I got to run here as I desperately wanted a break from my routine,” she said.
The race also saw another casual athlete in the form of Cheryl Degroot. A native of Michigan (USA), Cheryl said, “If you have a cause and are trying to support women, just go for it. I am glad I attended it.”
These women ran for different reasons, in a different country, with different people. But for them, it was a race beyond all boundaries, and all that mattered was ‘I Can’.
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