To encourage women’s health and fitness, and create much needed awareness about breast cancer, India’s first ever 10km run for women, HCG Pinkathon, is being organised in the city. Event ambassador, former Miss India and fitness enthusiast Gul Panag, was in the city along with fitness enthusiast Milind Soman and Nafisa Ali to promote the cause.
Talking about the event Gul says, “In today’s day and age, raising awareness about health ailments is crucial. We aim to educate people about the causes and prevention of breast cancer, and I am delighted to be a part of the cause.”
Running addresses most of the top 10 ways to help prevent breast cancer, says Gul. She continues, “I have been running since I was 15 years old. My father would kick me out of the bed and make me run. Today, I am thankful to him for teaching me the importance of running. I run at least 5 km everyday. ”
The first ever Pinkathon, organised by Maximus Events, was held in Mumbai last year, where more than 6,000 women of all ages participated, and now it has spread across 12 Indian cities, expanding to New Delhi, Hyderabad, Pune and Chandigarh this year.
Discussing women’s safety issues, Gul insists that it’s commendable that so many cases get reported in Delhi. “But this does not mean that crime against women happens only in Delhi. It’s unfair to say that women are not safe here.”
Patriarchy is an Indian phenomenon, insists Gul. She continues, “Even at home someone would subconsciously make you feel that you cannot do something because you are a woman. But are we going to tolerate this gender bias or wait for change or take the initiative to bring in that change? I want to be someone who takes the initiative. Therefore, I extend my support to events that empower women,” says Gul.
Red FM 93.5 RJ Swati will be the brand mascot of the event. Reema Sanghavi, managing director, Maximus Events adds, “It is estimated that 1 in 22 Indian women have the lifetime probability of developing breast cancer. In India, the number of new breast cancer cases is about 115,000 per year and this is expected to rise to 250,000 new cases per year by 2015. Not many people know that it is among the curable cancers if detected early.”
Online registration is open for the city’s first multi-category running event for women to be held on September 15. Women could also enrol for 5 km or 3 km run.
