Flagging off the run, at People’s Plaza on Sunday morning, was super-model, actor, fitness enthusiast, avid barefoot runner and Pinkathon founder Milind Soman. The debut run in saw Dr Raghuram CEO and director, Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation, Blade Runner Kiran Kanojia, Radio Mirchi’s RJ Bhargavi, Sasi Kumar CGM, SBI and leader of the Cancer Survivor Squad Dharini step out and support the noble cause right from the pre event stages and helped the national campaign establish a significant footprint in the city.
The run witnessed a squad of 10 cancer survivors and 20 visually-impaired girls as well as a group of 20 hearing and speech impaired girls, who participated across all three categories 3k, 5k and 10k run. The run had participants as young as three years and as old as 75 years.
“Hyderabad has shown us the kind of support that reiterates the nations want for the seed of change. SBI Pinkathon is exactly that and is more than just a marathon. It is the beginning of a movement carried forward by a growing community of empowered women across India, who share a belief that a healthy family, a healthy nation and a healthy world begins with empowered women. The first step in empowerment is taking control of your own health, respecting yourself and understanding and celebrating the value you bring to your family and society. Empowerment is not a gift of society; it is a gift you give yourself. We are delighted to have such diverse crowd participating in Pinkathon in Hyderabad. We believe that each of these wonderful women are celebrities in themselves and are now part of our ever growing Pinkathon family,” says Milind Soman, founder Pinkathon.
Pinkathon is an international all -women’s run created with the specific purpose of getting more women to adopt a fitter lifestyle for themselves and their families and to highlight the need for increased awareness about breast cancer.
“We, at State Bank of India, are proud to be a partner in this great initiative for women called the SBI Pinkathon that aims to spread awareness about breast cancer and promote women’s wellbeing. It is a run for women, of women, by women. Running is an incredibly effective way of making a healthier and smarter you. It helps you balance your weight, prevent disease, enhance your mood and boost your confidence. SBI Pinkathon is one event which will help you achieve all that,” says Vinod Pande, GM corporate communication and change, SBI.
In the last year Pinkathon was held across six cities with over 50,000 women participating (Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Bangalore) and has expanded to nine cities in 2015 to include Hyderabad, Guwhati and Srinagar. Pinkathon has donated more than Rs 45 lakh so far towards treatment of underprivileged women with cancer and has facilitated, through various partners, free breast screenings for thousands of women. The goal for Pinkathon is to eventually become the biggest women’s 10k run in the world, and to have more than 20,000 women participate across India in 2014.