CHENNAI: At six, Nausheen Banu Chand’s father took her to a temple near their residence in TN Palayam, Erode, and encouraged her to climb the hill in the area. Nearly 25 years later, Nausheen, now an aeronautical engineer, became the first female athlete to complete the 42-km Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon for three consecutive years from 2024 to 2026, earning her the state government’s 2026 Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise.
The 30-year-old runner, who has taken on some of the toughest endurance challenges over the years, received the award from Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay during the 80th Independence Day celebrations held in Chennai on Saturday.
Initially, Nausheen competed in marathons to build endurance to pursue her dream of joining the Air Force. After moving to Chennai for work in 2021, she was trained in basics of mountaineering by Trilog Chandran at a village near Chennai. She then picked up ‘Trail Running’ as the sport for mind health betterment and endurance building.
The training she underwent was intense, as Nausheen had to overcome low oxygen levels, freezing temperatures and rugged terrain to complete the Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon, especially for three consecutive years. In 2023, she also created two “Nobel World Records” for completing a 42.195-km marathon and a 22-km inline skating feat in Ladakh.
For Nausheen, however, one of her biggest challenges was breaking social expectations. “I am from a lower-middle-class Muslim family where women can’t dream beyond marriage. But my parents and brother supported me,” she said.
She recalled that when she decided to participate in the Tenzing-Hillary Everest Marathon for the first time, her father mortgaged the jewellery he had saved for her marriage to support her journey. Her father is a retired pharmacist, her mother is a homemaker, and her brother runs a small health-related business.
Trail running remains a niche sport in India with only around 6,400 trail runners, said Nausheen. “More than winning this award, I want people to be more aware of trail running, as it can be a gateway to better mental health for at least some.”
She also urged Indian Olympic Association president P T Usha to support the sport and help it gain prominence in India. She hopes trail running will eventually find a place in the Olympics after 2030.
