Pinkathon: Sweat it out for a cause

CHENNAI: Rana Pratap Uppalapati began skating professionally when he was eight. Last month, he skated 600km from Mumbai to Goa, traversing the tough ghat roads. And since May 28 he has been back on the road, aiming to cover 800km from Visakhapatnam to Chennai. But this time, it is for a cause - to spread awareness about Pinkathon and breast cancer.
"I have been doing at least 100km a day and stopping en route to talk to people about breast cancer and how it can be prevented," says the 34-year-old who arrived in Chennai on Friday.
Pinkathon, India's biggest women's run, was founded by Milind Soman and is organised by the United Sisters Foundation. In Chennai, will be held in the city on Sunday at the Island Grounds. It aims to get more women to adopt a fitter lifestyle for themselves and their families. As part of their awareness campaigns, city-to-city runs are also organised.
"The ambassadors of Pinkathon are dedicated to spreading awareness of the importance of an active lifestyle for good health and to prevent disease. Too often we stop ourselves from leading inspiring lives because we believe that we are limited," says Milind Soman. "The spirit of the Pinkathon run is to show what we, as humans, are capable of and to encourage people to free their minds and explore their potential."
On Friday, three runners from Bengaluru also reached Chennai, having covered 350km in six days. "This is the third ultra-run I am doing," says Spoorthi Seethamma, 28, who started running two years ago. The team started their run on May 29 from Sree Kanteerava stadium in Bangalore. "Every day we start at 4.30am and wind up by 5pm. We stop every 3km for water breaks, rest for five minutes and start again," says Seethamma, who works as a principal client operations specialist for a data storage company. "We get to meet a lot of people on the road, including construction workers, and talk to them about the health issues women face."
Kunal Rawat, 23, who works in Chennai, was inspired to run after hearing about the event and meeting Milind Soman at the Barefoot Marathon in Coorg. "I began running only seven months ago and this is my first big run but I am wanted to do it as I believe in the cause," he says.
Fitness freak Sandeep Raj from Hyderabad, on the other hand, has been associated with the Pinkaton for the last two-and-a-half years. "I have been running since 2011 and for me it is part of having an active lifestyle. Being fit is something that is in your hands and it is important that women take care of their health for if the woman is fit, the whole family is fit," says the 34-year-old.
Hitting the road for hours on end is not easy. "I skate on left side of road inside the safety of the white line. But on the first day it rained so the bearings of my skates got jammed and I developed a knee issue, which took two days to get resolved," says Uppalapati. "You also have to keep cleaning the bearing as it collects dust."