Fitness freaks have a marathon wedding in Satara

 Spreading the message of fitness and good health, a couple got married in Satara in western Maharashtra with a marathon run, adding to the list of adventure marriages.

The marriage of Poonam Chikane (25) and Navnath Dighe (28), from Kaloshi village, was solemnised on Friday. Both are fitness freaks.

Also sending out a strong message to make marriages simpler, the couple discarded the ceremony and ran 25 km from their village to the marriage registrar’s office in the town. Several others ran with them and some travelled in vehicles.

During the run, the couple were in sportswear but wore turbans.  The ‘baraatis’ too were in t-shirts, shorts or track pants. A large crowd assembled along the road to witness the wedding run.

As the two completed the run, they said they wanted to spread the message of staying  fit and exercising. Navnath is a businessman and Poonam gives private tuitions.

The Marathon Association Satara (MAS) of which Navnath is a member even came forward to host the “running wedding” and launched a campaign on social media, which elicited an excellent response. After the wedding, MAS office-bearer Kamlesh Pisal and others felicitated the newly wed couple and their families and lauded them for spreading the message of good health.

In December 2014, two avid trekkers, Vivek Patil and Swapnali Dhabugade, wanted to be different and decided to marry on the 1,646-metre Mt Kalsubai, which is spread between Igatpuri taluka of Nashik district and Akole taluka of Ahmednagar district and is the highest peak in Maharashtra.