Running a marathon is no easy task, let alone covering a 42-km stretch while dressed in a saree. Jayanthi Sampath Kumar, a Hyderabad-based engineer, did just that when she completed the Airtel Marathon in her city, dressed in a purple, nine-yard saree and sandals, her look complete with a bindi on her forehead. As the odd-one out in an arena filled with 20,000 tracksuits and t-shirt-wearing participants, it was no wonder why Kumar was flooded with requests for selfies and the like upon completing the marathon.
The 44-year-old told Deccan Chronicle that she ran in a saree in a bid to promote the handloom industry and to encourage women. She told the daily:
I am a cyclist and ride very often, and notice a lot of plastic pollution happening around us. I am keen to curb that and want to use this platform to oppose it. For that, maybe I should run in a sari made of plastic wrappers people throw.
Kumar initially planned to run barefoot at the marathon, thinking that it would help her speed. However, after she encountered stones and pebbles on the track, she decided to opt for light-weight sandals.
Kumar has now applied to the Guinness Book of World records under the category- ‘fastest marathon in a saree’.
“I informed them about my attempt. I am waiting to submit the evidence, which will come in the form of the certificate that the event organisers will provide. Alongside this, I had a cycle marshal helping me take video and photographic evidence. My coach, Dr Vignan, was also there throughout lending great support. The condition is that I finish the marathon under five hours. I think I have managed to complete it in that time,” she told the daily.
Kumar was accompanied by 27-year-old Uday Bhaskar Dandamudi, who ran the marathon in a dhoti to support her cause.
"Running with a dhoti was comfortable, except when there was wind! It blows like a balloon," he told DC, after finishing his run in a little over five hours and fifteen minutes.
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