One of the many amazing stories of the TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2020 is a five months pregnant woman completing the race in just 62 minutes. Ankita Gaur completed her TCS World 10K run on Sunday, despite being five months pregnant.
Ankita, who has been running regularly for the past nine years, feels running is like breathing, and it is something which comes naturally to her. "This is something I have been doing for the past nine years, almost every day. You know, you wake up and go out for a run. Of course, there are times, when you are injured or unwell, you have to take a step back. Otherwise, I have been running regularly for nine years, so this is something, which is like breathing for me. It comes to me very naturally," she said.
"Apparently, running is actually very safe. It's a good exercise to run during pregnancy. Also, if you look at the American Council of health, everything is recommended that if you are a runner, it's absolutely okay. In fact, they recommend you to run. It is very good for the development of the baby, so of course, I wanted to go," Ankita added.
An engineer by profession, Ankita has been running TCS World 10K since 2013. She has also participated in over five-six international marathons such as Berlin (three times), Boston, and New York. "I thoroughly enjoyed the app-enabled race too. It was very user friendly, once you started the app, it calculates the elapsed time and shows you that as a result. Like how it happens in a real race," she said.
On being asked about how she prepared for this year's event, Ankita said, "I have been doing easy running regularly for like 5-8 km, very slowly. I run and walk while taking breaks because obviously, now I am five months pregnant, so my body is very different compared to what it was. Earlier I have won medals in TCS 10K, but this time I couldn't as I had to take breaks and walk."
When quizzed about her family's reaction, she said, "Initially, my mother was a little unsure about it. I would say she has always encouraged me to continue with sports. So, when I told her that the doctor had given the green signal, she was absolutely fine with it. And, my dad is super supportive, he is proud of me that I am still running, and he's been a sportsperson himself, so he encouraged me. Moreover, my husband has also been absolutely supportive and has been with me all the time. Even when we went to ask the doctor, he was with me. Hence, I would say, I am very lucky in that way."
( With inputs from ANI )
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