BENGALURU, Dec 23: One ofmany amazing stories of the TCS World 10K Bengaluru 2020 is-- a five monthspregnant woman completing the race in just 62 minutes. Meet Ankita Gaur, amom-to-be, who completed her TCS World 10K run on December 20 (Sunday), despitebeing five months pregnant.
Ankita, who has beenrunning regularly for the past nine years, feels running is like breathing, andit is something which comes naturally to her. "This is something I havebeen doing for the past nine years, almost every day. You know, you wake up andgo 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 nineyears, so this is something, which is like breathing for me. It comes to mevery naturally", said Gaur.
"Apparently, runningis actually very safe. It's a good exercise to run during pregnancy. Also, ifyou look at the American Council of health, everything is recommended that ifyou are a runner, it's absolutely okay. In fact, they recommend you to run. Itis very good for the development of the baby, so of course, I wanted togo," added Gaur on asked about her motive behind taking part despite beingpregnant.
An engineer by profession,Gaur has been running TCS World 10K since 2013. She has also participated inover five-six international marathons such as Berlin (three times), Boston, andNew York. "I thoroughly enjoyed theapp-enabled race too. It was very user friendly, once you started the app, itcalculates the elapsed time and shows you that as a result. Like how it happensin a real race," she said.
On being asked about howshe prepared for this year's event, Gaur said, "I have been doing easyrunning regularly for like 5-8 km, very slowly. I run and walk while taking breaksbecause obviously, now I am five months pregnant, so my body is very differentcompared to what it was. Earlier I have won medals in TCS 10K, but this time Icouldn't as I had to take breaks and walk.
When asked about herGynecologist's reaction to the decision of participating in TCS World 10K, Gaursaid," My doctor said it's absolutely healthy. In fact, she encouraged meto go ahead, and run. She advised me not to run fast. I don't have anycomplication, so I was given a green signal to go ahead and do my running. Evenmy physiotherapist, who has been with me for the past three years, encouragedme to do a slow run because it's really healthy for me, and the baby aswell".
When quizzed about herfamily's reaction, she said, "Initially, my mother was a little unsureabout it. I would say she has always encouraged me to continue with sports. So,when I told her that Doctor had given the green signal, she was absolutely finewith 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 husbandhas also been absolutely supportive and has been with me all the time. Evenwhen we went to ask the doctor, he was with me. Hence, I would say, I am verylucky in that way".
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