#BreakingtheStereotypes
 
They say that nothing can stop a group of women determined to run, even if they are in a saree. Some of our fitness conscious members participated in the Saree & Dhoti held in Gurgaon recently that a campaign for Women 10K Run 2018. 
 
Vidhya Venkat, a participant, and a Gurgaonmoms  member writes

Sarees happen to be one of the most elegant attires a woman could wear. Whatever way you drape the saree it never goes out of fashion and it is one of most comfortable attire for some. When the saree theme run was announced as a promo run for women 10k run which was going to be held in March, we were eagerly looking forward to the event as this is one of the most innovative theme run organized by Coach Ravinder and conceptualized by Manisha Ahlalawat of Vivafit and a Gurgaonmoms member.

 

The word innovative is used because no one really thought that we could run with saree draped around. Sarees are always considered to be worn for formal event, functions etc. The idea of running in a saree boosted the confidence of many women to come and participate in the event.

The D-day had finally arrived and everyone was looking different in their own version of draping the saree and it started off with a Zumba session where almost 50 women and some kids in their sarees gathered and it was followed by a 5k run. To support the women, all the men had come in a Dhoti and ran along with them.

Running is not always meant be in your shorts or t-shirts. We need to break the stereotype and chose your comfortable wear. If you like what you want to wear then wear it.“Self-confidence is the best outfit I chose”

Manisha Ahlawat who came up with this idea shares this :
 
“In India, we can say that more than 90% of women wear a sari in some form or other as daily wear. Running as a sport has picked up in India and when we organise a woman only run, we don’t want to exclude women who wear a sari. Due to family or societal pressure or their own hesitation, some women will not change into track pants or shorts and therefore get excluded from sports and fitness. It’s a modern stereotype that one cannot run in a sari when we have a trailblazer example like Rani of Jhansi who rode horses and fought a war in a sari. No dress or body shape should stop a woman, we wanted to break this stereotype and make Women10K Run 2018, a truly inclusive event for women from all walks of life”.

We would like to congratulate Manisha Ahlawat, Vidhya Venkat, Vidya Deshpande (one of our core team member), Shalini Verma, Dr. Anjali Nayar, Anita Yadav, Anu Anu, Charul Shukla, Rashmi Grover and all those who participated in this run and contributed towards breaking the stereotypes and inspiring many more. A special note of thanks, Coach Ravinder for organizing this run.