Through an All Ladies Run Club, Irina Hazarika Barua inspires women to take up running in the northeast

Barua,
a
native
of
Guwahati,
rose
to
fame
when
she
ran
from
Tezpur
to
Guwahati
(160
km)
as
a
part
of
the
‘Spirit
of
Pinkathon’ event
in
2019.
Thereafter,
she
was
approached
by
many
women
who
also
wanted
to
start
running
and
therefore
she
started
an
All
Ladies
Run
Club.

“I
had
carried
out
a
run
from
Tezpur
to
Guwahati
as
a
part
of
the
‘Spirit
of
Pinkathon’
event
in
2019
and
after
that,
a
lot
of
women
came
to
know
about
me
after
my
run
was
covered
by
the
media.
They
approached
me
and
told
me
that
even
they
want
to
start
running,
so
that’s
how
we
started
the
All
Ladies
Run
Club
‘Jayanti
ki
Toli’
last
year.
Now,
we
mostly
have
new
members
through
word
of
mouth,” said
Barua.

The
52-year-old
added
that
the
Run
Club
hasn’t
been
able
to
meet
regularly
due
to
the
Covid-19
pandemic,
however,
they
try
to
run
together
once
a
month.

“There
are
many
women
who
run
in
Assam,
but
there
are
a
lot
of
women
who
don’t
run.
I
have
been
running
since
2015
and
I
want
to
motivate
the
other
women
to
take
up
running.
We
haven’t
been
able
to
meet
and
run
together
due
to
the
pandemic.
We
try
to
run
together
once
a
month.
But,
otherwise,
we
have
a
WhatsApp
group
in
which
we
share
the
daily
activities
and
everyone
follows
it.
We
have
women
from
Arunachal
Pradesh
and
Meghalaya
in
our
group
as
well.
The
group
has
been
mainly
formed
for
the
women
in
the
northeast
region,”
said
Barua.

When
asked
about
what
prompted
her
to
join
the
Sunfeast
India
Move
As
One,
Barua
expressed,
“I
try
to
not
miss
any
of
the
Procam
International
events.
I
had
taken
part
in
last
year’s
Sunfeast
India
Run
As
One
as
well.
It’s
very
good
that
Procam
International
is
looking
to
help
the
children
who
have
been
severely
affected
by
the
Covid-19
pandemic.
I
have
pledged
150
km
for
the
event.
Through
my
run
in
the
Sunfeast
India
Move
As
One
movement,
I
will
also
positively
impact
a
child’s
future
in
my
own
way.”

Barua
added
that
she
has
motivated
her
Run
Club,
which
is
a
group
of
around
80
women,
to
take
part
in
the
Sunfeast
India
Move
As
One
as
well,
“I
have
always
tried
to
inspire
our
Run
Club
members
to
take
part
in
Procam
events
and
I
have
asked
them
to
join
the
Sunfeast
India
Move
As
One
as
well.
Many
of
them
took
part
in
the
Airtel
Delhi
Half
Marathon
(held
remotely)
last
year.”

At
INR
149,
this
first-of-its-kind
citizen-led
Sunfeast
India
Move
As
One
movement
encourages
participants
to
run,
walk,
jog,
cycle,
use
a
wheelchair,
treadmill,
or
stationary
bike.
INR
50
from
every
registration
will
go
directly
towards
NGOs
supporting
children
causes
empaneled
with
GiveIndia
for
Sunfeast
India
Move
As
One.

Registrations
for
the
Sunfeast
India
Move
As
One
began
on
28th
July
and
will
continue
till
13th
Sep
2021.
The
movement
commenced
on
15th
Aug
2021
and
will
continue
till
15th
Sep
2021.
Participants
will
have
the
opportunity
to
fundraise
until
30th
Sep
2021.
For
more
details
log
on
to:
sunfeastindiamoveasone.procam.in

The
Sunfeast
India
Move
As
One
is
envisioned
by
leading
sports
IP
creator
Procam
International,
powered
by
the
nation’s
most
trusted
giving
platform
Give
India,
championed
by
ITC’ s
Sunfeast,
one
of
India’s
leading
biscuits
brand
and,
strengthened
by
the
Fit
India
Movement.

The
movement
is
reinforced
by
Art
of
Living
and
supported
by
ASICS,
Imd1
–
YoGo,
FAST&UP,
PhonePe,
Republic
TV,
Fever
FM
&
Radio
One
and
E4M
&
BW.

Source:
Media
Release