At this year’s Rotary Rain Run, an all-women team of pacers will guide runners towards their target finish times
VINIKA VISWAMBHARAN
NT BUZZ
When participants take to the streets for the 12th Rotary Rain Run on July 26 which will begin at the Atal Stadium in Bambolim, they will find guidance from six fresh perspectives at the front. An all-women team of pacers is set to lead the monsoon marathon, offering a consistent rhythm for hundreds of runners. Each will be assigned a specific pace and finish-time target, giving runners a clear marker to follow as they work towards their personal goals.
Among them is obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Sajal Kamat Dhond. With a demanding career that leaves little room for slowing down, running has become her way of staying fit and mentally refreshed for the past two years ago. And she describes her role as a pacer for the upcoming run as “built on trust” and says she is grateful for the opportunity to help others reach their goals.
That responsibility means putting aside one’s own personal performance. “When you are running for yourself, you can adjust your speed based on how you feel. As a pacer, your personal performance takes a back seat because your job is to help others achieve their goal,” she explains.
Abhita Amonkar echoes this. A former cricketer who played for Goa, for her, a pacer is part guide, part motivator. “I have to make sure that people who want to run at a particular pace can come and follow me,” she says. “I motivate them, inspire them and take them along slowly and steadily.”
Amonkar began running long distance in 2017 after the birth of her baby, initially to lose pregnancy weight.
Her first half marathon took place in Chicago. Since then, she has completed several half marathons and a full marathon, and has paced races over both 10 and 21 kilometres. And her advice to first-time runners is not to be distracted by the speed of others. “You have to listen to your body and run at your own pace. You should not chase people who are running faster than you.”
Motherhood was also the starting point of Shraddha Tarkar’s nearly nine-year running journey.
After giving birth in 2014 and gaining weight, she took up running and completed her first 21-kilometre Goa River Marathon the following year, simply hoping to finish. Since then, she has gone on to complete a full marathon, an Ultra and several other endurance events, while also pacing the Rotary Rain Run before.
But what interests her most is how much the running community has changed. “There are so many women who are coming out and doing this sport,” she says. She has watched women progress from 10-kilometre runs to half marathons, full marathons and even Ironman events. “If she can do it, why can’t I do it?” is the thought that, she believes, encourages many women to take their first step.
For Tarkar, running also offers something beyond fitness. For a few hours, she is not defined by the other responsibilities of her life. She is simply
a runner.
Delilah Dias meanwhile is a first time pacer. A dentist by training who now works as a fashion designer and runs her own clothing line, running was not initially part of her plan.
But she took it up six to eight months ago after her coach encouraged her to prepare for Hyrox, eventually joining a running club. What she found was not just a new form of training but a community she enjoyed being part of.
“I’m very happy doing it rather than just going to the gym and being in an enclosed place,” she says, adding that she volunteered to be a pacer on the request of a friend.
Age, Dias believes, should not be a reason to stop staying active. As she takes on the role of pacer, she also challenges the idea that women should slow down or stop pursuing physical activity after a certain age. “A lot of people after the age of 40 think that we should not be doing this or that,” she says. “But you need to stay fit. In today’s world, your health is of utmost importance.”
Her philosophy is simple. “You have to make time for it. If you want to do it well, you have to be consistent.”
Tarkar also believes women may not realise how much they inspire others simply by showing up. “You don’t know whom you are inspiring along your journey,” she says, thinking of her own daughter watching her run. “You are telling her that there is some strength
in you.”
Dr. Dhond agrees. “You don’t have to be an elite athlete to inspire others. Every woman is capable of achieving more than she believes if she’s willing to stay consistent and trust the process,” she says.
