I did not know its benefits when I started morning walk in early nineties. All credit goes to our pet Bruno (A Golden Retriever) and essentially my fellow walker till his departure in 2001 at an age of 10 (I missed him but continued the activity thereafter) and it has become habit after moving to Gurgaon.

I used to see people running in Nirvana and at the back of my mind some sort of Q and A would be there whether I could also run like these young people. I gradually watched runners as to how they start and their running speed.

It went for about 2 months to prepare myself mentally and physically. In the mean while I used to run few km to assess my physical strength. It so happened that my elder daughter asked me to accompany her in a walkathon event.

After watching the participants my confidence label went high and my running journey started thereafter. I started with 2 km run and 2 km walk and gradually increased distance and stamina.

My daughter introduced me to a runner who was captain of Adidas Runners gurugram, thus became part of the group and continuing till today.

All the youngsters are nice and supportive. They always motivate and encourage me throughout. I have been taking part in all prestigious events but with limitation of 10 km. My count of Medals is around 100+ now.

My participation and satisfaction is to finish the run irrespective of time taken. I hardly miss my morning activity because that has become part of my daily routine.

I follow all the teachings learnt in the group activities.

How it has Benefited me

First and foremost is my physical health. While walking or running entire focus is on the activity, the surface, surrounding and traffic. The combination of mind and body.

Nature :  you breathe fresh air and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Socialisation : You meet different people of different age group and interact with them and a bonding is formed with regular ones.

Give it a try and see the benefits.