Running has been known to change us physically and mentally.  It is also able to change us emotionally through empowering us by building our self-confidence.  After listening to this episode with Bhumika Patel, you will see what I mean.

Bhumika takes us through her journey from thinking it was impossible to run to becoming sponsored by Adidas.

She shares with us how her running changed her parents’ perspective on the sport.

Coming from India, there are many adjustments Bhumika had to make in order to run.  We talk about running co-ed in Bangalore, running clothes, how she feels about wearing them in a race, and how she handles men there staring at her wearing them.

She describes the changes she sees with people’s views of running in India since she started in 2009.

She takes us through the differences in the race experience she noticed after transitioning from the small races in India to racing internationally.

Bhumika is using running to benefit the lives of others.  She shows us how Pinkathon has been beneficial to her colleagues at IBM even after the race event.  She also tells us about the work she does for underpriviledged visually impaired females.

Today's Guest

Bhumika Patel

Voted by Women’s Running magazine as one of the 21 women changing the running world, Bhumika Patel is a role model for women’s running in India and world wide.  She is the ambassador and the IBM coach for Pinkathon in Bangalore.  She is active in giving under privileged visually impaired females a chance at running races.   She is currently sponsored by Adidas.

What You Will Learn About

• What it is/was like as a women to run in India.

• What the difference is between racing in India vs the London Marathon.

• What is Pinkathon and how has it benefitted the IBM community where she works?

• How Bhumika along with Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled work with visually impaired female runners to support them in running races

Inspirational Quotes

They run very close to you, and that gives you collective energy.  It gives you a big boost. 

Whatever you have learned, you come full-circle and you are able to impart it to someone who absolutely needs it.

Resources Mentioned

Last week's interview with Mo'Ath Alkhawaldeh 

Runners World Article on Bhumika

Pinkathon

Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled

Thank you to Health IQ and favorite recovery product BodyHealth for sponsoring this episode of Running for Real.

Finally, rather than being punished for the way the rest of the country does not look after themselves, we can be rewarded for taking the time, effort, and heart we put into our sport. Health IQ gives us better rates for being active, and you can learn more at Healthiq.com/runningforreal

When I was running 90 miles a week as a pro, I would take 5-10 BodyHealth Perfect Amino tablets every day without fail. They helped me recover faster, and feel better. Now they have Perfect Amino XP, which makes it even easier. Get 10% off at Bodyhealth.com using coupon code TINA10