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The World 10K Bengaluru, being held on May 15, will become India's first international mass participatory sportive event held after the hiatus experienced due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In its 14th edition, a 17-women strong pacer squad will come alive to do something meaningful together, believe in themselves and make it count to find their inner joy.
Coming from different professional and personal backgrounds and of varying ages, this group of women will pace the best men and women runners to ensure that they can set their fastest times. This will also be the 3rd time that the TCS World 10K will feature an all-women pacer squad. Each of the pacers are accomplished, both on and off the track. Returning for her 3rd World 10K as a pacer, Dr Ranjani Ramanujam is a medical professional who is very experienced with being a pacer and is looking forward to seeing more women enjoying running and inspiring others to join. Nandani Ashokumar also returns as a pacer, bringing with her a wealth of experience as a mentor for 'Chennai Runners Pillar Pacers' (CRPP) and as a pacer in over 15 half-marathons and running events. Age is no barrier for some of the women in the pacer squad with 50 plus-year-old Rachana Chakraborty, a seasoned IT Marketing professional turned fitness coach and trainer, advocating for more female runners boosted by the positive impact of this pacer squad. Another returning pacer is Bindu Juneja, a high school teacher and runner with over 30 podiums who has over 6 years of running experience. Both Kritika Sahu and Vidyaa Krishna, engineers by profession and running enthusiasts, are looking forward to the chance to change people's perspectives by showcasing female runners as pacers. All these women come with their own backgrounds and experiences that make them qualified to be a part of the pacer squad. Their stories of training, endurance and fitness have shaped the way they approach running, both as a sport and to shift social perspective towards encouraging female runners. Coupled with their individual motivations to uplift the participants in the amateur category, their collective motivations to bring success to their roles makes them ideal pacers for this year's run. The USD $210,000 World Athletics Elite Label Race will witness some of the world's finest distance runners on the roads of Bengaluru as well as thousands of mass participation competitors from across India. (ANI)
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