Kathmandu, November 17

Milind Soman, an Indian super model and founder of the Pinkathon, India’s biggest women’s run created with the specific purpose of getting more and more women to adopt a fitter lifestyle for themselves and their families, is in town to announce Kathmandu as the first international edition of Pinkathon to be held on February 24.

In an exclusive with The Himalayan Times, he talked about this unique initiative and its importance.

He believes that all diseases we see today are called lifestyle diseases and especially in urban areas it is our lifestyle that is inviting these kinds of diseases.

“Today, it is very important for all of us to focus on an active lifestyle. Women also need to take time out to focus on themselves.

The Pinkathon is an endeavour to encourage and give women an opportunity to celebrate their health on this one day, and then to understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

“In India what we do is when we have a Pinkathon, every week after that, for a whole year we have meet ups with the women who participated and help them overcome obstacles like lack of time, family, work et cetera to make healthy lifestyle a priority,” Soman told The Himalayan Times.

He said he came up with the concept of Pinkathon, as running had become very popular in India and every city, town, political party and Rotary Club was organising running events.

“However, the participation of women even now is really low. So it is important for women to not just run but to take care of their physical heath.

They can run, walk, take part in yoga or whatever activity they want. Basically it is about choosing time for themselves.”

He said the Pinkathon had grown in India since it began in Mumbai in 2012. “The response was so amazing that we started getting calls immediately from other cities.

We took it to four cities in India in 2014 and in 2015 we did it in six cities and this year we did it in eight cities. In 2017 we plan to do it in 16 cities. These are all annual events.

At the core of this project is the run in each city, built around which are year round training sessions, free offers of medical check-ups and mammograms for all participants, training workshops and counseling sessions for marginalised communities.”

Soman said he was excited about Kathmandu Pinkathon.

“It is now in the hands of the panel and the committee here to make it a success. What will also make it a success is the participants, who will come here as a celebration and then decide to go back and make an effort to make their lifestyle more healthy by paying attention to the food they eat and activities.

“It is a simple thing and you don’t need technology for that. It is about making it a priority to be fit and healthy,” he said.