When the annual Ironman Copenhagen kicked off in the last week of August, city-based entrepreneur Nirupa Shankar was the only Indian woman participant at the arduous triathlon.
When the annual Ironman Copenhagen kicked off in the last week of August, city-based entrepreneur Nirupa Shankar was the only Indian woman participant at the arduous triathlon. Consisting of a 3.8 kilometre swim, a 180 kilometre cycle ride, and a full marathon distance of 42.2 kilometres, the Ironman is one of the most extreme endurance sports that challenges physical and mental fortitude. Yet in her very first attempt, Shankar managed to finish the gruelling event within 14 hours, 47 minutes and 41 seconds, at an impressive average pace of seven minutes 56 seconds per kilometre.
For Shankar, who currently serves as the joint managing director of Brigade Group, the finish line brought immense relief rather than a sense of triumph. “At the end, when I finally reached the finish line, relief washed over me. I was just happy to be done. I had my husband and sister there, and their support felt good,” she adds.
As a mother of two, Shankar took up running nearly five years ago after her first child. She had promised to ‘gift’ herself the ability to do a full Ironman by the time she was 40. Soon, she was part of a joggers’ club and was introduced to endurance races. “I did a sprint distance, which is a quarter of the distance of a full Ironman. After that, I had my second child and took a break. But in the last few years, I picked it up again and started doing incremental endurance races – first a double sprint, then a half Ironman just last year,” she remembers.
source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)