A mothers resilience: 47-year-old woman runs marathon barefoot to fund her daughters education with prize money
Despite financial constraints, she was determined to ensure that both her daughters received a good education.
PTC News Desk: A 47-year-old woman from Maharashtra's Beed district ran a marathon barefoot and secured first place with an aim to fund her daughter's education with the prize money. Ramabai Ranveer, a resident of Ambajogai, works as a cook at an academy in the town.
After her husband died, she was burdened with the responsibility of raising her two daughters all by herself. Despite financial constraints, she was determined to ensure that both her daughters received a good education.
To support her daughters, Ramabai enrolled her elder daughter at an academy in Ambajogai and started working there as a cook. She spends her days preparing meals while her daughters focus on their studies and prepare for competitive exams.
During this time, a local organisation held the Amrit Daud marathon, with a first prize of Rs 3,000. Ramabai decided to take part in the race. Wearing a simple saree, she stood alongside much younger runners dressed in tracksuits. She started the race wearing slippers, but they soon began slipping off.
Ramabai then removed her slippers, held them in her hand and continued running barefoot. She ran over the cold road and stones while managing her saree and trying to stay ahead of the other participants. Despite the difficult conditions, she reached the finish line first, earning loud cheers and applause from the crowd.
Talking about her victory, Ramabai said many women had taken part in the race, but she was determined to win the prize money. She said she kept thinking about her daughters' future while running and planned to spend the Rs 3,000 prize money on books for them.
Her daughter Pooja also took part in the marathon and finished second. She said she had encouraged her mother to participate but never expected her to win the race.
Pooja said her mother had raised the two sisters despite facing many difficulties and had never given up. Pooja is now preparing for police recruitment and hopes to become a police officer, while her sister is preparing for banking exams.
The family had earlier depended mainly on agricultural work. Ramabai later took the cooking job at the academy to support her daughters. Impressed by Pooja’s dedication to her studies, the academy director also decided to waive her fees.