Meghalaya is proud of its 73-year-old grandmother Kmoin Wahlang. She serves as an inspiration to many older people who believe that old age implies being confined to a corner.
‘Aging is a question of mind over matter; if you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter,’ says 73-year-old Kmoin Wahlang. Wahlang who hails from Shillong has the honour being India’s oldest female marathon racer.
Like any Indian mother, Wahlang was busy raising her 12 children and more than 30 grandchildren. But for this, she worked so hard that in 2019, Wahlang could make a mark in the Tata Mumbai Marathon. Her presence awed the entire sports community. She finished the enormous 42.195km run in 4 hours, 33 minutes, and 55 seconds. Despite being a mother of 12 and grandma to nearly 30 children, Wahlang fought all odds to did to break the glass ceiling. Today, she stands as India’s oldest woman marathon runner.
Tata Mumbai Marathon in 2019 was the turning point in her life. Belonging to north-eastern state of Meghalaya, she led a very conservative life focusing only on raising her children. caught the attention of sports fans and fitness aficionados with her impossible victory. She became an overnight star. Fitness experts to sportspersons were surprised at her indomitable spirit to run a marathon at her age.
While many of us continue to use our age as an excuse when we fail to complete any strenuous physical activity, Wahlang completed a marathon run at the age of 71! Fitness lovers were left wondering about her stamina to run for hours maintaining the same speed and spirit. The competition was very tough as Wahlang was competing with 520 expert marathoners.
Despite the fact that she can only communicate in her mother tongue, Wahlang showed no signs of distress while completing the Mumbai Marathon, which was her first marathon outside of Shillong. Instead, she demonstrated exceptional consistency throughout the race, rarely dropping below 9km/h.
Amazingly, Wahlang’s running career dates back to nearly two decades. After the birth of her twelfth child in 2001, Wahlang was suffering with terrible gastrointestinal problems. She began walking frequently to combat this health concern, and eventually her walking gave way to running.
Wahlang was discovered by RUN, a non-profit organisation.
Wahlang began running after the birth of her twelfth child. A few difficulties in her pregnancy had resulted in serious stomach issues, forcing her to go on regular walks to relieve the agony. These walks developed into runs, and she quickly became the oldest and quickest.
Therefore, this 73-year-old grandmother racing marathons has broken down the age barrier.
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