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| 200mts to the finish line of IDBI FLI Spice Coast Marathon 2017, at Kochi. |
HEMA MENON, 47 years young, is a mother of two. She is
heading one of the largest development centers of the IT Services MNC, UST
Global at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Yes, she is just like any other working woman
who is saddled with multiple roles and responsibilities. But what made her
‘extraordinary’ is her run on the paths less travelled – literally.
She did her MS in Software Engineering and the
MBA – both after marriage - while
working full time. And she never compromised her duties as a wife and a mother!
It is said that forty is the new thirty! We can
say ‘Twenty’, when we talk about Hema. In her mid-forties, she discovered a new
activity with running, especially long distance running and that has changed
her life altogether.
Some of you may be thinking that if one has
started running marathons when she was in her forties, she might have been an
athlete or fitness freak since many decades. Hema proved us wrong! She says, ‘I was never interested in any
sports. I don't even recollect participating in even a lemon and spoon race,
while at school’.
Then what made her jump into running at this age?
Let us hear from her:
“My
daughter challenged me to go out for a walk one day, and I started with a walk
each morning. The shift from walking to
running came much later, and the influence from multiple sources too.
Diabetes
runs in the family of my husband and he too became a diabetic at a young age.
His brother Ramesh, started running as a means to run away from diabetes, and
he was successful not just in keeping diabetes away, but also in becoming one
of the fast marathoners in the country. He successfully influenced his wife Seema,
along with many other cousins too, into running. The one person who he could
not influence, was Subhash, his brother and my husband. I was inspired by Seema, Ramesh and the Soles
of Cochin Runners, and realized that I could influence Subhash too with my
running. That’s where it all started.”
All of us, at least on days following the day we
get our blood reports or the days after new year or after binging on delicacies
on special occasions, join a Gym, go for long walks and sometimes get hugely
motivated to even jog a few meters as well! But, why should we participate in a
race or marathon?
Let us hear from Hema about her maiden experience
in participating in a race.
I
participated in my first race, at the age of 44, a 7km run at Kochi
International Half Marathon in December 2013. It was more of a walkathon for me
as I was not used to race. My first attempt at a Marathon was on May 3rd, 2014,
at Columbus, Ohio, USA. We (husband, daughter
and me) had gone there on vacation, to visit our son, who had just joined college
at the time. There was a half marathon happening there at the time and I signed
up the entire family for the race. I did a half marathon (21km), my husband
(10km) and both kids (5km). That was the perfect start for my long distance
running and I treasure the experience the most.
Since
2014, in the past almost 3 years, I have successfully completed 12 half
marathons (21.1km), 14 full marathons(42.095km)
and 4 ultra marathons (50km, 75km, 110km & 71km)
How many of us are motivated to take a walk around
our house or to do some simple exercise at home, though we keep hearing enough
about how important they are! It is amazing to see a working woman running an
extra mile for good health!
Let’s ask her, how did this new found passion
help her in life?
Running
has helped me physically and mentally. Physically it has helped me to be more
active and also in reducing my weight. But more importantly, running has helped
me to reduce stress and increase confidence. Training and Running marathons and ultra-marathons
have helped me develop mental strength and become more patient, which helps me
to maintain cool, even at times of frustration and adversity. Patience is a
virtue that I seemed to have developed through my running. Running has also
taken me to places that I haven’t been before, introduced me to many people
whom I never knew before and made me see things that I have never seen before.
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| Hema receiving the award after 75km Ultra Run at Javadhu Ultra, 2016. She was one of the two women runners who finished the race |
It is said that behind every successful man,
there is a woman. It is also a fact in our society that behind every successful
woman there is only herself! Many times, woman is not allowed to pursue her
passion because of the constant reminders by everyone around her that
everything she does outside her home would be detrimental to the family’s well
being!!
What support you got from your family when you
pursued your educational and career goals after marriage and while you raced?
My
family is very supportive of this passion. My husband and kids are my biggest
supporters and none of this could have happened without their support. There
were races that I signed up, especially ultra-marathons for which I was unsure
about my ability to finish. My children were positive that I could do it. When the children were around at home, my
husband used to stay back, so that I can make my weekend trips for running
races at different parts of the country. My mother in law too is happy about
our running. Of course, there is always
some folks in the family and friend circle, who would constantly say that I
have lost weight and I should run less. :)
Could Hema influence her husband too??
I still fondly remember the moment I touched the
finish line in my first full marathon - Spice Coast Marathon - in 2014. As I went past the finish line,
collected the beautiful medal, and looked up, I saw my husband standing there
with a half marathon, his first half marathon, medal around his neck. Seeing
that made me so happy, that I forgot the joy of my first marathon.
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| The joy of running. Hema enjoying the trail run of 110 km at The Malnad Ultra. |
Not only at home and on the ground, she also makes a
mark at her job too. She is responsible to keep a track of all operations of
the Center, along with ensuring growth and branding of the organization at the
Center. She had also shouldered
additional responsibility of being the delivery manager accountable for
successful delivery of software projects for some of the fortune 500 companies.
The young girls of today are good at multi-tasking. But many of
them are not interested in outdoor activities. What is your advice to them?
You
get only one life to live. Live it to the fullest, and that would mean, living
healthy and living long without being dependent on others. If you take care of
your health, you are guaranteed to live a fulfilling life. So why waste it by
not being active? My advice to all is to challenge yourself. Get out of your
comfort zone, try out something new. Only then will you discover what strengths
(or lack of it) you possess. Unless you challenge yourself to do something that
you never knew you could, life could be pretty boring.
Are the new generation
too much into social media?
I
think the new generation is getting smarter. They seem to adopt and discard the
many tools that come across. They are social media savvy, and are much faster
in adopting them. If they find it to be not interesting, they will choose to
move on to the next thing that gets their attention. They are on Facebook,
Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat and more and they seem to be using some of these
channels to their advantage. There is also another set of newgens who are
unaware or ignorant of the risks associated with privacy and seem to be victims
of these too. Every generation seems to be smarter than the previous ones, when
it comes to adoption of technology.
Let me shoot a few more questions to her about growing up in
a highly paradoxical Kerala - a highly literate society but marred by gender
specific crimes and prejudices.
What are your views on society's changing gender
perceptions?
Even
though there has been improvement from earlier times, we are not fully there
yet in having a society which treats men and women equally. Women still need to
fight for her rights, be it for a visit to Sabarimala or for trekking to
Agastyarkoodam. We still have a long way
to go to make it easy for women.
Don't you think Kerala society has a lot of double
standards?
Probably.
But I guess it is not limited to Kerala only.
Recently a popular film actor was attacked and abused
in the car while she was on her way back from work. Don’t
you think there are more abuses against women in Kerala than in other states.
And also there are several incidents of moral policing. Women feel
uncomfortable travelling outside once it is dark. What do you say about this?
Abuses
against women have not reduced even with increased focus brought out by so many
incidents happening in our country and in my state. We get to hear about some
of the incidents, but I believe there are a lot more that goes unheard of. The
abuses against women are not limited to the young crowd alone, but extends to
small children and elder women too. This pretty much indicates what the problem
is with our society. More and more women are coming forward to report the
struggles that they face, which is a good sign.
In spite of all her outdoor passions, Hema enjoys
being at home, with her family, doing nothing but just taking it easy. At the end I asked her what she thinks about
herself and what is her life’s message.
Hema says that her story is not about the dream come true for a
passionate athlete or a super successful woman. She only represents any woman
who plays the multiple roles - a mother, a wife, a daughter, a career woman,
and who tries to integrate work and life and get the best out of both. It is
also about being there for the family and yet, chasing ones’ own interests and
passion. She hopes that her story will inspire many women to try out new
things, explore their own dreams, and become more healthy and active.
Yes, if at this age, with no previous athletic
experience, Hema can run marathons and ultra-marathons, and more importantly
live to talk about it, anyone can!
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| Hema, with the group, Soles of Cochin, after the recent TCS Fit4life 10k race |
Thanks Hema for being
an inspiration to all!
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Brilliantly written piece... Hema its hugely inspiring..!
ReplyDeletewonderful!!
ReplyDeleteInspiring post.
ReplyDelete