Ramabai Ranveer had never run a race in her life. 🇮🇳
At 47, widowed and working as a cook at an academy in Maharashtra, she put on a long, patterned sari to compete in the 3 km Amrit Daud race. Halfway through, her sandals began to slip. She didn’t hesitate: she took them off, adjusted the fabric, and kept running barefoot on the asphalt until she crossed the finish line first in her category.
All for 31 dollars. Her younger daughter had not spoken to her for eight days because she didn’t have money to buy her books, and Ramabai decided she would win that prize no matter what. Widowed since 2012, she supported her family by picking soybeans and selling turmeric, despite having left school herself at 13. Today, her two daughters are preparing for state exams, and she asks for only one thing: that they never have to struggle through the mud as she did. 🙏