Running exhilaration

She won five gold medals and the Best Woman Athlete award at the Brunei Masters Open Athletic Championships held on August 7-8, 2010. For 46-year-old Khurshid Mistry of Bombay, it is sports which provides the wind beneath her wings! She won the 100 meters (m) in a time of 14.16 seconds (secs), 200 m (30 secs), 400 m (73 secs) and the 4x100 m and 4x 400 m relay in the veteran women’s category.

"These were my best timings to date,” says the runner, who participated in the 45+ age group. "My timings have improved significantly. This was a platform to help benchmark my timings with peers from different countries. However, I am working towards improving my performance further.” Athletes from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Iran and Turkey took part in the event. "I am now preparing for the Asian meet which is to be held in Malaysia in December 2010,” she says.

Khurshid Mistry: best woman athlete at Brunei Masters meet

The competition in Brunei was very well structured and organized, she relates. All the events started on time, the synthetic track was well maintained and athletes were extended excellent support, both on and off the field. "The meet included an opening ceremony. It closed with a get-together of athletes in the evening where I was given the Best Woman Athlete award, which for me was the perfect end to the event. It gave me a sense of exhilaration coupled with a sense of achievement,” she describes.

Mistry’s day begins at four o’clock in the morning, weekdays and weekends! "I start my practice at 6 a.m. with my trainer Dinanath Maurya at Priyadarshini Park and continue up to 8 a.m., six days of the week.” Then it is off to work at the UTI Mutual Fund where she has been a manager for 15 years. "In the evening I go to the well equipped gym in our office for weight training,” she adds. For track and field events for veterans, there is clearly a dearth of sponsors, she believes. "Most of the expenses for pursuing the training, travel and accommodation costs, application fees, etc have to be borne by the athletes themselves. This is a deterrent for many good athletes in our country who are unable to participate due to lack of funds. Fortunately for me, my efforts have been supported and encouraged by my organization (UTI Mutual Fund). They have been good enough to sponsor part of my costs, without which I would not have been able to take part in these events.”

An avid sports enthusiast in her school days, Mistry was unfortunately not able to pursue it further. "I started running again after a span of more than 20 years with the Standard Chartered Mumbai Marathon 2008,” she states. Despite the fact that she had never run a marathon event before, she secured fifth place in the half marathon for veteran women and second position among the Indian women in this category. "Subsequently I started doing sprints and have now been taking part in competitive events for the past three years,” she states. "My ability to work hard and deliver results motivates me and the recognition of my efforts gives me the encouragement to continue.”