Miss Sonalia Pal had laced up her shoelace and set out to run marathons at the age of 16. She is the Podium winner in her age category at her first ever full marathon “Shriram properties Bengaluru Marathon 2017 edition” with a timing of  4 hours 13 minutes 40 seconds.

Her initial cause for running was to lose weight. From being 82 Kgs to being  51 kgs now at the age of 22, it has taken many sports activities to make her realize that how much she is in love with running. It took her more than just grit and determination to get where she is now and she says that this is just the beginning of her journey to become the best. She has successfully completed 25 runs including 1 full marathon, won around 17 including the Shreeram Properties Bengaluru full marathon with a podium finish, but she says that this was never the plan.

Miss Sonalia, whose dream is to become a class one Air Force and serve the nation in the best way, believes that she can do better than what she did yesterday. My motivation lies in the fact that there is always scope for improvement, and she says that being an army officer’s daughter, it’s in her blood to abide by the saying, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Her inspiration is her past. Initially, when she started running marathons, she used to think that maybe someday she will be able to run a full marathon and now that she has, she can see herself acquiring more medals in the upcoming years. She has made a name in the running community of Kolkata through her achievements and many people are looking up to her.

This year, Miss Sonalia Pal is participating in the fourth edition of the fund raising event, Airtel Run For Education. She says “ Running for a good cause gives me immense joy. In our busy lives, if we are able to take out a little time and do our part for the well being and upliftment of the society, there’s nothing better. Education is every child’s birthright and being able to contribute for this by doing something I love is like a dream come true.”  Her wish is to inspire more and more people to undertake running and experience the joy of crossing that ribbon at the finishing. Through word of mouth and by sharing the promotional pictures on various forums she is a part of this event and she is confident enough that a good number of people would participate in such a noble cause.