Pune: Even after being hospitalised for a couple of days, Sufiya, a 33-year-old marathon runner who is running 4,000 km from Kashmir to Kanyakumari aims to complete her marathon before the set target of 100 days. 

Sufiya is running to spread the message of ‘HOPE’ (Humanity, Oneness, Peace, and Equality). She has crossed Pune on Friday and headed towards Satara. During her halt in the city, Sakal Times interviewed her. While speaking with Sakal Times, she said, “The message that I aim to spread while running is being taken seriously by each and every person who is watching me run. Especially, women from the villages and cities are also running with me and helping me spread the message at a large scale.” 
  
Sufiya feels that the people get connected and give a serious thought over the message that the runners generally carry. She was hospitalised after leaving from Srinagar, as she was running off the road during which she inhaled a lot of dust. Due to this, her lungs collapsed and she had to take treatment for a few days. When asked about it she said, “Even though I was hospitalised, I will complete my marathon before the set target. Also, I am fit and fine now to complete my journey.”

Sufiya hails from Delhi and her marathon started on April 25 from Srinagar. Since then, she has crossed 22 cities and eight states including Srinagar, Jammu, Punjab, Himachal, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and now she is in Maharashtra. From Pune, she is headed towards Satara and will next visit Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and conclude her run at Kanyakumari. 

Sufiya has been running from the last two years. She has even quit her job as a ground handler with Air India to focus on running full-time. In 2018, she made a national record by running 720 km Golden Triangle which is Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Delhi in 16 days.

“I started my practice eight months ago and used to run 30 to 40 km every day. I am not scared of falling sick during the rainy season as I love running while it’s raining,” Sufiya added.