Pinkathon 2025
The Pinkathon began as India's biggest women's run, but over the years it has grown into something far bigger and far more meaningful. It has become a space where women show up for their health, their confidence, their community, and themselves. Bollywood actor and endurance icon Milind Soman created it with one simple idea in mind: women deserve room to move, breathe, reclaim their bodies, and prioritise their well-being. Today, that seed has grown into one of the country's most powerful platforms for preventive health and confident ageing.
At its core, Pinkathon has always been about making fitness welcoming. Not intimidating, not exclusive, but something every woman can claim for herself. The 2025 edition continues that push by celebrating active ageing across generations. Beginning in Mumbai this December, the Pinkathon caravan will travel through Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Delhi, Kolkata, and Chennai over eight months, collecting stories along the way that show just how much India is changing.
The New Face of Midlife Fitness
Take Ajit Kaur Dhillon. A mother of two, Ajit didn't grow up running marathons. She got into it after 40, once her kids were older and life gave her a little room. What started as an experiment has turned into 100 km ultramarathons that she now finishes with quiet confidence. Women like her are showing that midlife is not the winding-down phase that many assume. For many, it is actually the beginning of their strongest, healthiest years.
Milind Soman has watched this shift unfold right in front of him. "When we started Pinkathon, we were hoping women would simply show up to run," he says. "What has humbled me is how they made it their own. Every edition brings new voices, new ages, new backgrounds. Together they show us what India can look like when women take charge of their wellness."
Tradition, Endurance, Inclusivity
Pinkathon isn't just about running fast or running far. It is about women showing up exactly as they are. Dr. Vidya, an AI PhD, runs her ultras in a nine-yard saree. It turns heads, yes, but more importantly it tells its own story, of a woman walking her path without giving up her identity. Then there is 74-year-old Daksha Dilip Kanavia, who continues to take on serious distances. She is living proof that ageing can be active, visible, and full of movement.
Inclusivity has always been Pinkathon's heartbeat. You see it in the return of visually challenged athlete Dipti Gandhi, who takes on the 10K as the Pinkathon Mascot for 2025. And you see it in the 5,000 babywearing mothers who will walk, jog, and run with their infants. These mothers don't pause their lives to raise a child. They bring their children along as they step back into their own strength.
Where Every Stage of Womanhood Finds Space
One of the runners puts it best: "Pinkathon didn't just get me moving. It reminded me that my story has value, whether I am starting over, slowing down, or pushing for something bigger. It showed me that every stage of a woman's life deserves space, respect, and celebration."
Together, these stories show an India that is slowly but boldly redefining what age, identity, strength, and well-being look like. And Pinkathon-through every kilometre and every woman who joins in-continues to be the place where those ideas take shape, one stride at a time.
