UK-based Odia woman dressed in a Sambalpuri handloom saree left her co-runners speechless and the people of Odisha proud when she ran a 42.5 km marathon in Manchester on Sunday. Madhusmita Jena, 41, finished the marathon in 4 hours and 0 minutes. She is a high school teacher in Manchester and an active member of the Odia community in North West England. She has competed in numerous marathons and ultramarathons around the world. But, according to reports, this is Madhusmita’s first marathon in a saree. I was the only person to complete the marathon while wearing a saree. Running for an extended period of time is difficult in and of itself, but doing so in a saree is even more difficult. But I’m glad I was able to complete the entire distance in 4.50 hours, an ecstatic Madhusmita told. Madhumsita was inspired by her mother and grandmother, who both wore sarees on a daily basis when she was growing up. Many people believe that women cannot run while wearing sarees, but I proved them wrong by completing the task while draped in a Sambalpuri handloom. I wear sarees in the summers in the UK anyway, said the 41-year-old, whose family is from Kusupur village, about 30 kilometres from Kendrapara. Last year, Madhusmita was honoured for sports excellence at the Odisha Society of the UK convention. She always amazes us with new accomplishments, but this time she went the extra mile by running in a saree. The entire Odia community in the UK is proud of her achievements, said Sukant Kumar Sahu, trustee of the UK Shree Jagannath Society and former secretary of the Odisha Society in the UK.
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