Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai (SHP)
Mumbai, Jan 20: Earlier in the week, differently-abled people broke barriers and emerged victorious in longer distances like 10 km and 42 km.
21-year-old Varun diagnosed with autism completed the Mumbai marathon in 4 hours and 27 minutes.
Sawant took to running a couple of years ago and began training with marathon coach, Kaushik Panchal. "Varun was his first student who had autism and so he requested his father to accompany him to training sessions and that is how his journey began," said his mother Darshana.
Until last year, most disabled runners would participate in the 1.5km Champions with Disability race. Like Varun, nearly 125 persons with disabilities, mostly visual impairments, ran the 10km race with a sighted 'buddy'.
Based on an idea from the Adventure Beyond Barriers Foundation, persons with disabilities were paired with sighted runners for Sunday races.