Working for the police force since 19, it wasn’t until 10 years later that Manisha joined a competitive sport.

Before then, her exposure to the sporting world was only limited to basic fitness that helped her cruise through the physical fitness exam for the job of a constable with the Chandigarh Police.

But at 29, after the birth of her second child, she took up competitive running, thanks to the motivation lent by her cop husband. Now, at 34, she has over 20 podium finishes in 10 km and half marathons and the count is still on. 

“I come from a background where the environment is not so conducive for girls to opt for a career and marriage remains the ultimate destination. In fact, none of my four elder sisters is working, but I was a rebel and moved out of my house to join the police. Eventually, my husband Sunil, who is from a sports background, introduced me to running,” says Manisha, who hails from Pipli village in Haryana’s Sonepat. 

After her father’s demise, the family shifted to Bahadurgarh.

“Initially, running was restricted to fitness. But after the birth of my second child, Sunil exhorted me to go for competitive running. Thanks to that, now I am able to stand out in the crowd,” adds Manisha, who recently won a Hero Electric Scooter in a half-marathon “Once Race” held in Chandigarh in the memory of late Milkha Singh. 

It was in 2018, five months after her second delivery that Manisha participated in her first competition “Daily World Run”. Though she missed a spot in the Top 3 then, ever since she has been making a podium finish in almost all events that she has been participating in.

“We are a nuclear family. So, when the runs are in another city, we take the kids along. When in Chandigarh, we leave the kids sleeping at home as the runs usually start quite early in the morning. My husband keeps an eye on them through the CCTV set-up at our house and as they wake up, he brings them to the marathons to cheer me on,” says the champion mother.