Which famous Shark Tank India judge ran a marathon while being six-months pregnant?

Shark Tank India judge and Sugar Cosmetics CEO Vineeta Singh famously ran a half marathon in 2018 while being six months pregnant.

Running a marathon is hard. Owning and operating a 300 crore business in India is extremely difficult. Running a marathon while six-months pregnant and simultaneously operating a 300 crore business is almost unheard of. However, the co-founder and CEO of Sugar Cosmetics, Vineeta Singh, who is also popular because of her participation as a judge on Shark Tank India continues to successfully break down stereotypes and prove that there is literally nothing that a woman cannot do.

The former IIM Ahmedabad alum is a hardcore fitness enthusiast and has a great passion for long distance running. She got into the activity of running during her college days at IIM-A and it soon became a way for her to combine fitness and fun while also channeling energy and relaxation besides her entrepreneurial endeavours.

However, Vineeta stunned the world when knowledge of her insane accomplishment in 2018 surfaced following her participation in Shark Tank India. She participated in the 2018 Mumbai Half Marathon while she was six months pregnant!

The Sugar Cosmetics owner completed a distance of 21 kms through the streets of Mumbai and clocked a time of 2:24:15 while running alongside her co-founder and husband Kaushik Mukherjee.

In an interview with Mid-day back then, Vineeta said, "I have been running full marathons since 2007. I have run nine full marathons so far and it was a different feeling to complete the half marathon today being pregnant. Since I am six months pregnant, I had to take medical advice before I ran."

Showing off her 21.1 km half marathon medal on Instagram, Vineeta wrote, “More of a walrus than a shark in today’s half marathon, but this sunny little part of my life is still happiness.”

The post also attracted a hilarious exchange in the comments section between her and fellow Shark Tank India judge Anupam Mittal. “Who are you running from?” asked Anupam. To this, Vineeta replied with an inside joke, “From butter elaichi coffee.”

Vineeta is an ultra marathoner and a triathlete and she has been running marathons since 2007. She has stated in several interviews that running marathons has helped her overcome her PCOS diagnosis while also improving her body’s fitness considerably and she considers running her favourite activity.

She has participated in over 20 marathons, ultramarathons and half marathons. In 2017, she also completed the Ironman marathon which includes – 3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling and a 42 km full marathon. The famous Shark has also completed the 89 km Comrades Ultramarathon three consecutive times.

Vineeta has also admitted that running helps her cultivate long-term thinking better in her professional life and it has helped her build Sugar Cosmetics as one of the leading brands in the country.

“I had major self-doubt about me not being able to become an entrepreneur. I was running a marathon for a sense of accomplishment. Whenever I have struggled with business, have an identity crisis, running has worked for me. It was my reclaiming ‘your self worth’ moment. That’s why I never get into depression. Running helped me. Working out 1 hour in the morning costs you nothing, but it builds you as a person,” she had said in a podcast with author Chetan Bhagat.