For most, it was a 1600-metre physical test. For Kavitha, it was a race against her circumstances. A widowed mother from Jharkhand, she ran without the shoes or gear others had, wearing a sari and carrying the determination to build a more secure future for her children. She cleared the physical test for a Home Guard job, finishing at the top. But her remarkable run also raises a larger question: why should someone have to overcome such odds just to secure a chance at a better life?