Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team articles

• The 26th Sri Chinmoy Ten Day Race April 17-27 2024
• The 25th Sri Chinmoy Six Day Race April 21-27 2024

Both races utillized the loop course at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the second year of the former course measured at 0.747979 mile/1.203577km,. The course is mostly flat and very similar tomany of our previous running courses that had acquired several multiday race performances over the last 24 years, minus the two and a half years during the Covid pandemic.

The recovery of the Sri Chinmoy 10 Day Race, which started in 1996 , was a joy for the running world that discovered long distance events the last several years, both in the US, and in Europe as well. 

The Ten Day garnered 18 men and 6 women taking quick use of the course and a semi-quiet park as the noon-time start on April 17.

The quickest runners would most likely run the course with their best days ahead of them. Multi-time winner Budjagal Byambaa from Mongolia led the fastest fellows along, but the fastest lady Annabel Hepworth was set to lead many runners .

The typical Spring weather patterns began as rain arrived about two or three hours into the event. Still, the runners continued on their assault for miles and kms. Just before the sun disappeared, the rain disappeared but the runners continued to test the course and their own forward movement. Budjargal lead throughout the first night, and by the first 24 total arrived, he reached 112.9 miles/ 181.7kms. Chia-Hung Wei from Tiawan came through with 109.9 miles/ 176.86kms. No surprise, as third overall was Annabel Hepworth, the Australian with 99.4 miles/ 159.97kms.  Another surprise was Benjamin Torok from Hungary, who reached 94.9 miles / 152.74kms-moving well in his first ever 10 Day.

The runners always seem to develop a true concern for their own runner-friends, both new and formerly previously. We were so fortunate to have numerous helpers who worked the lap counting, making tasty food, and a solid group of men and women medical providers. Checking foot and ankle problems, and just getting through a long or overnight running test.

By the time of three complete days had passed, the 10 day runners kept their movement as steady and regular as possible.  In a day later, 9 more runners would join the frey, so there was more solid efforts to fill the course.   

The end of Day 4 showed Budjargal still in the front, and Andrea Marcato was solid in second place. Radu Budan from Moldova was solid in fourth place, and Annabel Hepworth was at 305.9 miles/ 492.298 km.

As the Six Day Race began for the 25th time, the leader Ashprihanal Aalto from Finland assumed the position as head of the group, reaching 108.45 miles/ 174.54km  in the first day.  Abhejali  Bernadova from Check Republic led the ladies with 78 miles/ 123.98 km.

The Ten Day Race had more intense efforts that showed great movements from the top 10 or 11 runners. The air was pleasant, the rain stayed away, but runners did not stop. Budjargal threw down 84.5 miles on Day Five, and moved over 70 miles ahead of second for the men. Annabel Hepworth continued her powerful movement and placed fourth overall , and nearly 80 miles ahead of second lady Gesiane Nascimento of Brazil.  Alex Ramsey from the US, and  Benjamin Torok from Hungary was really putting up a real test to move into fifth or sixth place for the men. By the eighth and nine day efforts they were only a few miles apart. Each of the two men were really enjoying the test of finding more miles and more joy in becoming great distance runners.

The total of runners who reached 1000km+ became seven, as six men and the top lady showed us all they are in a great place. Budjargal made it to his best ever, reaching 817.5 miles/ 1315.6 km. He passed his previous best of 810 miles in 2018. Second place came to Andrea Marcato,  the Italian who reached 743.4 miles/ 1196.3km. Third place reached the Taiwanese hero Chia-Hung Wei. It was another personal best for him as he reached 709 miles/ 1141 km. He surprised himself!

Fourth place overall was our top lady - Annibel Hepworth, 685.1 miles/ 1102.5 km. She reached a PB, a national  W50.

Fifth place was Radu Budan, setting a PB with 646.2 miles/ 1039.9 km.

Fifth place for the men, sixth overall was Alex Ramsey. Another personal best of 623.8 miles/ 1003.9km. And finally, the Sixth mail and seventh member of the 1000km group was Benjamin Torok, who reached 623.0 miles/ 1002.6km.

There were also several other PB’s in the Ten Day. One of the most remarkable was the fourth place for the women- Tamara Babich

From Katachstan, who at age 73 reached 483.7 miles/ 776.7 km.

The Six Day Race also had excellent performances.  Ashprihanal Aalto won overall with 436.1 miles/ 701km.  Abhejali Bernardova reached 344.8 miles/ 554.8km.  And last but not least- 86 year old Don Winkley from Texas, USA-m completed 148 miles/ 238.1 km, after five days (his plane was delayed a day by heavy storms in the South west.)

As always, thanks to all the runners for testing themselves in any way possible, and all the helpers keeping our multiday races continuing on the lists in the US as well as in Europe. Good Luck to all

Sahishnu

Photographs from

• Photos of 6-10 Day Race by PJ Street
• Photos of 6-10 Day Race - Akbota

Video

                                             

I have a new fitness goal – training for the “Centenarian Decathlon” – i.e be fit when you are really old. The idea is that as we get older, our muscle and fitness declines rapidly. It means we can spend the last 10 years of our life, unable to move properly. The body fails before the heart and brain. The only way to be fit and mobile in the last decade of our life is to start training for it now.

The idea of a Centenarian Decathlon comes from Peter Attia – a doctor and fitness guru, who has spent a lot of time researching how to combat ageing and improve our healthy lifespan. He wrote a good book – “Outlive” which goes into different aspects of things that make a difference in improving life-expectancy and healthy life expectancy. An important conclusion from all his scientific research is that if you did one single thing to improve life and healthy life-expectancy – it is exercise. Exercise is the single most important thing that makes a difference. Try to eat healthy, get good sleep, minimise stress and cultivate happiness.  But, if there is a magic bullet, it is exercise – aerobic, VO2 max and core strength.

The great thing about this book is that it really resonated with the philosophy of my spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy. Sri Chinmoy valued physical fitness as it enables us to a have more rounded, fulfilling life.

"Physical fitness is of paramount importance. We are not practising sports to be the world’s greatest runner or athlete. We are praying to God to keep our body physically fit so that early in the morning we can pray and meditate and begin our day’s journey with a prayerful heart. If we do not do sports and take exercise to keep the body fit, then we may become weak and sickly and suffer from all kinds of pains and ailments." Sri Chinmoy answers, part 2, Agni Press, 1995

I remember Sri Chinmoy once said that once you are over 50 you should try and if possible do 2-3 hours of exercise and stretching per day. In this regard, Sri Chinmoy definitely practised what he preached. He himself would take regular exercise and stretching to keep fit.

"Physical fitness is of paramount importance. Do whatever exercise you want to, as long as you do something. I take daily at least two hours' exercise, sometimes two and a half, sometimes three. Usually, I do it at three different times during the day. Even at night, before I go to bed, I have some special exercises that I take." - Sri Chinmoy, Inner Meaning of Sport

When Sri Chinmoy was young, in India he was an excellent sprinter and decathlon champion. When he came to the West, he took up distance running. Unfortunately, as many of us will relate to, he experienced bad knee pain, which forced him to stop running. But, he never used this as an excuse to stop exercising. He would walk or exercise with weights. In his mid-70s, Sri Chinmoy was still active in weightlifting. I remember watching Sri Chinmoy walk painfully to a lifting apparatus and then use the parts of his body which could take the strain. Injury was never an excuse. In fact, in one tv interview, Sri Chinmoy explained his philosophy was to try and inspire people of his generation.

The idea of 2-3 hours per day exercise seems such a long-time. But, now I’m getting closer to 50, I have a goal to do this. And the thing is that to do 2-3 hours of exercise a day, you don't have to spend 2-3 hours in a gym. Try stand on one leg with your eyes closed! It's not as easy as it sounds. When waiting in a queue, you can do single leg exercises and stretches. Passes the time in a constructive way. Also, to create a time, I took to speed walking to the supermarket. Carrying shopping on back, is all good training.

Age is in the mind

In addition to training for old age, it is also worth trying to bear in mind, the philosophy "Age is in the mind - not the body" Sri Chinmoy's approach was always to imagine ourselves as young, not old.

Age is in the mind; age is not in the body. When we think that we are old, that is the end, the very end, of our journey. Every day at every moment only think that you are a seven-year-old or a nine-year-old or ten-year-old, but do not think that you are over thirty." Sri Chinmoy, Sri Chinmoy answers, part 35, Agni Press, 2004

Healthy Life-expectancy

Despite improvements in medicine we risk seeing a decline in healthy life expectancy through poor diet and exercise.

By the way, healthy life-expectancy is the age at which we are physically able to live an active life. The way modern medicine and health systems are set up – we focus a lot of effort on treating the symptoms of ill-health (and old age), but do very little on preventative medicine.  But, we can definitely start now to improve our strength and fitness which is probably the best preventative medicine.

Vo2 Max

The good news for keen cyclists. VO2 max is one of the most reliable guides to life expectancy. The higher the VO2, there is a very strong correlation for higher life-expectancy. Even small amounts of high intensity training, can boost our VO2 max and our fitness. VO2 max steadily declines with age, but we can partly arrest the decline through training VO2 max specifically. In my own cycling, this year I haven’t done very much VO2 max efforts at all, just pottering around town. So this is a good reminder to make more of an effort in this regard.

Aerobic Base

As you might expect the more you improve your aerobic base, the more good things happen for our health. It improves our cardiovascular health, but also our general mood and feeling of well-being.

The Harvard professor in this video is very good. One of the most interesting things I learnt was when people are unfit, if they exercise they don’t get the same ‘buzz’ / ‘dopamine’ effect that trained athletes do. This is why unfit people don’t like exercise, it is just all suffering, little reward. But, when you get to a certain level of fitness, then increasingly the body is able to send a reward of ‘dopamine’ and exercise becomes much more enjoyable. This is why it can be so hard to get going with exercise; at the start, it is not much fun. But, if you can get a critical mass of fitness then everything becomes easier because exercise itself becomes more enjoyable. I’ve found that in my own exercise cycles. When you’re fit and firing on all cylinders, you can’t wait to get back on the bike and do more training. But, when you get out of the habit, the idea of doing hill intervals or whatever, appears less desirable.

Core strength

Another really important thing about training for old age is general all-round strength. As a cyclist, I have often been guilty of focusing only on cycling and not doing the more ‘boring’ core strength exercises. My body type is perfect for long-seated hill climbs. But, equally, it is  unsuited for doing pull-ups and push ups. Yet, when you get really old, this kind of upper-body strength could be the difference between pulling yourself out of bed and being bedridden. I spend some time with a friend with Parkinson’s. When it kicks in, the legs stop working and to get out of bed, it requires pulling on bars to get up. It is touch and go, and this is a real motivation for training for old age. You realise every workout and muscle strength you developed – makes the difference of whether you can get out of bed, and being able to do basic tasks. There are also other exercises you can do in small confined spaces. I’m a big fan of eccentrics. Pretty much all using your body weight. The aim is to try and exercise all 600+ muscles in the body. The exercises seem easy, but the first time I did a 30 minute session, I couldn’t believe how stiff I was the next day! Muscles you don’t use in daily life.

Modern life

In the pandemic period, I got into the habit of online shopping. It’s amazing, you click on your computer and all your heavy shopping gets brought to your door. It saves so much effort. I used to take a rucksack when travelling, but now replace it with mini suitcases on wheels. Rather than take the stairs at the airport, we have lifts and travellators. Everything is geared towards comfort and ease of use. When we put a backpack on, it is a bit uncomfortable, so we seek ways to avoid lifting and carrying. Everything that used to keep the body in shape is being replaced by technology which does the heavy lifting for us. But, actually walking with a heavy backpack, is really good training for the body. It is why the army use this kind of training.

All this is good in the short-term, but it means the modern homeo sapiens is losing strength and the ability to function like we are supposed to. When things go wrong, it’s either too late or we just seek a solution to the problem of a weak body – not address the underlying cause. This is why we have to make so much conscious effort to keep the body active and avoid the comfort delusion. For example, when my 70-year-old mother brings in the shopping, I feel the right thing to do is go and help her carry the heavy shopping bags. But, actually, that weight training of lifting heavy shopping is the best thing she can do. She isn't always convinced at my logic!

On average I spend one hour a day cycling around Oxford, Kennington, mostly on the cycle path. It’s a really efficient way to both get around time, save money and keep fit.  So that’s a start, but I need to work on improving upper body strength too.

 

A few personal impressions from this years 6 day race in New York’s Flushing Meadows Park, 18–24 April 2022, by Shashanka Karlen

A multi-day race is a good way to discover the flexibility and fluidity of time. In the beginning, when you have covered your first 6-10 hours and realize what you have gotten yourself into, the look forward to the end of 6 days can be really frightening. At least for the mind. It seems an infinity of time away and mentally you may wonder how you can actually ever reach that goal. There are moments during the race where time does not seem to move, where each lap is just simply very hard work and there seems to be no way out, no person to talk to, no special food that would uplift you, no piece of music that would carry you forward. Don Winkley, the American Ultra runner, still running at 83, calls these “the character-building miles”. I thought of him several times during the race also because he had so many great stories to tell when we met 10 years ago during the Self-Transcendence 10 day race.

On the other hand, when you look back after 3 or 4 days to the beginning of the race it seems that time practically flew by, that all went so quickly that you could hardly grasp it. And even now, the second day after the race time has already moved on and we try to quickly preserve all the treasures that have come along the way of these 6 days.

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The bathtub by Don Winkley
Don Winkley told me this story back in 2012 and it remained anchored in my memory ever since. Don said that once he had a very difficult race, the weather was miserable and at some point he said to himself “After this is over I will get a nice suite at a hotel and enjoy myself.” Once the race was over he did exactly that, checked in at the hotel and got a very large beautiful suite. The problem was that Don was in such a bad physical shape and the bathroom was very far away from his bed. As he needed the bathroom frequently and the distance was too far he finally decided to sleep in the bathtub...Poor Don!

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Ode to Joy

One evening, I believe it was on the 3rd day, around midnight I got the inspiration to listen to Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. I thought, good, this will take care of the race for 1 ½ hours, the total length of the four movements. There is a special live recording from December 1989, recorded in Berlin just after the Berlin Wall came down and includes musicians and singers from both East and West. The conductor is the famous Leonard Bernstein. Feeling the pulse of time, he took the freedom to change the name from “Ode to Joy” to “Ode to Freedom”. It is indeed a very special recording of a very special symphony in a very special moment of human history. This symphony has become a global hymn to freedom and the brotherhood of man and is loved more than ever.

Interestingly enough the next morning Kodanda, the “race-musician” played the theme of Ode to Joy, without knowing anything about my experience the night before. I thought it was a nice proof how on an inner level feelings and thoughts travel freely and are picked up, it may be as close as a few meters like in this case or it may be on the other side of the globe.

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“Somehow it must be possible for us to learn from his [Beethoven’s] music by hearing it, no, not hearing it but by listening to it with all our power of attention and concentration. Then perhaps we can grow into something worth being called “the human race”. ...In this time of world agony and hopelessness and helplessness, we love his music and we need it. As despairing as we may be, we can not listen to this 9th Symphony without emerging from it changed, enriched, encouraged.” - Leonard Bernstein 1979

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I think also for many other Ultra runners listening to music is an important support. I don’t know what other runners listen to, except maybe from the story that Grahak told from the 3100 mile race. He was listening to heavy rock music and was suddenly called to Sri Chinmoy’s car to get Prasad (blessed food) and he somehow did not manage to turn off the music. Even though it was only in the earphones, the music was clearly audible and he felt embarrassed... Like in the case of the perception of time, a multi day race also makes you much more sensitive to music and different kinds of music and their effect on yourself. I listened a good amount of time to Sri Chinmoy’s music and I liked particularly his singing. I could make a very easy connection to him through his singing. It just goes directly to your heart and soul.

Sometimes I would listen to popular music. “Paradise” by Coldplay came up, “Sultans of Swing” by Dire Straits, “Comfortably Numb” and “Echos” by Pink Floyd (bringing back memories from long forgotten times). Later I discovered “Deja Vu” by Crosby, Still, Nash and Young and this worked very well with its rhythm and lightness. I was very careful not to cross a certain line, because I felt it would have a detrimental influence on my inner state of being. For example, Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” was beyond that red line even though I enjoyed this song 40 years ago when I was DJ in a Club.

The fourth dimension

One evening when Patanga came to the counting area he had a mystical, otherworldly look on his face. He suddenly looked up, lifted his right arm and pointed to the sky. He did not say anything. I was reminded of a scene in Martin Strel’s movie about swimming the entire length of the Amazon river (3273miles/5268km) in 2007. There is a moment in the film where he is alone standing on the shore of the Amazon in the middle of the Jungle and you see him from the back, immersed in this glorious nature, pointing with both hands to the sky. They are declaring in the film that Martin has entered “the fourth dimension”. For me the “fourth dimension” signifies the moment when there is no more separation between Paradise, you and nature, you become completely part of it. It is a direct, authentic, immediate experience of nature as it really is and you are part of it.

A multi-day race or other similar events (or even long training runs in beautiful nature) help greatly to become more subtle and receptive to this kind of experience. There were moments in this year’s race where these “ecstatic” moments of grace appeared, mainly in the morning at dawn.

The “4 Lap Interview” with Ananda Lahari

Ananda Lahari does not speak much during a race, his smile though has become legendary. I feel privileged therefore to have had the opportunity to do 4 laps with him. Maybe this exception happened because it was meant to be, like the fact that we were neighbours both on our race tables as well as with our tents, both totally “by chance”. I had just come out of the medical tent, in the morning of day 3. After a good early session of 8-9 laps of “refreshed” running, I suddenly felt a shooting pain in the shin of my right leg... I had become one of the many victims of shin splints and was not happy about it. In the corner after the medical tent and the bathrooms, Ananda Lahiri was just appearing and we started to walk together. He gave me an insight into his unique life and running universe and also greatly encouraged me concerning my shin splints. He gave me an overview of how people have dealt with it both physically as well as mentally. He mentioned cases where runners were able to get rid of shin splints within hours! (Some of us may remember just the opposite - the 14 days Madhupran Wolfgang Schwerk was walking because of shin splints during one of the 3100-mile races in New York...).

Ananda Lahiri also concretely gave me tips for the best foot movement so that the foot would be relaxed but still locked to avoid the stress on the shin when rolling up. I used all of the advice as good as possible and it felt almost like a miracle that the pain almost disappeared and I could keep a good walking pace. Running though was out of the question. That is why this article is called “A long walk to myself ”.

The Master's Breath

One other thing Ananda Lahari mentioned was that he would sometimes focus simply on his breath. Then, he said, everything becomes completely simplified and focused.

There was a moment when the race was really difficult and I started to focus also on the breath. I started to breathe through the nose which I did not normally do before and I started to repeat mantras in rhythm with the breath. “Supreme” did not work so well but “Guru” worked very well. I would breathe in with Gu- and breath out with -ru. After having done this for a while I suddenly felt the Master totally close. It felt like he was opening some inner chambers for me to come in. That was probably my most fulfilling experience of the whole race.

Love and Serve

I love running the nights where all is more quiet and there are less distractions. One early morning, maybe around 2 am, Rupantar (the SCMT director) was just leaving from the counting station where he had jumped in and we met for a few seconds. I thanked him for putting on this great event and mentioned that it is simply “invaluable”. It is valuable beyond measure. Just the experiences of even one runner seem so tremendously beneficial. He was smiling and it became a treasured moment. I felt what others have said before: there is so much love, dedication, and service going into an event like that. I felt this from the set-up crew that was extremely helpful with putting up the tents, to the great cooking teams, the medical staff and also the counters. Specially those that were announcing the miles were all great and really added a very supportive energy. More generally, you can see Sri Chinmoy’s signature in all of that. His teaching, his love, love for the world but also very specifically love for the running world, for the runners and also for the ideal of self-transcendence. In the difficult times of a race it is extremely rewarding and consoling to experience this generosity of heart and soul.

The Car Racers Flash Mob

During the last night, from Saturday to Sunday, shortly after 1 am, an avalanche of cars arrived in the parking lot. Very soon there were probably close to a hundred cars. In the middle, some cars with howling motors started to make sliding manoeuvres or demonstrated fast starts. Of course they had no idea that there was a running race going on and that a part of the parking lot was actually a running course. Imagine the runners, in the final period of the race, quite sensitive to what is going on in- and outside themselves. It felt to me like a sudden invasion, a hostile attack before the end of the race. Fortunately the people seemed to be all quite friendly and when the police finally arrived they all left, almost as fast as they appeared.

The Uniqueness of Flushing Meadow

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team has held Ultra races in Flushing Meadow park since 1985, for nearly 40 years. Countless races have been held here, and many epic battles between runners or even between runners and nature have taken place here. In 1985 Yiannis Kouros and a few dozen other runners battled through a hurricane, Kouros ending up with a world best of 178 miles (285km). Personally, I always struggle to get used to the permanent noise of the cars from the highways on three sides, the planes that are coming in or starting very low from close by La Guardia airport and also to the unpredictable, extremely fast changing and often cold wind that rattles through the park much of the running time. It adds definitely a layer of challenge on top of the running itself. Fortunately, the noise cancellation headphones are a big help and it is also astounding how quickly the body and the whole system adjust to these new conditions.

Each Journey is different

One thing that I find really fascinating is to see the vast differences in runners; the different nationalities, running styles, attitudes and ambitions and goals. You can clearly see that each runner is on his or her own journey. One day they are flying, the next day they may be nearly dying. Sometimes it seems that all are feeling a new breath of energy at the same time, it is like somebody is infusing energy into the runners or even breathing through the runners and suddenly the faces are lightening up and the bodies are cooperating. I must say I could not see enough of Wei Mings' absolutely incredible running style. His absolutely smooth and harmonious movements were of such grace and beauty it really felt like running in perfection.

Inner World and Outer World

I did not watch any world news, specifically about the war in Ukraine during the entire race. I saw the danger that it would have a negative influence on my mental state and performance. On the other hand I felt clearly that all the runners (and helpers in any function) created such an incredibly positive energy through their efforts and aspiration. It was like a dynamo that was continually charged. I am sure that this positive energy will now continue to do its work in the world atmosphere and help to strengthen the positive forces and energies.

The Golden Shore

I think many if not most of the runners start longing from day 1 for the end of the race. The challenge is huge, the mind is unable to grasp the task, the problems set in soon... I think the longing remains for the duration of the race but then so many incredible things happen during these 6 days: there is an extraordinary depth of experience, there is the wonderful camaraderie, the team spirit, the smiles and warm support from all the helpers, the sense of achievement with each mile that has been put in the personal account. Then you start to realise that you will miss something when it is over, you may realise that something within you just opened up and is now ready to fly, you want to continue...I love running and running has given me so much over the last 40 years. I hope I can run or at least walk to the last day of my life!

I encourage all runners who feel the inspiration to move up to the Ultra level, to multi day running. It is worth the step, a deep, fulfilling experience is almost certainly guaranteed.

Shashanka, 24th April 2022 6 days: 278 miles / 448 km

Author's note: May it be duly noted that these notes were strongly encouraged, if not demanded, by my spiritual brother Devashishu. Several of the topics appeared in creative exchanges while he was a lap announcer in the morning shifts.

• Photo Credit: Jowan, www.srichinmoyultraphoto.com / Utpal Marshall, https://perfectionjourney.org
• Design of PDF: Bijoy, Zurich, Switzerland / Bird Drawings by Sri Chinmoy

 

The 23rd Sri Chinmoy Six-Day Race was held from April 18-24, 2022, on a new running course at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, just under a mile in length, and ready to be deployed. A group of 29 runners- 19 men and 10 women, comprised the international field from 17 countries, to seek new abilities in the multi-day format of run and ’go-as-you-please. The six-day world leader for 2021 was back in New York. Budjargal Byambaa from Ulaanbaatar Mongolia led the multi-day lists for the previous year with a sparkling PB of 561.7 miles/904.07km. He had won 10 of his previous 15 multi-day excursions, throughout the States, Europe and China.

Mr Byambaa’s 102.5 miles on Day 1 set the tone, as the pleasant running weather from the start took a deep dive after midnight, and a twisting, windy rain-storm pulverized the course and its occupants for 10 hours of flooding, wailing water, and winds off of Meadow Lake which tried any athlete to continue in such conditions. Plank bridges helped the runners get along the course. The sun did not really make a daytime appearance for 48 hours, but that did not halt the runners either.

The overall second place on Day 2 belonged to Andrea Marcato, the Italian phenom who blitzed the 3100 Mile Race in September/October of 2021 here in New York with a third –fastest finish and a star bright presence in this multi-day super-long events. However, six days is six days- not 42 days, so you had to be pushing the envelope to stay with stars like Budjargal, and likewise the elite women. Annabel Hepworth and Susan Marshall - both from Australia - were the pre-race favourites, and Miss Marshall, a Kiwi at birth and in heart, knew it would take all her abilities and more to stay with the experienced Annabel. Her resume brims with world-class performances and national dominance. After two full days the two ladies were one lap apart. They were also third and fourth best overall, as the difficulty and lack of sleep took its toll on the 29 runners.

At the halfway mark Budjargal Byambaa had a 50km lead on Mr Marcato, which would not be bridged all the way to the end. The excellent running by the top men pulled the other stalwarts along. Romanian Adrian Papuc emerged as a bona-fide talent. Wei-Ming Lo, the remarkable Taiwanese national icon, showed good form throughout the first four days, but his last day was the best men’s final day with 80.3 miles/ 129.2km. He moved to fourth for the gentlemen at age 58.

The women’s battle for the top spot continued. By the end of Day 5, Annabel Hepworth had a six-mile lead but Susan Marshall had placed her fitness and talent all in for the last day. She upped her pace and refused to stop for any duration throughout the last night. Annabel had pushed herself beyond the ability to stay on the track. After a pair of falls, while moving, she was forced to sleep for a few hours, which fueled Susan Marshall’s all-out attempt. Susan had the best final day of all the runners, reaching 84.2 miles, and a six-day PB by 34 miles at 442.3.

Taiwanese veteran Wen Ya Tsai pushed hard the last two days after getting through a bout of shin splints. She set a national record W50 of 385.21 miles/ 619.985 km to nail the mark. Budjargal topped 500 miles for the second time in his running career with 502.3 miles/ 808.37km- and another trophy for his burgeoning awards list. Andrea Marcato set a PB with a 463.6 miles/702.63km effort.

 There were 10 PB’s reached in a race with difficult beginnings but promising ends. The SCMT is blessed to have had such wonderful volunteers and staff who gave of themselves for the duration. Next year the 10-Day Race will hopefully return to the fray, so that athletes will again test their abilities in longer phases, and those physical and mental bars set by previous performances will be equalled or surpassed.  Thanks to Sri Chinmoy for the unwavering challenges and the inspiration to continue the fight to do more. Each goal attained becomes a new starting point. Good luck to all multi-day runners. Never give up.

Photos by: Jowan

                          Guru's Chico Marathon Remembrance Race                                           

                               Sat. March 5, 2022   start -2 mile race course   7:02: am

                                                              

                  time        Girls                                            time        Boys

                 

         1      4:23:10  Harita                               1      4:13:19  Brian (SEA)          

                  4:23:10  Keertivati                       2      4:54:02  Shashanka            

         3      4:43:31  Kaneenika                                       

                  4:43:31  Boijiyanti                                         

         5      4:44:56  Dipali                                        

         6      5:36:31  Palash                                       

         7      7:41:07  Upasana                                                              

 

 

In October, Takasumi Senoo became the first Japanese runner to complete the 3100 Mile Race, a feat that attracted considerable media attention in his native Japan. Mainichi Shimbun, the 3rd biggest national newspaper, published a very nice article titled Remarkable Achievement by Former Hakone Dropout: First Japanese to Complete 4989 km Ultramarathon. The title refers to ekiden, which is a relay style long distance run extremely popular in Japan. Hakone is considered the pinnacle race for university ekiden runners; it takes place on January 2 and 3 every year, right after the New Year’s Day, during the nation’s biggest holidays. The whole race is broadcast nationwide. Its prestige and popularity is discussed in detail in Adharanand Finn’s The Way of the Runner: A Journey into the Fabled World of Japanese Running.

This newspaper article came out shortly after this year’s Hakone Ekiden, surely a (nicely) tactful scheduling on Mainichi Shimbun’s part.

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The world’s longest-level ultramarathon, which requires runners to complete approximately 4989 km within 52 days, just produced the first Japanese finisher. The distance is more than double the straight line between Sapporo (Hokkaido) and Naha (Okinawa) (2250 km), and is equivalent of running a full marathon (42.195 km) 118 times. The one who cemented his name in history is a former student-runner who once gave up running because he could not make it to Hakone Ekiden.

The race is called The Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, and took place in New York, USA, during September and October, 2021. At 6:50pm, October 26, Senoo Takasumi (38 years old) of Midori Ward, Yokohama City, smilingly broke through the finishing tape, holding aloft Japan’s national flag and the race flag. His time was 51 days, 12 hours, 50 minutes and 52 seconds. People at the finish gave him a great cheer, celebrating this 51st finisher in the race’s 25-year history.

He had always loved running since childhood. In autumn of his first year in junior high school, he joined the track and field club, and by his third year, he entered Kanagawa Marathon’s 5 km run open to all age groups, and made it to one of the top runners. He came to aspire to enter Kanagawa University, which won Hakone Ekiden twice in those days. He began envisioning himself in the Ekiden. With his satisfactory results in high school, he was successfully admitted upon recommendation, to one of Hakone Ekiden giants Tokai University.

The level of the prestigious team was beyond his imagination, however. He could run longer distances, but lacked speed. He realized that there was no way to compete with his teammates there; he was wanting the necessary talent. Only after 3 months, he left the team and also gave up running. He became an ‘ordinary student’ thereafter.

Across America ~ Turning Point

A year and a half after that, he one day thought: “I have gained some weight. Let me run again.” He put on his shoes that he had been unable to throw away, and began running in the neighborhood. The joy of running started coming back to him. “Yes, I left the team but that does not mean I should quit running.” Later, in his junior year in university in 2004, with the hope to overcome his setback, Senoo joined Run Across America (3080 miles = 4957 km), which turned out to be a big turning point for him. The huge sense of accomplishment after the finish prompted him to get deeply involved in long distance races.

While he participated in numerous races around the world, a new goal emerged: it is a race that started in 1997, named after the India-born philosopher and runner Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007). The race is invitation only, for those who have significant past achievements. Furthermore, out of all the world’s ultrarunners, only about 10 people can take part in it. Senoo actively entered various races, won in more than one of them, and for the first time got their invitation to be in the race.

For the Sri Chinmoy race, the cost amounts to about ¥1 million including the race fee, travel, and accommodation; there will be no prize money even after you complete the race. The race will last close to two months, so he made the decision to leave his work, the hospital he had worked for since he had registered as a nurse in 2013.

The runners of the race run around a high school in a suburb in New York City, about 883 meters of it, again and again. In order to finish, they need to run close to 100 km a day. They have to keep running in the same scenery, on hard concrete with inclines and declines. Because of his swelled feet, he had to cut the toe areas of his shoes, and in the end wore out 19 pairs.

To keep up with the high level of energy consumption, the runners are required to take about 10,000 kcal per day. In Senoo’s case, he managed by (sometimes) forcefully putting food, such as pie, into his mouth as he continued running. Every day from 6 am to midnight he ran, and went to bed at a nearby accommodation. The average hours of sleep was 4.5 hours. Once he was attacked by a severe headache and began vomiting. Finally, only short of 11 hours before the cutoff, he completed the race as the 5th finisher.

“Next Time, as Husband and Wife”

What supported him through all this was the presence of his wife, Yang Huang Lan (43 years old). They met as runners in 2019. Throughout this race, she assisted Senoo in handing out food etc.. He admits: “If I had tried on my own, I could not have completed it.” Toward the end of the race, he ran in ‘Mu’ (= Zen’s notion of nothingness).

The feeling of accomplishment this time exceeded that he had felt after the Run Across America. “I always remembered that feeling at age 21. And I kept running in quest of experiencing the same feeling once again. Now, finally, I have transcended it.” Hakone was a lost dream for young Senoo 20 years ago. Now, he has become the person who has run longer than anybody else in Japan.

And what is their new goal now? To run and complete the next Sri Chinmoy Race together.

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• By Makino Daisuke
• Newspaper Name: Mainichi Shimbun, nationwide edition
• Page, Date: p.23 (Society Section); January 6, 2022
• Interviewed by: Yokohama Bureau of Mainichi Shimbun [Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture is Takasumi’s hometown]

Translation from Japanese by Harashita Sunaoshi. As well as being an assistant to 3100 runner Harita Davies, she was also the liason for Japanese media; you can read about her experiences here...

On 4 September, seven intrepid runners stood on the startline for the 25th edition of the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. First held in 1997, Sri Chinmoy founded the race as the ultimate test of self-transcendence - a race where runners compete not for outer glory, but the challenge of transcending their limits and experience.

In order to meet their goal of 3100 miles (4989km) in 52 days, the runners must log an average of 59.6 miles (95.9 km) per day. The runners begin at 6 a.m. and run for extended periods throughout the day, taking breaks as needed. If they want to, they can continue as late as 12 midnight when the course closes for the night.

To follow the race visit:

• 3100 Mile Home page - with two live webcams - during race hours (6.00 am NYT to 12 pm NYT)
• Photo Gallery
• Perfection Journey 3100 Mile Race coverage

The seven runners include:

• Ananda-Lahari Zuscin (47) Kosics Slovakia (17 times entrant)
• Andrea Marcato (39) Zurich Switzerland (2020 winner)
• Harita Davies (47) Christchurch New Zealand (Women’s winner in 2019)
• Lo Wei Ming (58) Taiwan (first time entrant)
• Stutisheel Lebedev (51) Kiev Ukraine (over 10 finishes)
• Takasumi Senoo (39) Japan (first time entrant)
• Vasu Duzhiy (54) (Russia) three times men’s winner.

Igor Talevski (43) from Skopje, a member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in Macedonia and meditation afficionado, is currently biking across the USA in the self-supported TransAm Bike Race, following the "Transamerica Trail" with a distance of 4300 miles coast to coast.

At the moment of posting he is a bit more than half way on his 11th day into the race, entering Kansas State. He has covered over 2157 miles and left the steepest and hilliest part, the Rocky Mountains with over 3000 m/10.000 ft, behind him. Still about 2000 more miles to go now! He seems in good spirits, and you can follow his progress here

If you read cyrillic and understand Macedonian, you will find more info about Igor, his background, his newest challenge and his bike equipment on his website and also some Macedonian media interest...

More details about his adventure will follow soon. Right now we send him our best wishes for a safe journey and successful and happy finish! We are sure he will have lots to share after he finishes this big adenture!

As those of you who have been following the race know, we have occasionally received incredibly beautiful and detailed race statistics from 3100 Mile race enthusiast Matthias Van Baaren from Vienna which were a huge inspiration for our daily charts. View his charts from our 2016 race.  Here is his latest contribution about this year's race and its relation to past performances.

Matthias on 2020 3100.pdf

Yes, its happening in Salzburg, Austria, starting September 13 with 5 runners. Visit the website.

Harita Davies is one of only eight women to complete the Sri Chinmoy 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence race with two finishes and a best time of 51 days+09:35:20 (in 2019). In a new podcast produced by Nathan Gardner at "We can remake the world" Davies gives an hour-long interview talking about meditation, peace, self-transcendence and the experience of completing the world's longest race. During the interview, Harita gives insights into how meditation can help tap into a deeper part of one's being - an essential aspect in a race as gruelling and challenging as the 3100 Mile Race. She also talks with Nathan about the work of Sri Chinmoy in promoting peace, meditation and running activities. Harita also talks about the support and inspiration she gained from people around the world whilst running the 2019 race as the only woman in the field.

"I feel our state of mind and consciousness can have a direct impact on the world, and through the practise of meditation we can develop a greater awareness of how we can affect the world in a positive way."

- Harita Davies from Podcast.

Nathan Gardner also interviewed another great female 3100 Mile Runner Yolanda Holder.

Listen now

• Choosing Peace: Harita Davies
• Podcast at Sound Cloud
• Know your goal: never give up  - Podcast with Yolanda Holder

Soccer in the Sri Chinmoy Centre, and the Jamaica High School Track: A Disciple History

by Rupantar LaRusso and friends

This article began as a history of Guru’s encouragement of soccer in the Centre. That in itself proved to be a surprisingly huge saga! Soon, though, we also started weaving in stories about the Sri Chinmoy Centre’s countless hours at the Jamaica High School track—not only for soccer, but for many other athletic and non-athletic activities, going back to the ’70s. “The track” was the scene of Guru’s early tennis playing, the annual 47-Mile Race for Guru’s birthday (still held there), the 12-Hour Walk, Father’s Day marathons, early-morning races for visitors and the 7-mile and 13-mile departure races (usually held on the last day of Celebrations), the occasional Sports Day, records set by Ashrita, girls’ marching drills under Guru’s direction, the 1981 Grand Prix Race series as well as many other races of various distances. Then there were the other special events, including Guru’s morning meditations after sports practice, thirty of his Everest-Aspiration talks, daily singing rehearsals at dawn, spectacular celebrations in honour of Guru’s achievements—the list goes on!

Right from the start, it must be emphasized that the history below is incomplete, and all readers are encouraged to submit their own stories to share in a later edition of the newsletter. Please send your special reminiscences about soccer or the Jamaica High School Track to Rupantar!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“…in the human aspect you will see that there are quite a few things which you do that I do in the same manner; therefore, you will get tremendous encouragement…Because you have the same capacity that I have in so many things, you are bound to feel that you can arrive at the same footing on the spiritual plane as well. So you get encouragement.”

Sri Chinmoy, “Human Reality and Divine Reality,” in Everest-Aspiration — talk given at Jamaica High School Track on July 6, 1977

Soccer in the Ashram and the Beginnings in the Centre

A look back at Guru’s soccer days in the Sri Aurobindo Ashram reveals a tenacious and highly skilful player who also was captain of the team. The following is an excerpt from “Football,” Vidagdha’s account of Guru’s Ashram soccer days:

“Like every boy, and especially Indian boys, Sri Chinmoy adored football. He played it during his early youth in Chittagong and it figured prominently in his sports experiences at the Ashram. Among all the games that he played during his formative years, it was his favourite.”

(See "Football" for complete article by Vidagdha.)

And on 5 June 1977, Guru commented to the UN Meditation-Flames soccer team he had created that soccer “will always remain my most favourite game.”

For the European disciples, soccer was the sport, especially in Scotland and England. In the early ’70s there were a few European boy disciples living in New York who played soccer but only a handful of Americans with any experience. The game needed a push from Guru to become really popular in New York. It was probably around 1975, at Jamaica Track, when Guru first saw his New York boys playing organized soccer. It was no surprise that when Guru saw the boys playing, he joined in, displaying his abundant soccer knowledge, skill, speed and form.  There are also stories of Guru informally kicking a soccer ball on the first Christmas Trip in Florida and at an early Games Day.

As an aside, in all probability, Guru first saw organized soccer played in the Centre during the summer of 1974 at Loch Lomond, Scotland, when the English disciples played the Scottish disciples in a very spirited match (see stories by Adarsha and Janaka).

Jamaica Track: Various Athletic Activities Including Soccer

When Guru arrived in the U.S. in 1964 he was still, at 32, near the height of his athletic prowess, and despite working full-time at the Indian Consulate, and multiplying his spiritual activities for the public, Guru still tried to maintain his physical fitness.

Banshidhar writes in his article that in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1969, without any prior notice, Guru gathered the disciples for an exercise routine based on the callisthenic exercises used at the Ashram. The following is an excerpt from Banshidhar’s article:

“Our disciple-life during these early years consisted mostly of study, meditation and selfless service like printing Guru's books or producing arts and crafts for sale. Our only real physical activities were cleaning the Centre and maybe going to the beach afterwards. (Ah, the tropical island life!) Throw in a few hikes in Puerto Rico's beautiful rain forests and we were happy puppies.

“So imagine our surprise when one evening, out of the blue, Guru asked all of us to meet him early the next morning in a nearby park to 'take exercise!' Little did we know that this first morning session with our Coach Supreme was only the beginning of a new wave of dynamic athleticism that would grow into one of the defining pursuits of our spiritual path.”

(See “Beginnings,” Banshidhar’s complete article.)

Soon, Guru began introducing various athletic activities into the Centres, starting with Sports Day in 1970 at Alley Pond Park in Queens. The Jamaica High School sports field became the place to practise despite the poorly maintained cinder track and an infield that was mostly dirt. Let’s not forget that Olympian Bob Beamon, whose astonishing 1968 world long-jump record stood for almost 23 years, trained there as a gifted high-schooler! Guru first met Bob Beamon in 1981 and composed a song for him. In 2004, Guru honoured Bob with the "Lifting Up the World with a Oneness-Heart" award.

Mornings at “the track” marked the beginning of organized athletic activities in the Centre. In fact, it is almost impossible to speak about Centre sports, including soccer, without focusing on “the track.” Guru and the disciples spent countless hours there. It was only natural that Guru would recall his well-loved days at the Ashram “playground” and share with his twenty-something boy disciples his youthful love of football. Here he taught them the importance of agility, speed, teamwork and sportsmanship—plus a bit of divine, strategic trickery!

(See Guru's talk to his UN Meditation-Flames soccer team on 10 October 1976 here.)

Guru would regularly come to the track very early  to encourage, coach and participate in the various track and field events, exercises (like running up and down the big staircase) and games, including soccer. Then everyone lined up on the field and Guru meditated briefly, offering a fruit as prasad before the disciples dashed off to get ready for work.  

Ashrita, already a disciple in 1970, remembers looking out the window of his English class in Jamaica High School to watch Guru and the disciples practising on Jamaica Track.

Jamaica High School Track – Golden Days, by Vajra, June 13, 2020

“It is close to fifty golden years since my early start up-days with Guru. I am particularly electrified when remembering those days when I used my father’s car to transport disciples every morning to the Jamaica High School track. I would arise in Manhattan at 3:30 a.m., and sometimes even earlier, to begin picking up disciples who lived in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, and other parts of Queens.  No one who wanted to meditate at 6 a.m. with Guru was left behind.

“Arriving in a Plymouth station wagon packed with from 6 to 12 passengers, we would run around the quarter-mile cinder track while Guru did a few of his own workouts or stood keenly observing us. Guru was introducing us to sports as a way to keep the body fit. Imagine: running four times around a quarter-mile track was, for us, the equivalent to running a marathon today!

“Close to 7 a.m., Guru would meditate with all who were present. After that, my passengers would all pile into the car and we would drive back, dropping each person at their door. When I stop and think of it, I wonder how it was possible for me to do all that running around, picking people up door to door. And nobody complained of getting to work late!

“That was not the end of it! In those days, as disciple numbers grew, Centres were being formed closest to where disciples lived. Connecticut Centre was created with its meeting held on Monday nights; New Jersey on Tuesday nights; New York Centre meeting was held on Thursday and Sunday nights; Manhattan Centre meeting was held on Saturday nights. Where there was a Centre meeting, and Guru would be present, I was also there, picking up disciples and carrying them to and from meetings. Someone calculated that 18 hours a day I actually was living in my car, transporting people from morning track workouts to evening meditations. This went on for quite a few years.

“When I look back at this episode of my spiritual practice, it is with my mind’s disbelief; nevertheless, it is with my heart’s miraculous assurance that it was all Guru’s grace.”

Later, when tennis was introduced, Guru first played by the courts on 168th Street, until the gate was locked, and then against the large wall, where a tennis net was attached to a big crack in the wall, pulled perpendicular to the wall and held taut by a disciple. Lines were painted on this makeshift cement court. It was here, and on the sloping field below the wall of arches, that Guru gave thirty of his Everest-Aspiration talks in 1977.

Guru at Jamaica Track, late 1970s –Tanima’s singing group, by Tanima

“In the late 1970s – 1977 and 1978 for sure, and perhaps other years – Guru requested my singing group to rehearse every morning at 6:00 a.m. During these years we had 100 or 200 songs to learn for performing during April and August Celebrations. For April Celebrations we rehearsed at my apartment during the cold months. During the spring and summer months, in preparation for August, Guru requested my singing group to rehearse every morning at 6:00 a.m. at Jamaica Track. Some members remember it was 5:30 a.m. so it may have been 6:00 in one year and 5:30 in another. Guru was very strict and said if anyone was one minute late, they were out of the group!

“We used to sit against the wall on the far west side, near the back stairs, where Guru used to also play tennis before we had Aspiration-Ground.  Guru came to the track every morning and did a variety of training exercises and many other things, and many disciples also came and practiced sports. It was ‘morning at the track’. Occasionally Guru would stop by our rehearsals and listen to the songs. He would give us guidance on singing, make comments on the songs and sometimes give a historical reference to the Bengali poems, most of which he had written while in the Ashram.

“On weekends the mornings went longer and Guru did many different things at the track. In addition to volleyball, marching and sports practices, Guru created games to play – like the one where you sit in a circle facing inward and someone runs around the outside of the circle and places a handkerchief behind a seated person. That person has to feel the handkerchief with his hands, and then he is next up! In another game, you would buzz like a bee and try to tag someone before you ran out of breath.

“During the weekdays Guru would end early enough for us to go home, get changed and go to work. He would sit on a folding chair by the wall and then prasad was placed in front of him and everyone would take it while he meditated. This beautiful photograph by Shraddha was taken when Guru was meditating by the wall.”

Also, it was here in 1976, on the grassy area, that Guru famously defeated the California girl disciples in volleyball, displaying his abundant skill and a variety of trick shots. Garima, who was one of the players, clearly recalls that the six girls tried really hard but were easily defeated by Guru.

In 1980, the first 12-Hour Walk took place at the track, and in 1978, the first 47-Mile Race, on the track and around the school. This is, indeed, sacred ground.

The group photo of runners in red (girls on the left), taken on the tennis courts near Jamaica Track, shows the members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team who were to participate in the October 23, 1977 New York City Marathon. This was the first time the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team participated in a marathon as an official team, complete with uniforms. This tradition with the New York City Marathon would continue through 2000.

Soccer Grows in the Centre

Savyasachi, Guru’s main driver back then, first dropped Guru off at the driveway to the school on Chapin Parkway, and later, when that gate was locked, in front of a hole in the fence near what is now the finish of our Saturday morning two-mile race. The Centre guards would wait there, holding the fence apart for Guru when he arrived. The wooden stairs were sometimes taken away, but then Abedan made a sturdy cement step for Guru to enter onto the field.

Soccer grew in the Centre and in 1976 Guru created two teams: the UN Meditation-Flames and the Chinmoy Lions. Adarsha was made captain of the Chinmoy Lions and Janaka vice-captain by Guru. Years later, during the Christmas Trip in Brazil, Projjwal was made captain of the Centre soccer team, with Devashishu and Sahadeva as vice-captains. With his keen eye for excellence, Guru deeply appreciated the skill of Brazil’s soccer champion Pelé—who won three “Player of the Century” awards in 1999, the year of our Brazil trip. In 1978 Guru dedicated a song to this soccer champion, whom he was sadly not able to meet (see Projjwal’s stories).

On September 19, 1999, at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, there was a ceremony for the UN International Day of Peace, as well as an international soccer match. New York City Parks Commissioner Henry Stern and other dignitaries attended. The Peace Run team came in with the Peace Torch, Guru meditated, the singers sang Guru’s song “UN, With You Began,” and finally, Guru spontaneously composed and sang the song “Soccer I Play.” These simple words clearly reveal Guru’s love of the sport as a vehicle of world peace:

“Soccer I play, soccer I play
To give the world a oneness-day.
I am a UN peace-adorer;
Its heart is the world’s goal-scorer.”

Guru did not coach the disciple girls in soccer in those early days, focusing more on their running. But it was after Guru started sharing his avid interest in the sport with the Centre that the game’s popularity skyrocketed in the US—particularly when Pelé played for the New York Cosmos from 1975-1977. And now, the US women’s soccer team dominates the international scene. We detect ongoing encouragement by our Guru!

The following pdf downloads are first-hand accounts of soccer in the Centre from some of the boys who were there. Although these stories are anecdotal,  and some of the experiences are from over 40 years ago, these memories have remained with us as we have tried to show how Guru touched us and shaped our lives,  both inwardly and outwardly, through the game he loved so much.

Short video of Sri Chinmoy playing football in 1972

Related

• Football Stories (including a poem), by Adarsha
• Guru and the Beautiful Game, by Janaka
• Football Stories, by Projjwal
• UN Meditation Flames - Early Days, and Soccer at Games Day, by Mohan
• Clocked by a Soccer Ball, by Dhanu
• Soccer Stories, by Tarit
• Hiyamallar Scores 6 Goals!, by Hiyamallar
• A Few Memories, by Jogyata
• Soccer Stories, by Sanjay
• Soccer Recollections in Myanmar, by Ashirvad
• Soccer Stories, by Bipin
• Soccer Stories, by Rupantar

The attached PDF presents a history of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team’s connection to Goose Pond Park (Captain Tilly Park) in Jamaica, NY. With its proximity to Aspiration-Ground, the meditation garden where Sri Chinmoy spent countless hours playing tennis, composing songs and offering prayers and meditations, the Park became a focal point for many inspiring activities.

Guru and Goose Pond Park (A Disciple History)

 

 

Guru ran his fastest marathon on March 25th, 1979 in Toledo, Ohio. It was called the Heartwatcher’s Marathon. Guru’s time was 3:55:07, which is an average pace of 8:58 per mile, or 5:34 per kilometer. He was 47 years old.

This was Guru’s second marathon; his first was just 22 days before in Chico, California at the Bidwell Classic Marathon, where he ran 4:31:34. That race left him hungry for running under four hours; in fact, he explained the day after that he could have run sub-four if it weren’t for muscle cramps late in the race.

 On the first day of June the previous year Guru had made the thrilling declaration that “This is the beginning, the golden time,” that he had begun training to run a marathon, and that we should do the same. Previously, there had been only a handful of serious runners among the disciples, and now there were dozens. A couple of years later during some comical banter with a recalcitrant disciple, Guru suggested that each of us had to run a marathon “Otherwise,” he said, “you will not be allowed into Heaven!”

 Long distance running was giving Guru tremendous joy, like an old dream of his finally coming true. He had been an athlete his whole life, although he was primarily a sprinter and never liked distance running. Fast-forward to 1985 and we find Guru excelling at another athletic event that he had steadfastly avoided, weightlifting. In both cases, his attitude quickly evolved from conscious avoidance to complete embrace. All of a sudden in 1978, Guru was reading, thinking and talking about distance running, every single day. He was spectating at big races, studying and meeting champion runners, writing poems and songs about running, watching documentary films about famous runners and races, and quizzing disciples about their training.

 Guru was also organizing lots of public races, in the New York area and around the world. And he was training sixty to ninety miles per week. During the winter of 1978 Guru did several epic late-night training runs all by himself, upwards of twenty miles each, arriving home at dawn with his entire figure caked with snow and ice.

 

Guru chose the seventh annual Heartwatcher’s Marathon because it was advertised as being quite flat. This marathon course was point-to-point, starting at the Bowling Green State University Women’s Gymnasium parking lot on Ridge Street and going almost straight north 26.2 miles to the University of Toledo’s Health Education Center on Stadium Drive. Depending on the prevailing winds, the organizers would decide to reverse the course in order to avoid a headwind, but forensic analyses of the photos and movie of Guru’s race reveal that the course was not changed that day. There is an evidential photo of Guru around the 16 mile-mark, near the intersection of Route 20 and Route 20A, across from a Wendy’s fast-food restaurant which still stands as a neighborhood landmark in the city of Maumee. Also, in the movie I’m shouting to Guru late in the race about impending downhill sections of the course, and a topographic study of the region does in fact show a gentle downhill trend there, when running northward.

 At that time Guru wanted to run at least one  marathon per month, but he didn’t want these races to be hilly. He was bent on achieving his fastest possible time, and hills would obviously impact that. I phoned-up the race director of the Presque Isle Marathon near Erie, Pennsylvania, and drove with Databir to Foxboro, Massachusetts and College Park, Maryland to verify claims of marathon course flatness.

 In those days the Heartwatcher’s Marathon was put on by the Toledo Road Runners Club as a fundraiser for the American Heart Association. We discovered it in the events calendar in the back of a Running Times magazine. Those magazines were like gold. We called up the race director and president of the Toledo Roadrunners Club, a certain Mr. Fred Fineske, and he told us that the course was flat as a pancake, so Guru said he would run it. He may have also been charmed by something more subtle about that Midwestern city: indeed, years before he had said “I see light in Toledo.”

 The Mayor of the city of Toledo, Douglas Degood, declared March 25th as Sri Chinmoy Day in his city in appreciation of Guru’s marathon run, and the local newspaper, The Blade said “A leading practitioner of meditation will be one of the participants in the marathon. Sri Chinmoy, a native of India, is nationally recognized for his efforts to promote peace through meditation. Sri Chinmoy leads meditations once a week at the United Nations in New York.”

 About 40 disciples came to Toledo in a bus that Nishtha organized, and another 20 in cars, driving ten hours through the night from New York to watch Guru run. Unfortunately, the bus got lost and arrived an hour or two after the race started. Also, about 30 disciples drove from Canada. Databir came with me in my new/used 1976 Chevy Malibu Classic station wagon for the 600-mile drive. We arrived in the middle of the night and immediately began searching for the mile-marks, and worked out logistics for meeting Guru along the course during the marathon. That was going to be difficult because, as in many rural areas of the country, some roads will go for over a mile between intersections. And this was long before mobile phones and GPS maps.

 It was a small local race, with 152 runners that day, and it was cold -- in the movie of Guru running this race you can see a big clock near the start showing 24 degrees -- and Guru was wearing shorts. It was also windy, and moments of wet snow came and went. Guru later said that at times he ran in between other runners to shield himself from the cold wind. The course had a few small hills and it crossed some major intersections. Parts of the course had considerable traffic, and sometimes a roaring eighteen-wheeler would force you off the road onto the sidewalk.

 

When Guru was approaching a mile marker, we cheered and sang Guru’s running songs as powerfully as we could. Some disciples also played instruments, like oboe. That day we also spontaneously debuted the very motivational “Go, Guru, go!” chant that was used a lot over the next few years. And someone would be holding up a big number sign to show Guru how many miles he had run. Some of these signs were made using paper placemats borrowed from a diner visited en route, as we had forgotten to bring the number signs from New York.

 While Guru was running past a mile mark, I would tell him his time for that mile, his average pace and projected finishing time, and also about any hills that might be coming up. Guru told a funny story in Run and Become, Part 8 about how a well-meaning but uninformed disciple was telling Guru their “self-chosen” mile time, a moment before I gave Guru his official time, and the two times were quite different, leading to four or five miles of unfortunate confusion.

 After Guru passed a mile mark he got a drink or a hat, and off we went, organized chaos, six or eight to a car, rushing to the next mile mark. To arrive there before Guru did, we had to drive on roads parallel to the course and then abandon our cars and run, sometimes through people’s yards or across frozen cornfields. We must have looked like thieves! For a few minutes we left our cars parked askew in the middle of the road or in someone’s driveway, motors running, heaters blazing and trunk lids open. Savita and other girls were driving my car with drinks and movie camera, so I jumped into whoever’s car was first to leave.

 

Guru was in great aerobic shape; he could easily talk while he was running, although he preferred to remain silent throughout the race, in a state of yogic concentration and meditation. He had asked a few disciples to run behind him for a mile or two at various points in the race, and I ran with a group of “road crew” boys once or twice. The road crew measured and maintained Guru’s training courses, and attended to all manner of details when Guru ran a race. On this day Guru asked us to run behind him and sing loudly. Most of us were members of the non-singers’ group that Guru called his “immortal singers,” and we sang songs from The Heart-Home of the Immortals, Guru’s recent book of 86 English songs he had composed to his favorite quotes, spoken by famous people over the span of recorded history. In the movie you can hear us trying to sing Virgil’s declaration, “Love Conquers All.”

 

 

The finish line of the race was kind of unusual, being located inside a university building, and the runners had to run right in the doorway. After Guru finished we crammed into a classroom and tried to get warm; Guru sat wrapped in blankets looking very happy. There was prasad of apples and warm burritos, and someone brought a big cake, and we sang the new “Congratulation” song, and then we went outside for a group picture. At this point in the movie there is a minute or two where image goes out-of-focus, but this somehow helps to convey the dreamy miracle-ness of that day: it felt like Guru had conquered the world and made a solid change to the earth-atmosphere. That evening we had a celebration at the Holiday Inn Hotel where Guru handed out big eight-inch “Marathon” caramel-chocolate Mars Bars to each of us, and the Chicago disciples cooked a 26-course meal for everyone, using the hotel’s big industrial kitchen.

The next day, two dozen newspapers printed articles about Guru’s marathon, including the New York Daily News, which inexplicably announced “A real live Guru crossed the finish line first, setting a new local record” and “Running, he insisted, is good for you. But will it ever replace contemplation? Hmm. Have to meditate on that.”

The Evening Press of  Muncie, Indiana ran an article with a picture of Guru and the headline, “Galloping Guru Goes Great Guns.” And the Arizona Daily Sun said about Guru, “The Indian spiritual Master has been bitten by the running bug.”

 There are many superb photos of Guru running this marathon, and the original uncut super-8 sound movie remains one of the most important such records we have of Guru.

By that August Guru had run two more marathons, and he told Olympic marathoner Gary Fanelli that training twice a day at 80 miles per week had “become quite easy.” Guru said it was his wish to complete five or six 100-mile training weeks before the upcoming New York City Marathon, where he wanted to run under 3:30. The following month Guru did achieve the 100 miles-per-week, and he composed the song “One Hundred Miles.” Altogether in calendar year 1979 Guru completed seven marathons, a 30-mile solo run, a 47-mile race, and six shorter races of three to 13 miles.

 Guru completed twenty-two marathon runs over the course of four amazing years, from March 1979 to February 1983, in California, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Florida, as well as in Greece, Germany, Switzerland, Puerto Rico and Japan. He said that he is the only spiritual Master who has run a marathon. In 2006 Guru instituted the Sri Chinmoy Invitational Marathon, to be run in New York every April, restricted to only those disciples who have run faster than Guru’s fastest marathon time within the past 10 years. Around 100 disciples ran in the first edition of this race. In 2019 the disciples from the Toledo area organized a Joy Day weekend to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Guru’s fastest marathon. We ran eight miles along the marathon course and had inspiring functions, and now they are planning to make it an annual event. The Heartwatcher’s Marathon is still being held, with a few changes and a new name, now called the “Glass City Marathon,” and they claim it to have one of the 25 fastest courses in the country. They had 1268 finishers last year.

 In 2009 when the Russian disciples celebrated the 30th anniversary of Guru’s fastest marathon, they asked me if I was at this marathon with Guru and if I could write something about it. Every year I edit this story; this version is from March 25, 2020. The photos in this article were taken by Bhashwar at this marathon.

 

 

 

Harita Davies, two-time 3100 Mile finisher, shares this inspiring story:

Recently I was out for a walk. It was a drizzly, overcast day at the end of March. I usually pass by the 3100 course at the end of my walk or run, and today was no exception. From a distance I spotted two runners standing beside a car. It’s not hard to spot runners since they looked totally different from anyone else out there! I knew they were not Sri Chinmoy's students, so I guessed they had come to run on the sacred course, and I was right! This is not the first time I have come across runners who travel especially to circumnavigate the block. Who knows how many come that we never see!

I recognized both of them, as they have come out to support the 3100 Race last summer. We were mutually thrilled to connect! Their names are Kevin and Michelle, and they both live in Brooklyn. I asked what brought them out. They were both quiet, then Kevin told me they were running in honor of his young daughter, Megan, who sadly passed away just a few days earlier.

A Facebook group called Megan’s Mile or Megan Smile, had been created inviting people to run a mile in memory of his daughter. Kevin chose to run at the 3100 course because it is special to him. He found out about the 3100 after seeing the movie in 2018. He was interested and stayed in touch with Sanjay, who invited him to the pre-race banquet at Annam Brahma. He really connected with the photos of Sri Chinmoy on the walls.

On the morning of the run Kevin went to the driveway of Aspiration Ground and saw Vajra, who showed him a photo of Sri Chinmoy as a blessing before the start of his run - that means a lot to him.

Kevin and Michelle ended up running for nearly 12 hours and they covered 36 miles. They went to Annam Brahma three times before during and after the race, and they were the first to delight in how well they ate!

Several of us went out to visit them throughout the day and run a little with them. They were both eager to talk and share. Kevin had never run more than a marathon and confided that he dreams to run the 3100 one day. Michelle runs ultras regularly- she had been training for a 50 km race, which had been canceled.

At one point I took them a few supplies and they were having a heated discussion. Kevin had said they would end at 30 miles but after reaching that goal wanted to run 5 more. Michelle was cold and tired and wanted to know exactly why he wanted to run five more… I decided to leave at that point, only to see Michelle get out of the car to run 5 more- now that’s a real friend!

Kevin and Michelle were grateful for our support. I was so moved and inspired by what they did. I have no doubt that Sri Chinmoy would have been smiling down on them and blessing this understated act of true heroism.

Although bittersweet, to witness such a deeply heartfelt gesture at a time like this was a great honor. Fittingly, it served as a reminder that the darkest moments can be catalysts for an outpouring of divine qualities- hope, love, empathy, and our common yearning to connect, be happy, and appreciate every moment of this precious life we are so blessed to live.

"It is hope
That still keeps
The world alive."
Sri Chinmoy, Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, part 41, Agni Press, 2004

 

 

 

In March, 3100: Run and Become, premiered in Canberra, Australia, and included a live Skype interview with the director, Sanjay Rawal, from New York. The Sydney Morning Herald had this to say about the film:

"It's a race that goes so long that runners often stop for a haircut along the way. They eat all the ice cream, cookies and chips they can manage yet still lose up to 15 kilograms. And they run laps around a New York city block for almost 5000 kilometres. In the world of extreme sports, the "3100" has to be one of the most extreme." For the complete story...

Another article about the film just appeared in the Guardian, and interviews Rawal and 15-time finisher of the race, Asprihanal Aalto from Finland.

Watching it now – as the world’s major cities including New York are in shutdown – feels jarring, a reminder of the freedoms we have lost: to be outside in bustling streets, where people move with purpose; to run and to breathe without fear. More...

Photos from New York's celebration of the 41st anniversary of Sri Chinmoy's first marathon run...

 

Since its initial release last year in the US, the documentary film 3100: Run and Become has been gradually rolled out across the globe. The film travels the world to celebrate the importance of running to the human soul, with a particular emphasis on our very own Sri Chinmoy Self-Trancendence 3100-Mile Race. Now the film has reached new Zealand and Australia, with premiere screenings in February and March.

New Zealand schedule

• 11 February Rialto Cinemas, Auckland • tickets »
• 13-14 February Lumiere Cinemas, Christchurch • tickets »
• 17 February Penthouse Cinemas, Wellington • tickets »

While previewing the film, Stuff (New Zealand's biggest news website) interviewed Harita Davies (pictured above) from Christchurch, who completed the race in 2017 and 2019:

"What am I doing? It's crazy! That was the thought of New Zealander Harita Davies as she stepped up to the start line of the world's longest running race....The New-York based Cantabrian was the first New Zealand female to run the 3100. She's now done it twice." For the complete article...

We here at the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team definitely believe that sport is something beyond mere competition and beating the other guy into the dust - it can actually be a key part of one's self-discovery and finding true meaning in life. It is something our race founder and spiritual Teacher, Sri Chinmoy, advocated for many years, and we must admit we do find it kind of nice when we see people appreciating that philosophy in various places! Here are some such instances in recent months:

1. Rise of the Ultrarunners

Dean Karnazes called this book the the definitive book on ultra running today, and it made quite a few sports-books-of-the-year shortlists in 2019.  The author, Adharanand Finn, previously wrote a nice article in the Guardian about our 24 hour race in London, and then as part of his research into this book came back the next year to do the race himself. 

“This race holds a bizarre fascination for me. I love the way it merges the mundane with the epic, people attempting mind-boggling feats not out in the Himalayas or the depths of the jungle, but on a running track in Tooting in south London. It shows that you don’t have to go to the far corners of the Earth to find adventure, enlightenment, craziness, or whatever it is we’re all seeking, but that it exists everywhere if you just open your eyes.” (quote from the book)

His story of the race takes up a whole chapter (chapter 11, if you're interested) and is not only an amazing story of his own reaching the point where he considers quitting, but then breaks through into a whole other level of experience, but is also an extremely touching tribute to the many ordinary extraordinary people who also did the race with him, some of them in their seventies. The book tracks his running journey through many other ultradistance races, and at the same time opens a window for the uninitiated into the whole weird and wonderful world of ultrarunning itself. The book can be purchased on Amazon here...

2. Runner's tribe

In his January 10, 2020 column in Runnerstribe.com, Matt Fitzgerald (author of books such as The Endurance Diet and 80/20 Running) explores famous marathon runner Eliud Kipchoge's philosophy on running:

"There’s nothing unique about Kipchoge in this regard. Endurance racing is a spiritual experience for many athletes. Indeed, it’s almost impossible for a spiritually sensitive person to experience endurance racing non-spiritually, which is why spiritual leaders including Sri Chinmoy, an Indian-born advocate of meditation and running influential in the U.S. in the late 20th century, have promoted it even to nonathletes. “The inner running and the outer running complement each other,” Chinmoy wrote. “For outer running, we need discipline. Without a life of discipline, we cannot succeed in any walk of life. So when we do outer running, it reminds us of the inner running.” For the complete article...

 

Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New York, is a very special place for the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team - we started holding races there in 1978, and since then it has played host to some of our most memorable events. It is where we first entered into the world of organising multi-day races, starting with our Five-Day Race and our 1000 Mile Race in the mid-1980's. Every April, we have our Ten and Six Day Race there, as well as many shorter races during the year that anyone can participate in (see below)

We recently held our Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team's Thanksgiving Day Race, and every year we donate the proceeds from that race to the wonderful Flushing Meadows Corona Park people - this year's donation was $3,000.

Next year's races in Flushing Meadows Corona Park:

• 9 May Sri Chinmoy 5K, Half-Marathon and Relay
• 26 November Sri Chinmoy Thanksgiving Day 5K & 10K