Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team articles

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

On 12 October, our annual two-mile 'Sri Chinmoy Heart-Garden Run' took place at the site of the Sri Chinmoy Heart-Garden in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York. The aim of the race is to celebrate Sri Chinmoy's belief that sport can be a vehicle for personal transformation and can make a small contribution to a better world. Also, the run is in memory of Sri Chinmoy, who loved the park very much.

The race is very much run in a spirit of appreciating the joy of running. After the two-mile race, there was a short peace walk with the Peace Torch - a torch carried by Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run to over 160 countries around the world. This short walk and ceremony gave everybody the opportunity to share in the Peace Run's message of oneness. 

During this year's event, participants from all other the world were joined by several special guests and friends who shared their thoughts and wishes for creating a better world. We were joined by Ida Keeling, a 104 year old sprinter and former Bronx Borough President. Ida recently broke the world record for women aged 100-104 for the 100m sprint, completing the distance in 1 minute and 17.33 seconds (WR link). Still vibrant with life-energy, Ida is an inspiring example of Sri Chinmoy's philosophy of self-transcendence and never quitting because of age. After the race, she shared her secrets of old age, which involve eating well, staying positive and doing daily exercise. Ida was accompanied by her daughter Shelley Keeling, who is an accomplished masters athlete and who is the one who introduced her mother to sprinting. Shelley recently 2 Gold medals and 1 Bronze at the recent European masters games at the age of 68.

Also speaking at the event were Nadirah and Askia Muhammad from the Jamaica area of Queens, New York.  Dr. Askia Muhammad is an imam who ministers to the Muslim community in Jamaica and is President of the Ummah Group, an organization dedicated to interfaith dialogue and spiritual development. He shared a very powerful opening prayer during the event. The Muhammads are parents of current 400m hurdles Olympic and world champion Dalilah Muhammad - asked about the success of his daughter, Dr. Askia modestly replied his greatest success was not to interfere with her God-given gifts - but only to gently encourage and support her daughter's decisions. Dalilah won the gold medal at the recent 2019 World Championships in Tokyo, setting the current world record with a time of 52.16 seconds.

We also were delighted to welcome our long-time friend Coach Jim Hurt, Head Track and Field Coach of nearby St. John’s University. Coach Hurt has spent 36 years with the St John's track and field and crosscountry teams (the Red Storm); 29 of those years were as head coach, and he has had a tremendous amount of success in those years. Our final guest was Ms. Najibe Burger, who has served the Queens community in so many capacities - she is currently on the boards of the Queens Council of the Arts and the Queens Family Court, as well as being the President of Latin American Cultural Center of Queens.

Flushing Meadows Park has a very special connection with the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, having played host to our running events since the late 1970s and our multi-day ultra-races since the 1980s. On October 11, 2006, exactly one year before Sri Chinmoy's physical passing, this iconic section of Flushing Meadows Park was dedicated by the New York Parks department as the Sri Chinmoy Heart-Garden to celebrate the legacy and vision for world peace that Sri Chinmoy had encouraged.

Sri Chinmoy felt that sport and running gave us the outer dynamism and the inner aspiration to transcend our previous achievements. He also saw sport as an opportunity to promote happiness and goodwill amongst competitors.

"In competitive sports, our primary aim should be not to surpass others but constantly to surpass ourselves. In the outer life, when we run with our friends, we are seeing who is actually the best. And we cannot properly evaluate our own capacity unless we have some standard of comparison. But we compete not for the sake of defeating others, but in order to bring forward our own capacity."

- Sri Chinmoy

Related

• Photos from the race
• Heart-Garden Race homepage
• Sri Chinmoy's quote is taken from his book The body, humanity’s fortress

A pioneer in combining spirituality and sports, Sri Chinmoy felt that breaking the sub 2 hour barrier would have be a very significant victory for mankind, and many times over the years he would express his hope and his conviction that it would happen. Here is a selection of some of the things Sri Chinmoy said over the years:

"Name and fame in marathon running was first won for America by Frank Shorter. Frank Shorter really shook America out of its lethargy or complacent feeling. It was he who made the start. Now, people are running faster and faster. It will take at most five years, perhaps even less, for someone to run a marathon under two hours. How I wish that one of my disciples would do it! It is wishful thinking, but sometimes dreams come true. My disciples have an advantage because they have spirituality behind their running. If I were twenty years old, I would try it." 25 October 1982

"Often people say they will never run a marathon again. During or after the race they say that this is their last marathon. Then after four days they start thinking about their next marathon.

In ten or twenty years, people will regard the marathon the way we regard a ten-mile race today. People will consider forty miles or seventy miles or a hundred miles as long distance. Long distances will be as popular as the marathon is today. People will pay more attention to fifty-milers and hundred-milers.

Now people are doing so well in the marathon. In four or five years the best runners will run the marathon in under two hours. In twenty or thirty years people will run at a five-minute pace for fifty or a hundred miles. The children of people who are running the marathon now will run at the present marathon pace for thirty or forty miles, and then even farther. They will have such stamina. Sports are like that. Roger Bannister’s four-minute-mile record lasted for years. Then the hundred-metre record stayed for years. Jesse Owens’ long-jump record stayed for twenty years before it was broken by Bob Beamon. But ultimately all records are broken." 24 January 1983

"In the New York Marathon, the first mile is horrible for everybody. Then, from the second mile, the lead runners go really fast. This year Steve Jones ran 2:08:23, but Salazar’s record is still 13 seconds better. Somebody has to come from Africa and break the record. Under two hours — I envision it. Somebody will run under two hours." 6 November 1988

"My prophecy! Once I said that some day some runners would run the marathon in under two hours. A divine force spoke through me. Alas, something always reminds me inwardly. Again, while facing the Berlin Wall, I prophesied that in twenty-five years the Wall would be demolished and there would be one Berlin. In just two years, President Gorbachev fulfilled my desire! With regard to the marathon, God knows when it will happen; but still I maintain the same desire and the same promise that one day somebody will come, perhaps from Africa, to do it. It is not an impossible task.

One mile in under four minutes was a dream, and Roger Bannister manifested the dream. Now, how many people have run a mile in under four minutes? Someone has run in 3:44. When Roger Bannister ran in just under four minutes, the whole world adored him. Now someone has run two miles in under eight minutes. It is unimaginable! Like that we can do many things." 5 November 1997

Question: During the twenty-first century, will anybody break the two-hour marathon barrier?

Sri Chinmoy: How I wish the twenty-first century to prove my prophecy that someone will run a marathon in under two hours! For that I need a disciple who has implicit faith in me. I find it very difficult to believe that our human capacity is limited. Right now the world record for the marathon is 2:06. Just six minutes to reduce over twenty-six miles! Unfortunately, human beings always think, “My capacity, my capacity.” If the same world-class runners could say, “My capacity is coming from God. God is running in and through me,” and really mean it, then you would see surprising results. There are at least twenty world-class marathon runners. If they could have that kind of faith, you would hear in one month that the world record has been smashed.

...God has given each of us certain capacities. I may not be a runner, but somebody else may be a runner. I may be a singer, but somebody else may not be a singer. If anyone wants to increase his capacity in his own field, then he must have God-reliance, not self-reliance. Only then will his capacity become unlimited. Now our capacity is limited because we feel we are doing everything — we are taking this exercise and that exercise. We give ninety-nine per cent of the credit to what our mind is telling us and our life is prompting us to do. But if we can give one hundred per cent of the credit to God for whatever we are doing that is good and positive in our life, then our capacities will become unlimited. 25 February 1999 -  Complete quote...

"Paul Tergat, the world’s fastest marathoner, covered the distance in two hours, four minutes. His record is four minutes over two hours, so my prediction is still hanging in mid-air! I am praying that one day he or somebody else will run under two hours. Whoever runs under two hours will be given by me a very special honour, plus I shall meet with his plane fare and all his expenses, whether he comes from Kenya or anyplace else. I shall honour him most lovingly, cheerfully and proudly. Who knows, who knows? There will be someone in the near future. I do not want to say in the distant future — no! In the near future, someone will be able to fulfil my prediction." 14 October 2005

Sources

These quotes were excerpted from Sri Chinmoy's books Run and Become, Become and Run, parts 12 and 13; Sri Chinmoy answers, part 24; The Feet of the Supreme's Compassion and My Golden Children. These books are available to read in full at srichinmoylibrary.com; hardback editions of the Run and Become, Become and Run and Sri Chinmoy answers series can be purchased on Amazon.

On a sunny day in Glendale, California more than 100 masters-category athletes showed up to walk, run, throw, vault and jump at our annual Sri Chinmoy Masters Games event. Perhaps the most notable result was the new American record set in the 800-meter race by 91-year-old Gunnar Linde from Venice,CA. His time of 4:15:95 shaved some 24 seconds off the previous age-group (90-94) record set in 1989!

The remarkably fit athletes completed sprints, hurdles, middle distance events, a 5000-meter race walk, pole vault, long jump, high jump, pole vault, javelin, discus, and shotput. While one or two events were enough for some of the competitors, a brave group of seven men contested a pentathlon comprising 200 meters, 1500 meters, long jump, javelin, and discus. The results were inspiring, proving yet again that determination trumps age.

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team extends a sincere thank you to the athletes, volunteers, and officials. We'll see you next year!

We had about 400 runners at this year’s Self-Transcendence Rockland Lake Marathon. After the race, dozens of runners posted their experiences in various places online. Many of the comments gave a sense that the runners were drawn to this particular race for inner reasons, sometimes without quite knowing why. One wrote that while our marathon isn’t the wildest or loudest, we have something serene that’s beyond words—and this atmosphere is really conducive to transcendence.

As well as founding our Marathon Team and being an avid sprinter and long distance runner, Sri Chinmoy was also well known for his feats of weightlifting, which included honouring people for their service to humanity by lifting them overhead using a specially constructed apparatus. Between 1988 and 2007, he honoured over 8,000 people in this manner - people like Muhammad Ali and Nelson Mandela, but also . He once said that everyone who came to be lifted had an inner expectation of having a spiritual experience - and then Sri Chinmoy added that he never disappointed them. We get the feeling that people who come to our races also receive a similar kind of fulfilment.

We should note that dozens of runners commented how grateful they were to our medical team. Nowhere else, they mentioned, could a non-elite runner get such a high-quality post-race massage! Not only did our amazing crew soothe their muscles, but in many cases, runners received performance and nutrition advice!

We actually recognized a number of the runners not just from their participation in past Sri Chinmoy Marathons in Rockland Lake State Park, but because they also had visited the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race held in Queens this summer. There was even one runner who had entered a number of our monthly Rainbow Marathons that we held in the 1980s! As a side note, a number of the outside runners had also seen the recent documentary 3100: Run And Become, which chronicles the 3100 Mile Race and the spiritual significance of ultrarunning around the world. A few people gasped with joy when they saw Shamita Achenbach-König – one of the stars of the movie – on the course running the marathon! A number of folks took pictures of her for their collections and a few got to say hello to her as she passed them.

One of the most insightful and revealing stories about the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100-Mile Race appeared on the home page of the prestigious BBC.COM this past Friday, June 21. Including interviews with past and present runners, the article gives the reader a runner's insight into why anyone would want to run for 52 days around a New York City block, and what the experience is like for these pioneer ultra runners.

The article is written by long time reporter Justin Goulding of BBC Sports, under the Sport Insight section.

From the article: "It is a race so long that runners need a haircut during it. They can get through 20 pairs of shoes. They run more than two marathons a day. For almost two months. On five hours of sleep a night."

For the complete article...

Welcome to the 23rd Annual Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. Called 'The Mount Everest of ultramarathons' by The New York Times, this is the longest certified footrace in the world. It attracts athletes from around the world who want to test themselves against this daunting distance, transcend their own previous capacity, and participate in a great adventure. Along the way, they may also set new world records and gain spiritual insights.

Athletes are able to test themselves in a format unlike any other ultra-marathon event. In order to meet their goal of 3100 miles in 52 days, they must log an average of 59.6 miles 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. View 2019 runner list »

Media articles from previous years:
BBC.COM, The New York Times: • Sports Illustrated: • The Times of London • The Wall Street Journal  • The Washington Post • Harpers Magazine • Outside Magazine • More media articles» 

One of the most insightful and revealing stories about the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100-Mile Race appeared on the home page of the prestigious BBC.COM this past Friday, June 21. Including interviews with past and present runners, the article gives the reader a runner's insight into why anyone would want to run for 52 days around a New York City block, and what the experience is like for these pioneer ultra runners.

The article is written by long time reporter Justin Goulding of BBC Sports, under the Sport Insight section.

From the article: "It is a race so long that runners need a haircut during it. They can get through 20 pairs of shoes. They run more than two marathons a day. For almost two months. On five hours of sleep a night."

For the complete article...

Our Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in the USA is best known for its multi-day ultradistance events; however in recent years we have been expanding our calendar of short-distance races in Queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx, as well as upstate New York. Our recent 5K, half-marathon and relay races in Flushing Meadow park saw over 400 finishers; people relished the chance to compete in teams, as well as the delicious post-race pancake breakfast!

Our shorter races (by that, we mean below marathon distance) will resume when the weather gets a little cooler in September; in the meantime we do have a fun, informal 2-mile race every Saturday morning at 8.07am in Queens - more info »

Upcoming NY Races:

• 23 August: The Sri Chinmoy Marathon - Rockland State Park
• 22 September: Sri Chinmoy 5K & 10K - Alley Pond Park
• 20 October: A Sri Chinmoy Half-Marathon - Rockland State Park
• 28 November: Sri Chinmoy Thanksgiving Day 5K & 10K

Ted Corbitt was known as the father of long distance racing in the USA. A former Olympic marathoner, he helped to reawaken interest in marathon and ultra distance races through his own training and racing, and also through his advocacy of race standards. He was the first president of the New York Road Runners Club and helped to plan the original NYC Marathon course.

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team also benefited from a tremendous amount of assistance and encouragement from Ted as we started organising our own ultra running events. When we put on our first ultra - a 47-mile invitational race in 1978 - it was Ted we turned to for valuable advice. Over the years, Ted would be a frequent paricipant and guest at our races. In particular, Ted astounded all of us by competing in our 2000 and 2001 Six-Day races – his 2000 effort was the first time anyone over 80 years of age had completed that distance, and in 2001 he set a new over 80 mark of 303 miles.

Related

• Recent article in the Sports Daily
• A 1962 article in the New York Times, about Ted's participation in the London to Brighton ultras
• Race summary of 2000 and 2001 races - read about Ted's 6-day races as they happened!

On 3rd March 1979, Sri Chinmoy ran his first marathon, in Chico, California, completing the distance in a time of 4:31:34. In the next four years Sri Chinmoy would run 21 more marathons, but perhaps more significantly, he would inspire many runners to follow the philosophy of self-transcendence and take up long-distance running. 40 years after his first marathon, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team continue to promote marathons and ultra distance races across the globe.

In honour of this significant milestone in the history of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, groups of runners from around the world held running events, including 70 members who travelled to Chico, California. Marathon. Events were also held in many different places around the world, including in Bristol (UK), Melbourne (Australia), Dublin (Ireland), Augsburg (Germany), Sao Paolo (Brazil), New York (US), and Zlin (Czech Republic). The weather varied from 37 degrees heatwave in Australia to a below freezing snow-storm in New York.

Race Reports from around the globe

Vasudha, our Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team co-ordinator in San Diego, writes: "Some 60 members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team from the US, Canada, Great Britain, and even Mongolia met in Chico, California to celebrate a significant milestone in the history of our team. On March 3, 1979, Sri Chinmoy ran his first marathon in Chico, California. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of this signal event - which in turn helped to launch the worldwide organisation that today sponsors hundreds of footraces, duathlons, triathlons, swimming events, and more - team members ran along the same course in beautiful Bidwell Park. The race that was then a full marathon - the Bidwell Classic - now features a half marathon and a 5K. In addition to participating in both these distances - and nabbing 13 age-group awards - Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team members hosted an aid station and cheered all the race participants who braved the cold, rainy weather. After finishing the half marathon, seven athletes covered an additional 13.1 miles to complete the marathon distance and to honour Sri Chinmoy's inaugural marathon."

In Australia the weekend co-incided with the arrival of the runners from the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, who were finishing the Australian leg of a 44-country journey that will carry the Peace Torch all nations in the Southern Hemisphere - the first time that the torch has gone all the way around the world as part of one run. As a result there were over 55 Australian and international runners - who fortunately were well-acclimatised for the heat, which hovered in the high 30s towards the end of the race.   

In New York, the weather veered to the other extreme - due to the cold and freezing snow on the track, the official race was cancelled. However, some intrepid runners wished to run their own personal marathon. With no official aid station, five runners - four women and one man, completed the distance, with many other runners completing several laps to take part in the spirit of the event, despite the outer challenges. Brazilian members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team marked the event by running a 13 hours race in Ibirapuera Park, São Paulo from 8 am to 9 pm - 6 men and 4 women ran a total of 671km.

In Dublin, runners also faced freezing temperatures with rain, biting wind and temperatures hovering above freezing. Despite these challenging conditions, six members of the Irish Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team remained undaunted by the weather and successfully completed the marathon distance.

Sri Chinmoy felt that running marathons was an excellent complement to the 'inner running' - the spiritual life.

Spiritual people often like running because it reminds them of their inner journey. The outer running reminds them that a higher, deeper, more illumining and more fulfilling goal is ahead of them in the inner world, and for that reason running gives them real joy.

Long-distance running gives us a real feeling of accomplishment. We can run 100 metres forty times during the year and not feel the same sense of accomplishment as when we run one marathon. But speed and endurance are both important, especially in the spiritual life. If one has only speed, then one cannot ultimately succeed; we need endurance because the goal is quite far. Again, if one has only stamina and no speed, then it will take forever to reach the goal. Only if someone has both qualities will he be able to make very good progress in his spiritual life and achieve something really great in life.

Sri Chinmoy's Marathon Runs

1. March 3, 1979 - Bidwell Classic - Chico, CA - 4:31:34
2. March 25, 1979 - Heart-Watchers Marathon - Toledo,OH - 3:55:07
3. May 6, 1979 - Newsday-Long Island Marathon - Long Island, NY - 4:16:23
4. May 12, 1979 - Champlain Valley Mar. - Plattsburgh, NY - 4:41:16
5. Oct. 6, 1979 - Phidippides Marathon - Athens, Greece - 5:39:41
6. Oct. 21, 1979 - New York City Marathon - New York, NY - 4:48:53
7. Dec. 2, 1979 - Jersey Shore Marathon - Asbury Park, NJ - 4:33:44
8. May 24, 1980 - Solo Run - Munich, Germany - 4:30:00
9. June 1, 1980 - Sri Chinmoy Marathon - San Mateo, CA - 5:18:31
10. Feb. 1, 1981 - Inspiration Marathon - Hampton, NH - 5:22:11
11. March 7, 1981 - Bidwell Classic - Chico, CA - 4:30:21
12. Oct. 25, 1981 - New York City Marathon - New York, NY - 4:36:22
13. May 2, 1982 - Newsday-Long Island Marathon - L.I., NY - 4:26:56
14. Oct. 24, 1982 - New York City Marathon - New York, NY - 4:44:41
15. Nov. 7, 1982 - Sri Chinmoy Marathon - Zurich, Switz. - 4:36:00
16. Nov. 14, 1982 - Jersey Shore Marathon - Asbury Park, NJ - 4:22:57
17. Dec. 5, 1982 - Sri Chinmoy Marathon - San Juan, PR - 5:12:00
18. Dec. 31, 1982 - Sri Chinmoy Marathon - Okinawa, Japan - 4:33:43
19. Jan. 22, 1983 - Orange Bowl Marathon - Miami, FL - 5:33:33
20. Jan. 30, 1983 - Solo Run - Flushing Meadow, NY - 5:20:03
21. Feb. 6, 1983 - Inspiration Marathon - Hampton, NH - 5:56:59
22. Feb. 20, 1983 - Solo Run - Hempstead, NY - 5:25:20

• Sri Chinmoy's philosophy on running https://www.srichinmoyraces.org/sri-chinmoy-running. Race Reports by Arpan, Grahak, Vasudha and Patanga. Quotes by Sri Chinmoy are taken from his book The outer running and the inner running.

Outside Magazine's online review of Sanjay Rawal's new film "3100: Run and Become", examines the director's own spiritual background against the film's exploration of the common thread between the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, the Kalahari Bushmen of Botswana, the 'marathon monks' of Hiei, Japan, and Shaun Martin, a Navajo runner who created the Canyon de Chelly Ultramarathon.

From the review:

"It’s hard to show transcendence, especially the kind that comes from the devotional practice of moving your body, but that’s what director Sanjay Rawal was trying to capture as he filmed runners around the world. 'My background is in mysticism and spirituality, so I’m interested in how running was their way to commune with the divine,' he says."

Soon to be released on iTunes.

For the full review from Outside Magazine...

Photo above: start of the 2015 Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race.

View all finishers at the 2018 Sri Chinmoy Marathon at Rockland Lake, Congers, New York...

For almost three years, filmmaker Sanjay Rawal has been exploring the significance of running in different cultures across the world, spending time with the Gaolo-San bushmen in Botswana, the legendary Japanese gyoman-san running monks, and Navajo runners in the deserts of Arizona. A large part of his time was spent following the 52-day journey of the 3100 Mile Race, documenting two runners - our record holder and 14-time finisher Asprihanal Aalto from Finland and first-time entrant Shamita Achenbach-König from Austria - as they bravely embark on this modern day running oddyssey.

The result of all that hard work - the compelling 80-minute long documentary 3100: Run and Become - is now being released in theaters across the USA to an extremely enthusiastic reception.

"This film shows how great anyone can become when they transcend their limits." - Tegla Laroupe, women's marathon record holder

Find a theater near you:

• Purchase tickets: Seattle • Denver • Chicago • NYC
• For a full list of cities, and to request a screening in your own city, visit the official film site...

The April/May/June issue of Hinduism Today contained an extremely in-depth article written by Dr. Kusumita Pedersen, Professor Emerita of Religious Studies at St. Francis College. Kusumita has been studying meditation with Sri Chinmoy since 1971 - long before the founding of the Marathon Team - and this article explores the many different ways in which sport can contribute to personal growth and development, and a happier world.

Quite unusually for Indian spiritual teachers, Sri Chinmoy was an avid sportsman who brought the philosophy of self-transcendence to all of his activities. The article talks at length about Sri Chinmoy's youth spent in an ashram in south India which included sports as an integral part of the discipline, the running and weightlifting endeavours he pursued throughout his life, and the different initiatives he founded - the Impossibility-Challenger festival which has featured numerous Guinness World record attempts, the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run which has carried a burning peace torch to over 140 countries, and of course the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. In particular, the article shares the inner experiences of some of the runners of the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, which the Marathon Team puts on every year and which is the longest certified road race in the world. The 2018 edition of the run started on June 17, and will continue until August 7.

“I hit the wall many times—and went on. I was convinced I had taken my body to the limits of its endurance, but then I went deeper, into the core of my being where strength, power, poise and silence all exist. If we can tap into this inner source, nothing can stop us moving forward.” - Grahak Cunningham, 4-time finisher and 2012 winner.

• Read the article »
• 3100 Mile race homepage »

On 17 June 2018, ten intrepid runners took to the start line of the world's longest certified road race - the 22nd edition of the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. Over the next seven weeks, the runners will aim to complete a daily average of 60 miles or more in order to finish the race within the official time limit of 52 days. The runners have to contend with the hot New York summer, a hard concrete course and the many physical and mental challenges of competing in this epic of self-transcendence.

The race was founded by spiritual teacher and ultra-runner pioneer Sri Chinmoy, who saw distance running as a vehicle to enable runners to bring to the fore their physical, mental and spiritual capacities to complete this unique challenge.

“We have to believe in a higher Power.
Only by believing in a higher Power
Can we go beyond and beyond
Our limited, human capacity.”

– Sri Chinmoy [1]

In this year's race, we have the 2017 winner, Vasu Duzhiy from Russia. Also returning to the race is Kaneenika Janakova, from Slovakia who last year broke the women's world record, setting a time of 48 days+14:24:10. Proving that age is no barrier to ultra distance, the race also welcomes William Sichel (64) from Orkney, Scotland, UK. Sichel holds a host of Scottish and UK distance records and completed the race in 2014. Yolanda Holder, 60 years old and the only person to have racewalked the distance, also returns to the race after completing last year at her first attempt in a time of 51days+17:00:13. Surasa Mairer, former 3100 Mile women's record holder and current female world record holder for 1000 km, 700 miles, and 1300 miles is also starting.

View all runner's biographies.

First day's race

How to follow the race

This unique race has developed a following from all around the world. You can follow the race by viewing two race cams, daily results, daily blogs and photos.

• Daily results at 3100 Mile Race
• 3100 Mile home page - with Web Cam and race director's videos.
• Perfection Journey - Daily race blog by Utpal Marshall
• Photos by Jowan

Ms Daria I. Konyakina, the Vice-Consul of the Russian Federation in New York attended the awards ceremony of the Sri Chinmoy 6 & 10 Day Races on April 27 at Flushing Meadows Corona Park. 14 participants from the Russian Federation participated in the race.

Ultra legend and winner of the 10 Day Race Ashprihanal Aalto of Finland received an unexpected surprise at the award's ceremony for the Sri Chinmoy 6 and 10 Day Races when Ambassador Manu Virtamo CV, Consul General of Finland was on hand to present Ashprihanal with his trophy and many words of encouragement. Ashprihanal is currently the world record holder for the Sri Chinmoy 3,100-Mile Race set in 2015 in a time of 40:09:06:21.

Sahishnu Szczesiul, Associate Race Director and also our race statistician and historian, has been hard at work on compiling accounts of some of the more compelling moments in the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team's 40 year history. Recently he has published two remarkable accounts in PDF form - the very first 3100 mile race in 1997, as well as its immediate precessor, the first and only 2700 mile race in 1996.

The 2700 Mile race was a giant leap forward in Sri Chinmoy's vision of what athletes could achieve with their indomitable inner spirit; it was more than double the length of the previous longest race in the Marathon Team's repertoire (1300 miles).​ In Sahishnu's words: "This event was a steppingstone to new achievement that somehow would be revealed. The runners ignited the search for athletic and inner perfection at the same time. The words 'self-transcendence' had become mainstream in the conscioiusness of the athletic world, and remarkable in the spiritual realm."

Read in PDF form:

• 6 runners chase a legend - the full story of the 2700 Mile Race
• Follow Your Dreams - the story of the very first 3100 Mile race in 1997

Related

• 3,100 Mile race homepage