About the author:

Medur is our go-to person for many of the essential tasks involved in putting on our races: race setup, our lap counting system and our website. An enthusiastic runner himself, he has participated in many editions of the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run in Canada and the US.

Dibaba storms to world cross gold

Tirunesh Dibaba unleashed a sprint finish to win the women's 8k title at the World Cross Country Championships.

Tirunesh Dibaba wins the world cross country long course title

The world 5,000m champion moved away to win in 26 minutes, 34 seconds ahead of Kenyan Alice Timbilili.

Ethiopia's Werknesh Kidane was third with defending champion Benita Johnson from Australia coming home seventh.

Team GB finished a disappointing sixth spot overall, with Mara Yamauchi clocking 28:55.21 to be the top-finishing Briton in 27th place.

Dibaba, who smashed the indoor 5,000m record this season, trailed Timbilili and compatriot Isabella Ochichi into the final lap but strode to the front inside the final kilometre.

In the women's junior 6km race, Britain's Emily Pidgeon continued to show her promise by finishing as the top European.

The 15-year-old ran 22:00.15 to place 20th overall in a race won by Ethiopian Gelete Bati.

Congratulations Tirunesh from the SCMT!

BBC Sports

Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team articles - more articles

About the author:

Nirbhasa is from Ireland. He is an enthusiastic multi-day runner, having completed four times the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race - the longest race in the world.

Inside the world's longest race: CBS This Morning
"The marathon is the equivalent of running from New York to Los Angeles (2,700 miles), and then going another 400 miles north to San Francisco just for kicks. The race was inspired by spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, who believed long-distance running can help people overcome their preconceived limitations." read more »

Endless Summer Race: City Room, New York Times
“I see them running every day and I think, ‘These people never sleep,’” said Rashdeep Singh, who lives nearby. The runners go from 6 a.m. to midnight, pausing for meals in plastic cups, water and a fresh pair of shoes. Before the race ends next week, each will have exhausted about 25 pairs. read more »

More coverage:

- Fox 5 News: Runners seek spiritual experience(link is external) - see video below
- Public Radio International's 'The World'

Video by AFP news agency:

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July 30, 2014 - Karteek Clarke, member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon and Swimming Team swam the slowest and toughest of his 11 Channel crossings on 30 July (19 hours and 1 minute). He is indeed a champion of champions. Looking at the map of his route, you’d think he really didn’t have a clue where France was, or else was getting awful advice from his crew. This drunken arc is all the work of the tides: his swim was made all the more challenging for falling on a Spring tide, the strongest and most wilful of ocean currents.

Imagine swimming in a pool on the roof of a building. While you are swimming, King Kong picks up the building, puts it onto a gigantic swing, and starts rocking the swing through an enormous arc in the sky. You think you’re swimming in a straight line which you sort of are but your position on a GPS goes all over the place. For the whole 19 hours, Karteek was swimming straight towards France, yet the tide ensured his predominant motion was always sideways. There were times when – even though Karteek was always swimming forwards and towards France due to the tide and the curvature of the coastline, he was actually moving further away from the shore.

Karteek takes a feed, watched by his helper, Devasishu Torpy.

Don’t even start to imagine what this can do to your mind and your will! Now imagine that the ‘pool’ you are swimming in is actually a huge washing machine or butter churner (oh yes, and it’s also very, very cold in there). No two strokes you take are the same—one moment you breathe to your left and a mammoth wave smacks your face; the next you stroke to the right and flail in thin air at the edge of a heaving precipice. Especially at night, your universe above, below and all around – is a constant unstable relentless surging disarray. Only the shore is certain: it can be seen, always apparently just ahead (at night you see the lights) — but where and when it will be reached is not worth guessing at.

To me, the most impressive and amazing thing about Karteek’s performance, is that he never once – not once – asked where he was or how far or how long he had to go. That seemed almost irrelevant. Yet how the mind – in the midst of constant sickness, disorientation and discomfort – must have been screaming to know “How far??” For hour after hour after hour, he could see the shore ahead. As the sun set, France was looming – and all through the night, the lights were just there before us – though day had dawned before the pilot finally declared the water too shallow for the boat to proceed and bid Karteek to swim ashore alone.

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