Galleries and Video from 3100 Mile Race

Photo Galleries	Video
Finish Galleries: Asprihanal, Michael, Smarana, Madhupran, Arpan
Day 37 - July 19	Asprihanal final 24 hr
Day 22 - July 4	Oleg Chat with Matt
Day 18 - June 30	Sri Chinmoy meditates
Day 10 - June 23	Stefan Abichal
Day 2 - June 14	Smarana and Michael Music video
Day 1 - June 13	Matt July 3
Abakash's photos from the start	Arpan Video of the Start
	Virendra Abichal Matt

Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team articles - more articles

About the author:

Rupantar has been the race director of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team since 1985, having been asked by Sri Chinmoy to serve in that capacity. As well as working on the big races the US Marathon Team organise each year - the 3100 Mile Race and the Six and 10 Day Race - he also spends a considerable amount of time archiving the Marathon Team's 40 year history on this website.

screen_shot_2016-05-25_at_12.57.59_pm.png NYCRUNS is a popular website that lists races in the New York area. We were pleasantly surprised to see the 6 & 10 Day Races listed. Although this race draws most of its runners from outside the U.S., multiday running has a rich history in the New York area. See Sam Shaw's article in Harpers Magazine for a detailed history of multi-day running (including our 3,100 Mile Race) and also our archives for the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team's contributions to ultra running. Did you know that the New York Road Runners Club hosted a 6 Day Race at what was then Downing Statium on Randall's Island in 1983 and 1984?

Here is what NYCRUNS had to say:

"If you’re late to the start for this event, hang around and take part in the six-day run starting four days after this race (i.e. 10-Day Race). We’d like to provide you a capsule summary of what Sri is all about, but it’s making our head hurt. Perhaps we’ll do an article on this fascinating and unique event in the future. For now, check out Sri Chimnoy’s web site, and if you do one of its events, let us know!" For complete article...

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About the author:

Follow one Seattle runner's journey through his ups and downs (literally), as she braves the Sri Chinmoy 7 Hour Race.

"To be honest, I don't know where or when I heard about this race. I think I was aware -- at least faintly aware -- of their recurring 2-mile race series, since it shows up on local race calendars. I think maybe they entered my consciousness when I heard about the 3100-Mile Race, held annually in New York City. (More on that at another time...)

"But the the last couple of years this race has been knocking around my consciousness. And this year, I screwed up my courage and signed up. I was nervous -- I mean, how far COULD I run in 7 hours? Remembering, of course, to factor in that I hadn't run longer than 13.1 miles in months and months and months..."

For more amusing and revealing antidotes, with some great pictures, read the complete article..

About the author: "We're Team Wil-Sun -- two runners, writers, and travelers who run lots of half marathons and love to tell their stories." From their website....

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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.

Hiyamallar Shalom spent a few days with our eleven-time Channel Swimmer Karteek Clarke in his Edinburgh home, and pressed him for a few stories about his Channel swimming feats:

Picture this: it is a beautiful summer morning, and you are awakened by the sound of Bach being played on the violin as the sun splashes through the windows of your room in a lovely tree-lined city with almost fairytale architecture...idyllic, perhaps. On the other hand, you are crazy cold, hugging your blanket, because this is Edinburgh, a city which has no decent respect for the seasons, and your flatmate has already a) gotten up b) gone to the Commonwealth Pool (in the early morning!) and c) swum laps for hours. So begins another day in Scotland in the flat of Karteek Clarke, swimmer extraordinaire.

While I was staying in Endinburgh with Karteek, I was able to have my ever-modest, if not self-effacing friend, talk about some aspects of his swimming not found elsewhere. I began by asking how he got the initial inspiration to take up long-distance swimming.

cs.-swimming-into-the-beyond-1024x768.jpg

In 1994, after reading some of the thrilling adventures of our earlier Channel swimmers, Karteek had the idea that he might like to try doing this. However, unlike most people (such as 99.99% of us), he went down to Dover shortly after and spent only a few weeks swimming in the harbor, perhaps doing one six-hour swim, his longest swim ever up to that time! (to put this in perspective, he routinely does two back-to-back days of six hours each for his crossings these days)

Three weeks later he attempted his first Channel swim, and achieved an incredible twelve hours in his first experience of swimming in open water, before his inexperience and relative lack of training led to an end of that try. The following year, after having had more time to prepare, he was fully trained and ready to go, but one hour prior to the scheduled departure of his boat, the weather turned and he lost his spot. Due to other commitments, he was unable to stick around and try again.

Finally, in 1997 he had his breakthrough first successful Channel crossing, which he describes as a "long hard swim" that took 11 hours and 57 minutes. That August, he vistied Sri Chinmoy in New York, and recieved his spiritual name, Karteek, the basic meaning being that of the "Divine warrior", who "places his teeming victories at the feet of the Lord Supreme".

In 1999 Karteek successfully entered and completed the Lake Zürich 26-km race put on by the Swiss Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. He had an excellent experience, and this reenergized his swimming. Thus inspired, he wondered if he could repeat his earlier crossing and decided to give it another go in 2000. What followed was one of his most difficult races, in windy conditions and with the development of sea sickness, which took him over fifteen hours to complete!

At point afterwards, Sri Chinmoy called and asked Karteek how many times he had swum the Channel. When he was told that he had done it twice, he asked Karteek to swim the Channel two more times. Karteek agreed readily and proceeded to do just that, undergoing adverse conditions and having difficult crossings on each occasion. After four successful crossings, Sri Chinmoy again called and this time told Karteek that he should swim the Channel three more times!

In reminiscing about these phone calls, Karteek remembers that while outwardly at times he might wonder what the point would be in repeating the swim, in each case Sri Chinmoy acted as the “perfect psychologist” as he puts it. To quote Karteek, he “picked up on my wish” to keep challenging himself, and his request came at just the right moment each time. On every occasion he was asked to swim the Channel, he had the feeling of intense joy, adding that he never felt forced to do this event, recognizing that Sri Chinmoy was confirming what he already felt - despite the fact that the fifth, sixth, seventh (and even the eighth) crossings were all accomplished under difficult conditions and took over sixteen hours! Sri Chinmoy told him that while patience was needed to do long distance swimming, “you also need to develop speed,” as “speed is determination”.

Now that Sri Chinmoy is no longer with us physically, Karteek still feels an inner urge to continue his Channel swimming; he has completed eleven at the time of writing.

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About the author:

Mark Dorian has been a friend of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team for decades, as well as a frequent participant in and volunteer at our multi-day races. Mark competed in this year's 2016 Six and Ten day race and offered the following insights:

The wind-driven rain flying north off Meadow Lake cut at the faces of tired runners. It was the afternoon of Tuesday April 26th. The 6-Day racers were in Day 4, the 10-Day competitors day 8. The end was not close enough to be "in sight," and most of the 80 runners moved a tad more gingerly than they had a few days earlier. My inner "red light" was telling me LOUDLY to stop!

I was cold, wrinkled, and ready to get in the car and drive the 5 miles to Uncle Arpan's warm, cozy house in Jamaica Hills. My wife and coach Helen phoned and suggested I simply walk the 9 or so minutes across the pedestrian overpass of the Grand Central Parkway to the Holiday Inn (something I and other runners have done in the past, but usually only when we had endured days on end of rough weather). I just could not get into any kind of rhythm, and ultimately Day 4 would be one of my lowest volume days (just 34 miles) of any of at least 15 multi-day races over the past dozen years.

Of course, as fate would have it, this was the day that several once-in-a lifetime running and life experiences greeted me. Until this point, each day of the race I looked forward to the 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. time period. Former race announcer and longtime helper Sanatan "Sinatra" Curchack would park his mini van at the far east end of our 1 mile loop, partly to keep an eye out for wayward speeding vehicles and loose dogs and other animals, but also for any runners who might head off the wrong way at this hairpin right turn and confusing round-a-bout. Plenty of runners have gone wrong briefly here, but generally late at night when sleep-deprived and being chased by seven foot tall skunks and raccoons.

I gave my customary wave and "Hey-hey!" to Sanatan (decades ago runners nicknamed him "Sinatra" because of his beautiful baritone speaking and singing voice, as well as the similarity of his name to the maestros Frank and Frank Jr.). Walking the short uphill turn, I saw many wet Cricket players just ahead. Cricket is a major sport in New York City, with many high schools having Varsity teams that draw crowds at games equal to what the schools' baseball teams or track meets do. A few times I have had Cricket balls come close to hitting me in the 300 meter stretch between pitches ("fields"), but I had also found a few abandoned, worn out balls in our path which allowed me and runner friends to have short games of toss and catch.

Fast forwarding a few miles and getting towards sunset, I was dreaming about the best restaurant (I think) in all of New York City (this would be the Oneness-Fountain-Heart, and conveniently for me it was close to our park AND they made deliveries!) To be clear, the race kitchen and food were amazing - the Head Chef, Nipura Brown from New Zealand, was charming and all agreed had the appearance of a movie star; she could easily have a reality cooking show in the USA. I enjoyed the race cafe's food around the clock, but the Oneness-Fountain-Heart is a gourmet establishment and offers several of my favorite dishes in the world, including "Royal Rice" and Cantonese-style noodles with broccoli, soy sauce and various other trimmings. (And did I mention their critically acclaimed desserts?) Like clockwork, my friend Galya Volodia Balatskyi, a world class runner originally from Ukraine came out to tidy my hopelessly messy car and table. Last summer, Galya ran over 70 miles every day - for 42 days - enroute to finishing 2nd to "the Flying Finn," Ashprihanal Pekka Aalto's world record 40 days+ in the world's longest ultra, the New York 3100 mile. Each runner has half of a table to place small essentials on, the table being under cover and mere inches from the running path. Within minutes my dream food from the Oneness-Fountain appeared at my newly tidied spot. More importantly, the smiling, well-known Chef Karlen himself had delivered it and cheered me up while walking a short ways with me. While I was still wet and miserable on the outside, I felt a warm glow on the inside.

Tales from the Medical Tent

One reason I could not get into any rhythm on this day was that I seemed unable to go 4 miles without having to visit the medical tent for one thing or another. Blister prevention, diarrhea prevention, chronically sore and swollen feet, bad back, bad breath - these all bled time from the unforgiving race clock. Luckily for me and all runners, we had a stellar crew of professional massage therapists, doctors, nurses, chiropractors and assistants at our disposal. Twice during the race we were beyond fortunate to have Dr. Sakhshat W. Flowers drive all the way out from suburban New Jersey to use his cold laser on limping or injured runners.

Doc Flowers, himself a stellar 400 meter runner in his youth, spent about 12 minutes each time working around my left foot and ankle, which were swollen and painful. And - miraculously - the swelling went down and the function of the ankle improved markedly. It seemed anything other than the Nike Odyssey or Structure caused me foot pain and blisters. A new pair of shoes brought out to me all the way from Manhattan by my lifelong friend and training partner Maurice Shalah also gave me new life - I wore Maurice's new shoes the last 115 or so miles of the race!

I was escorted from the medical tent (perhaps overstaying my welcome) by a muscular, unshaven, tough-looking Hungarian massage therapist. Fortunately, this tough-looking guy - Dr. Shivabhakta Tamas Agoston - happens to be one of my best friends at the race and favorite people in the world. He knows how to make me laugh when I want to cry, and is also good at giving me a kick (and I mean a real hard kick!) to get me to stop whining and start moving. Little did either of us suspect that as we walked along the first part of the course we would make a discovery worthy of any reality TV "Treasure Hunt" type show.

After 5 hours the rain had stopped and the weather had actually warmed. Near the sharp right turn where I had chatted to and waved at Sanatan a few hours earlier, I noticed - wedged against the curb - some empty paper bags from fast food restaurants, a few paper cups, and - what looked like a leather wallet! .....

Important questions with 2 days to go:

What was in the wallet?!
Would this author and all the other runners survive two-and-a-half more exhausting days of running?
Would the magician and multi-Guinness world record holder Ashrita Furman manage to set a world record for catching ice creams thrown at him at Bartolo Colon (famous Mets' pitcher)-like speeds??
WHO would win the 6 and 10-Day races, which were still close as the clock wound towards 48 hours to go??
Who would win the annual "Most Smiley" Contest among runners, Big Andrei Andreyev or Little Sergei Leschenko of Russia, one of the famous Sykorova sisters (Manoshri and Gautami) of Canada, or some newcomer??
Would race announcer/ manager Devashishu Torpy catch the young prankster who ran along the course alternately kicking over and tossing off into the bushes the hundreds of traffic cones marking the proper running route??

I was not paying direct attention to the soggy, thin leather wallet I grabbed off the top of the curb of our scenic, twisting running path around Flushing Meadows. I had been in the midst of telling my great friend and massage therapist Dr. Shivabhakta a long-winded story. Interrupting what I thought was a spine-tingling tale of almost being struck by lightning near a plane wreck way up rugged Kaaterskill High Peak in the nearby Catskills (just north of New York City), "Uncle Shiva" (a nickname given to him by my son Toby during a trip to San Diego some years ago) stated loudly "I feel like a snow man!"

Glancing at him, I noticed a "Kaaterskill Falls" (world famous 250' vertical, powerful, deadly falls near the above peak) of perspiration pouring down his face! I also questioned aloud why on a warm, steamy night (every night of the 6 day this year seemed warm, calm, and humid) he was wearing enough layers for a polar expedition. As old and skinny as I am, I wore only a long sleeved shirt and tights. To be fair, it had been wet, windy and chilly all afternoon and he had been standing giving non-stop massages and blister treatment in the drafty medical tent. So my friend "peeled off" at the 3/4 mile mark, where the bike path passes close to the finish straightaway before making a sharp turn down-and-back on "Sri Chinmoy Street" - the real name of a lovely tree-canopied pedestrian lane on the way to the lap finish.

I stumbled around the sharp right turn. Unfortunately, in perhaps 15 places new underground wiring for the old-fashioned looking street lights on our course had been covered up hastily by shoddy, rough temporary pavement - these "stripes" that felled even the most nimble of runners came to be known as "THE DREADED BLACK STRIPES"! Looking up, I saw an elderly lady runner stagger off the path and trip over a tree root. Luckily, a college-aged woman runner much fresher than I jumped to the older runner's aid. Readers may be gaining an appreciation of why runners laugh when asked by shorter distance runners, reporters and bystanders "isn't it boring doing lap after lap out there?!" There is rarely a dull moment or a time when even a sleepy competitor does not see or experience something unique or interesting.

Encouragement is
As quick as lightning
In joy-giving."

- Sri Chinmoy, Encouragement

The above inspiring aphorism appears on the back of race t-shirts from a trail ultra my wife and I direct. I also quoted this to Mr. J.B. (massage therapist and blister expert) and Nurse "Super Mario" Cardenas in the medical tent while continuing to narrate my own saga of various near lightning strikes I have experienced, from the one on High Peak (almost the same ridge as where the legendary Rip Van Winkle fell asleep during a summer lightning storm - you can look it up!) mentioned above to the lightning many runners in this year's races ran from - umbrellas in hand - at 4 to 5 a.m. on day 3. Therein lies another thing spectators and newcomers question - why run with an umbrella? This too may cause experienced multi-day runners to smile or chuckle knowingly.

All the while I was shuffling around the course and making endless trips to the medical tent, the pro athletes were cranking out fast laps, seeming to only slow to a fast walk the first 250 meters of each lap to grab drinks or easily-consumed food in a large cup from their helpers or well-organized tables. On day 5, I managed to run at least 6 miles with eventual 6 day winner Aidas Ardzijauskas from Lithuania, and discovered that he was actually not going so fast - certainly not as fast as ultimate 2nd placer (and Swedish national record setter) Johnny Hallneby. Aidas's secret was that he never stopped! I slogged along next to him as we passed the timing tents and camp area - and he did not even break stride.

For 3 laps Aidas ran at normal speed right through the middle of the camp - not even grabbing a cup of water. When I again ran a few laps with him and his countryman Rimas Jakelaitis (for many years one of the very best multi-day runners in the world, and one of just 14 people in history to have reached 600 miles in a 6 day race - and Rimas did it as a SPLIT in the 10 day race!) on day 6, again the same thing - no stopping or slowing at the end/ start of a lap! Straight through the middle of camp and back out towards the Long Island Expressway and wild brook and swamp from which snakes and muskrats watched us.

Not to be outdone, the top women were speeding around the course as well. At many times of the day the fastest-moving runner - period - on the course was legendary Australian Sarah Barnett. Smiling and encouraging all the "mere mortal" runners, Sarah flew towards her 4th win in the 10 day. With no helpers, she would often stop for a moment at her table to jot down some thought for an upcoming article or book while grabbing a piece of one of her many gourmet chocolate bars (she once gave my now 16 year old daughter Amalia - who was helping me at the time - some chocolates that had been given to Sarah by the Princess of Monaco after a win in the famous Monte Carlo 8 day!)

The USA's "walking diva" Yolanda Holder, a world class walker from Orange County, California, chased Sarah relentlessly, ultimately eclipsing the coveted 1,000 Km (622 mile) mark. And hot on Yolanda's heels came "the speeding server" from the famous Peace Garden Restaurant (as seen on TV) in Ottawa, Manoshri Sykorova (reaching an impressive 609 miles). I am still trying to wrap my head around the stat that in addition to the above three ladies, NINE men surpassed 600 miles in 10 days. So many great runners, so many great stories...

AND what of the "purple light" that flooded the race course several nights? Keeping in mind that one of the all-time great musicians - Prince - had passed just before the race - and the New York Mets (who play ball not 800 meters from the race course) have access to all manner of klieg/ strobe/ giant search lights - the mysterious and inspiring hues in the clear night skies are easily explained. Not to be outdone, several of the many wonderful live musicians who came out to entertain the runners at all hours of the day and night played snippets of some of Prince's songs. Sakshama Koloski - direct from Macedonia - played lovely bluesy, David Sanborn-style saxophone until the wee hours, greatly inspiring late night runners.

The talented world musician Kodanda seemed to have a dozen instruments at his disposal at any time, impressing the great runners from Mongolia with tunes on folk instruments from their country. But as at so many races, he truly shone on electric guitar, which like legends from Bob Dylan to Jimi Hendrix he makes "sing." It seems like yesterday that Guru Chinmoy himself was standing next to the race course musicians, clapping for them and ENCOURAGING them. I for one certainly miss having him along the race loop cheering for us.

And while the music played . . . questions and conundrums remained unanswered . . .

What WAS in the soaking wet wallet?
DID the race directors ever catch the "traffic cone thief"?!
Is there any truth to the rumor that night time race director Rupantar P. LaRusso, Esq., gets to "run a tab" and get "free donuts" (limit for race: 30 - thirty - dozen) at the close-by Dunkin' Donuts on Horace Harding Expressway??
WHY were runners, helpers and race workers rolling on the floor with laughter at the big post-race celebration at the wonderful local Panorama Cafe?!
WERE some finishers really just using this as a "long training run" for the world's longest ultra - the Sri Chinmoy/ Self-Transcendence 3100 mile - that starts on Father's Day (June 19th)?
DID an extremely sleepy race finisher sleep through the awards ceremony - and until after all race personnel had gone home late at night - AND all the way until the next day?
DID 10 day 2nd placer Ed "The Jester" Ettinghausen - after running 717 miles - really walk and jog the 2 miles to nearby LaGuardia Airport for a flight just hours after the race finish?!

Author's Note: after weeks of failed attempts to capture in words some of the spirit and adventure of my recent attempt at the 20th annual New York Sri Chinmoy 6-Day Race, I was at a stop light on Mesa Street in my home town of El Paso, Texas when some sort of divine inspiration struck. I have a very small picture of the late Sri Chinmoy (philosopher, meditation teacher, spiritual leader, artist, running race organizer, and on and on) on the chipped and dusty dashboard of my old Honda CRV. Guru Chinmoy's picture, the red light, the fact that I had just finished my first decent run since the hard race in New York City - all were factors as I recalled one of several poems of his that I once knew by heart but in my old age know only "more-or-less."

The Red Light And The Green Light

I have two intimate friends:
The red light
And
The green light.

The red light warns me
And cautions me
And finally commands,
“Stop!”

The green light inspires me
And encourages me
And finally whispers,
“Start!”

My red friend
Teaches me patience.
My green friend
Teaches me dynamism.

My red friend tells me
My life is precious.
My green friend tells me
My goal is precious.

My red friend
Perfects my will.
My green friend
Fulfils my dream.

Sri Chinmoy, from The Wings of Light

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About the author:

Boijayanti is the co-director of the Self-Transcendence Swim Run, as well as the Self-Trnascendence Sprint Series in Flushing Meadow Park

A warm thank you to all athletes and volunteers for coming out and supporting our event today! It was a warm, sunny and beautiful day!

We hope to see you at one of our future events!

5K Race Results:

Place	Bib No	First Name	Last Name	City	Total Time	Age Group Place	Total Pace
1	20	Anthony	Doolittle	New York NY USA	18:27	1 M 30-39	3:41/K
2	48	Ronald	Joseph	Rockaway Park NY USA	19:22	2 M 30-39	3:52/K
3	119	Kristin	Reese	Uniondale NY USA	20:08	1 F 20-29	4:02/K
4	46	Trevor	Smith	Cincinnati OH	20:15	1 M 20-29	4:03/K
5	202	Helge	Osttveiten	New York NY USA	20:16	1 M 50-59	4:03/K
6	7	David	Bristow	New York NY USA	20:40	2 M 20-29	4:08/K
7	2	Trevor	Wallace	Queens NY USA	20:50	3 M 20-29	4:10/K
8	24	Michael	Ortiz	Brooklyn NY USA	20:51	3 M 30-39	4:10/K
9	51	Jesus	Tararez	Brooklyn NY USA	20:58	4 M 20-29	4:12/K
10	47	Mike	Yakub	Flushing NY	21:02	1 M 40-49	4:12/K
11	203	Horace	Bush Jr	Briarwood NY US	21:32	2 M 50-59	4:18/K
12	19	Jim	Finegan	New York NY USA	21:42	5 M 20-29	4:20/K
13	6	Basil	McKenzie	Brooklyn NY USA	22:10	6 M 20-29	4:26/K
14	34	Petter	Kvamme Jensen	Oslo -- Norway	22:16	2 M 40-49	4:27/K
15	107	Sarah	Javier	Woodside NY USA	22:28	2 F 20-29	4:30/K
16	5	Justin	Rivera	Fresh Meadows NY USA	23:14	7 M 20-29	4:39/K
17	211	Shashanka	Karlen	Jamaica NY	23:16	3 M 50-59	4:39/K
18	33	Chris	McCoy	New York NY USA	23:34	4 M 30-39	4:43/K
19	43	Parmjit	Singh	East elmhurst NY USA	23:36	3 M 40-49	4:43/K
20	302	Ben	Liaw	New York NY	23:38	1 M 60-69	4:44/K
21	44	Antonio	Mojica	Maspeth NY USA	23:45	4 M 40-49	4:45/K
22	15	Soy	Hahn	Flushing NY USA	23:53	8 M 20-29	4:47/K
23	17	Salvador	Fernandez	Bronx NY USA	24:11	9 M 20-29	4:50/K
24	148	Patrina	Hall-Madry	Middle Village NY USA	24:28	1 F 40-49	4:54/K
25	127	Jess	Hahn	Kew Gardens Hills NY USA	25:08	1 F 30-39	5:02/K
26	38	Phil	Ward	New york NY US	25:33	5 M 40-49	5:07/K
27	4	Jeff	Donlan	Ridgewood NY USA	25:35	10 M 20-29	5:07/K
28	1	Luis	Perez	Corona NY USA	25:46	1 M 1-19	5:09/K
29	208	Dhanu	Alaimo	Jamaica NY USA	25:50	4 M 50-59	5:10/K
30	131	Kathryn	Turney	Astoria NY USA	25:51	2 F 30-39	5:10/K
31	18	Richard	Silvagni	Flushing NY US	25:52	11 M 20-29	5:10/K
32	124	Julie	Fehn	New York NY USA	25:56	3 F 20-29	5:11/K
33	49	Zigi	Krason	New York NY USA	26:00	5 M 30-39	5:12/K
34	210	Victor	Flores	Forest Hills NY	26:14	5 M 50-59	5:15/K
35	300	Charles	Hlinko	brooklyn NY USA	26:19	2 M 60-69	5:16/K
36	123	Melissa	Curvino	New York NY USA	26:20	4 F 20-29	5:16/K
37	39	Juan	Medina	Corona NY USA	26:34	6 M 40-49	5:19/K
38	301	Pulak	Viscardi	Jamaica NY USA	26:38	3 M 60-69	5:20/K
39	100	Florencia	Fontaine	new York NY USA	26:53	1 F 1-19	5:23/K
40	16	Larry	Shannon	JAMAICA NY USA	27:20	12 M 20-29	5:28/K
41	168	Diloram	Sabirova	Forest Hills NY	27:28	3 F 30-39	5:30/K
42	163	Isidora	Vilchis	Jackson Heights NY	27:34	4 F 30-39	5:31/K
43	103	Rebecca	Seidel	Rego Park NY USA	27:42	5 F 20-29	5:32/K
44	116	Nazanin	Khajoueinejad	Valhalla NY USA	27:44	6 F 20-29	5:33/K
45	165	Amanda	Curvino	Canton CT	28:32	7 F 20-29	5:42/K
46	209	William	Colon	Bayside NY USA	28:50	6 M 50-59	5:46/K
47	162	Alexis	Moser	Middle Village NY	29:10	5 F 30-39	5:50/K
48	205	Jose	Rios	Brooklyn NY USA	29:16	7 M 50-59	5:51/K
49	13	Benjamin	Scheck	Astoria NY US	29:27	13 M 20-29	5:53/K
50	252	Caroline	Koralik	Astoria NY USA	29:30	1 F 50-59	5:54/K
51	26	Gerardo	Minor	Woodhaven NY USA	29:32	6 M 30-39	5:54/K
52	32	Luis	Torres	Brooklyn NY USA	29:37	7 M 30-39	5:55/K
53	254	Yluminada	Morel	Far Rockaway NY USA	29:47	2 F 50-59	5:57/K
54	23	Andrew	Louie	Richmond Hill NY USA	30:19	8 M 30-39	6:04/K
55	36	Adriano	Barbosa	Niteroi RIO DE JAN Brazil	30:26	7 M 40-49	6:05/K
56	143	Marianne	Oesbye	Oslo -- Norway	30:37	6 F 30-39	6:07/K
57	253	Clara	Gaitan	Fresh Meadows NY USA	30:53	3 F 50-59	6:11/K
58	164	Graciela	Flores	Corona NY USA	31:03	2 F 40-49	6:13/K
59	21	Raymond	Sanchez	Ozone Park NY USA	31:08	9 M 30-39	6:14/K
60	118	Morgane	Razafimahatratra	Brooklyn NY USA	31:10	8 F 20-29	6:14/K
61	154	Denice	Romero-Marquez	Lancaster MA USA	31:19	3 F 40-49	6:16/K
62	45	Mike	Cooper	Forest Hills NY USA	31:34	10 M 30-39	6:19/K
63	112	Kristen	Gonzalez	BRONX NY USA	31:36	9 F 20-29	6:19/K
64	170	Flores	Catalina	Forest Hills NY	31:38	10 F 20-29	6:20/K
65	12	Ryan	Dritz	New York NY USA	31:46	14 M 20-29	6:21/K
66	212	Abdool	Jabar	Queens Village NY USA	31:58	8 M 50-59	6:24/K
67	110	Zara	Tillem	Rosslyn VA USA	32:00	11 F 20-29	6:24/K
68	129	Lystra	Manick-Singh	Brooklyn NY USA	32:05	7 F 30-39	6:25/K
69	166	Donna	Colon	Bayside NY USA	32:06	4 F 40-49	6:25/K
70	167	Yvette	Shin	Flushing NY USA	32:13	5 F 40-49	6:27/K
71	200	Philip	Holtberg	New York NY USA	32:14	9 M 50-59	6:27/K
72	130	Maria	Lee	New York NY USA	32:16	8 F 30-39	6:27/K
73	121	Irem	Cabbaroglu	Brooklyn NY USA	32:28	12 F 20-29	6:30/K
74	206	Sandro	Sciotti	Brooklyn NY USA	32:32	10 M 50-59	6:30/K
75	250	Justine Marie	Vickers	Flushing NY USA	32:41	4 F 50-59	6:32/K
76	138	Samantha	Kent	New York NY USA	33:20	9 F 30-39	6:40/K
77	169	Lyndsey	Moulds	Brooklyn NY USA	33:26	13 F 20-29	6:41/K
78	172	Sue	Wang	Long Island City NY	33:31	14 F 20-29	6:42/K
79	128	Irene	Santos	Norwalk NY USA	33:31	10 F 30-39	6:42/K
80	105	Rachel	Pires	New York NY USA	33:32	15 F 20-29	6:42/K
81	173	Starin	Sarah	Astoria NY USA	33:42	16 F 20-29	6:44/K
82	25	George	Distler	Middle Village NY USA	34:18	11 M 30-39	6:52/K
83	126	Leticia	Distler	Middle Village NY USA	34:18	17 F 20-29	6:52/K
84	114	Alanna	Rosenblat	Astoria NY USA	34:39	18 F 20-29	6:56/K
85	50	Braullo	Vergara	Corona NY	35:11	15 M 20-29	7:02/K
86	153	Robyn	Fleming	New York NY USA	35:43	6 F 40-49	7:09/K
87	139	Carolyn	Landis	Forest Hills NY USA	35:44	11 F 30-39	7:09/K
88	159	Caroline	Kasnakian	Long Island City NY USA	36:03	7 F 40-49	7:13/K
89	35	David	Lowe	long island city NY USA	36:03	8 M 40-49	7:13/K
90	117	Alyssa	Spatola	Bayonne NJ USA	36:32	19 F 20-29	7:18/K
91	101	Erica	Yoong	Jackson Heights NY USA	36:33	2 F 1-19	7:19/K
92	155	Cristina	Bunac-Cuevas	Forest Hills NY USA	36:40	8 F 40-49	7:20/K
93	122	Cally	Tam	Brooklyn NY USA	36:41	20 F 20-29	7:20/K
94	142	Paula	Sanchez-Kucukozer	Bayside NY USA	36:43	12 F 30-39	7:21/K
95	40	Scott	Glick	Malverne NY USA	36:50	9 M 40-49	7:22/K
96	140	Berta	Vidal	New York NY USA	36:57	13 F 30-39	7:23/K
97	201	Mark A.	Krele	Flushing NY USA	37:08	11 M 50-59	7:26/K
98	137	Aracelis	Velazquez	Ozone Park NY USA	37:22	14 F 30-39	7:28/K
99	29	Louis	State	fresh meadows NY USA	37:42	12 M 30-39	7:32/K
100	120	Twinkle	Agcon	Valley Stream NY USA	38:15	21 F 20-29	7:39/K
101	204	Victor	Bolanos	Woodhaven NY USA	38:28	12 M 50-59	7:42/K
102	151	Alexandra	Franck	Lynbrook NY USA	38:39	9 F 40-49	7:44/K
103	251	Susan	Sparks	New York NY USA	38:46	5 F 50-59	7:45/K
104	207	Hor	Yoong	Jackson Heights NY USA	39:44	13 M 50-59	7:57/K
105	304	David	Feller	Fresh Meadows NY	40:28	4 M 60-69	8:06/K
106	149	Ruth	Mariampolski	Kew Gardens NY USA	41:36	10 F 40-49	8:19/K
107	30	Paolo	Lim	Forest Hills NY USA	41:57	13 M 30-39	8:23/K
108	158	Radha	Ganesan	Forest Hills NY USA	44:46	11 F 40-49	8:57/K
109	157	Stael	Senra	Niteroi RIO DE JAN Brazil	44:48	12 F 40-49	8:58/K
110	145	Nicole	Vassell	Rosedale NY USA	45:12	15 F 30-39	9:02/K
111	171	Katherine	Demezzo	New York NY USA	45:13	22 F 20-29	9:03/K
112	141	Christine	Chen	Forest Hills NY USA	46:36	16 F 30-39	9:19/K
113	144	Wendy	Kwan	Rego Park NY USA	46:40	17 F 30-39	9:20/K
114	22	Dennis	Lee	Forest Hills NY USA	46:41	14 M 30-39	9:20/K
115	135	Josephine	Noah	Englewood Cliffs NJ USA	46:48	18 F 30-39	9:22/K
116	134	Holly	Machel	Woodside NY USA	46:48	19 F 30-39	9:22/K
117	3	Andrew	Casalino	Howard Beach NY USA	50:41	16 M 20-29	10:08/K
118	104	Monica	Jesby	Fairfield CT USA	50:41	23 F 20-29	10:08/K
119	303	Adhiratha	Keefe	Flushing NY USA	54:40	5 M 60-69	10:56/K
120	102	Natalie	Perez	Bronx NY USA	56:20	24 F 20-29	11:16/K
121	27	Leoncio	Caraballo jr	Bronx NY USA	56:26	15 M 30-39	11:17/K
122	426	Namrata	Moses		1:05:39	1 F 70-99	13:08/K

10K Race Results:

Place	Bib No	Name	City	Total Time	Age Group Place	Total Pace
1	532	Francisco Martinez	Jackson Heights NY	37:55	1 M 40-49	3:48/K
2	702	Jaime Palacios	Fresh Meadows NY	40:15	1 M 60-69	4:02/K
3	526	Stutisheel Lebedev	Jamaica NY USA	40:53	2 M 40-49	4:05/K
4	504	Myles Mule	Long Beach NY USA	41:22	1 M 20-29	4:08/K
5	602	Elena Brindley	Uniondale NY USA	42:44	1 F 20-29	4:16/K
6	627	Karen Pompay	Garden City NY USA	43:04	1 F 40-49	4:18/K
7	618	Araceli Garcia	Woodside NY USA	44:31	1 F 30-39	4:27/K
8	502	Iosif Davidov	Flushing NY USA	44:56	2 M 20-29	4:30/K
9	530	Robert Grad	Livingston NJ USA	48:12	3 M 20-29	4:49/K
10	529	Gaudencio Contreras	East Elmhurst NY	48:52	2 M 30-39	4:53/K
11	531	Nick Green	New York NY USA	48:56	3 M 30-39	4:54/K
12	517	Edwin Caceres	Forest Hills NY USA	49:01	3 M 40-49	4:54/K
13	621	Kanala Bolvanska	Jamaica NY USA	50:12	2 F 40-49	5:01/K
14	519	Julio Perez	Jamaica NY USA	51:04	4 M 40-49	5:06/K
15	501	Daniel Steiner	East Meadow NY USA	51:12	4 M 20-29	5:07/K
16	631	Kiana Terrell	Jamaica NY	53:29	2 F 20-29	5:21/K
17	624	Govinda White	Jamaica NY USA	53:38	3 F 40-49	5:22/K
18	518	Todd Cadley	Brooklyn NY USA	55:50	5 M 40-49	5:35/K
19	521	James Shin	Deer Park NY	55:52	6 M 40-49	5:35/K
20	800	Solomon Winter	New York NY USA	56:12	2 M 60-69	5:37/K
21	533	Terry England	East Meadow NY	57:07	4 M 30-39	5:43/K
22	604	Elaine Williams	Garden City NY USA	57:14	3 F 20-29	5:43/K
23	508	Eduardo Leyva-Diaz	New York NY USA	57:42	5 M 30-39	5:46/K
24	623	Samantha Choi Cadley	Brooklyn NY USA	58:25	4 F 40-49	5:51/K
25	523	Angel Moreno	Belleville NJ USA	58:58	7 M 40-49	5:54/K
26	700	Jose Monge	Flushing NY USA	59:05	1 M 50-59	5:55/K
27	610	Anna Mercatili	Colonia NJ USA	59:29	4 F 20-29	5:57/K
28	512	Carlos Alberto Sosa De La Torre	Union City NY USA	59:36	6 M 30-39	5:58/K
29	606	Margaret Gambaro	Brooklyn NY USA	59:40	5 F 20-29	5:58/K
30	625	Courtney Olton	Levittown NY USA	59:51	6 F 20-29	5:59/K
31	528	Joel Fagin	Woodbury NY	59:51	8 M 40-49	5:59/K
32	616	Lauren Gardner	Brooklyn NY US	59:59	2 F 30-39	6:00/K
33	603	Eva Levy	East Meadow NY USA	1:00:04	7 F 20-29	6:00/K
34	510	Zhi Wu	fresh meadows NY USA	1:00:25	7 M 30-39	6:03/K
35	507	Brandon Ng	Elmhurst NY USA	1:01:00	8 M 30-39	6:06/K
36	608	Courtney Ng	New York NY USA	1:01:01	8 F 20-29	6:06/K
37	601	Laure Lebleu	Brooklyn NY USA	1:01:09	9 F 20-29	6:07/K
38	505	Franklin Garfin	LONG ISLAND CITY NY	1:01:21	9 M 30-39	6:08/K
39	629	Lyayla Faerman	Jamaica, NY	1:02:36	3 F 30-39	6:16/K
40	628	Bipula Langosova	Jamaica NY USA	1:03:23	5 F 40-49	6:20/K
41	506	Alberto Benayas	LONG ISLAND CITY NY USA	1:05:38	10 M 30-39	6:34/K
42	626	Elaine Tsui	Flushing NY USA	1:06:28	4 F 30-39	6:39/K
43	630	Christine Trott	Brooklyn NY	1:06:40	5 F 30-39	6:40/K
44	600	Hannah Ehrlich	Astoria NY US	1:07:17	10 F 20-29	6:44/K
45	622	Samantha Muscato	Brooklyn NY US	1:07:17	6 F 40-49	6:44/K
46	612	Carla Mecozzi	LONG ISLAND CITY NY USA	1:07:30	11 F 20-29	6:45/K
47	605	Carolina Bolanos	woodhaven NY USA	1:07:42	12 F 20-29	6:46/K
48	509	Christian Zabala	Brooklyn NY USA	1:08:47	11 M 30-39	6:53/K
49	511	Peeyush Bhardwaj	Jamaica Plain MA USA	1:09:02	12 M 30-39	6:54/K
50	620	Tara Bhardwaj	Jamaica Plain MA USA	1:09:03	6 F 30-39	6:54/K
51	614	Denise Dione Virrey	Jamaica NY USA	1:09:41	13 F 20-29	6:58/K
52	609	Wen Shi	Elmhurst NY USA	1:10:12	14 F 20-29	7:01/K
53	850	Saudamini Siegrist	Jamaica NY USA	1:10:20	1 F 60-69	7:02/K
54	516	Jean Pierre Louis	Brooklyn NY USA	1:10:44	13 M 30-39	7:04/K
55	632	Melissa Chau	Queens Village NY	1:11:15	15 F 20-29	7:08/K
56	515	Ka Chun Wong	Silver Spring MD USA	1:12:09	14 M 30-39	7:13/K
57	801	Kwok Cheung Wong	Silver Spring MD US	1:12:20	3 M 60-69	7:14/K
58	701	Andrew Chisholm	Carmel NY USA	1:14:21	2 M 50-59	7:26/K
59	751	Cathy Chisholm	Carmel NY USA	1:14:21	1 F 50-59	7:26/K
60	613	Jenny He	Forest Hills NY USA	1:15:08	16 F 20-29	7:31/K
61	750	Tanya Myers	San Jose CA USA	1:17:34	2 F 50-59	7:45/K
62	619	Demi Green	Saint Albans NY USA	1:23:51	7 F 30-39	8:23/K

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About the author:

Finland's largest and most important ultrarunning website, ultrajuoksu.fi, summarizes the recently completed Sri Chinmoy 6 and 10-Day Races in an article containing many photos and links to videos from the race, as well as a list of the final results. Kobi Oren from Israel dominated the Sri Chinmoy Ten Day Race with 755 miles, the fifth best total ever. Sarah Barnett led the ladies with 672 mile, her fourth win at 10 days. Aidas Ardzijauskas, Vilnius Lithuania won the Sri Chinmoy Six Day Race with 517 miles. Vikena Yutz, Columbus, GA, USA was first woman with 375 miles. (All photos by Prabhakar).

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About the author:

In this clip, Vsauce, a YouTube channel brand created by internet personality Michael Stevens, examines various challenges and achievements deemed worthy of the 'greatest honor'. They selected the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race as worthy of the 'Greatest Honor' for physical activities. Vsauce features videos relating to various scientific and philosophical topics, as well as gaming, technology, culture, and other topics (Vsauce description courtesy of Wikipedia). Click here to see the full Vsauce video.

Please note that since this clip came out, the new world record holder for this event is Ashprihanal Aalto of Finland, who in 2016 set the record in a time of 40 days, 9 hours, 6 minutes and 21 seconds.

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About the author:

Suprabha Beckjord ran the world's longest race - the Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence 3100 Mile Race - every year from its beginning in 1997 to 2009, a total of 13 times. The footage for this interview was shot in 2010 and was originally intended to be shared amongst friends as inspiration, but Mangala (the interviewer) and Suprabha graciously agreed to let us use it to share with the public. Suprabha talks about the spiritual side of the race, and particularly how she was encouraged by her spiritual teacher (or Guru), Sri Chinmoy.

Suprabha's 3100 Mile Race adventures are also featured in the documentary Spirit of a Runner, which can be seen on the 3100 Mile Homepage

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About the author:

Tejvan organises short-distance running and cycling races for the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in his home city of Oxford. He is also a very good cyclist, having won the National hill climb championships in 2013 and finished 3rd in the National 100 Mile Time Trials in 2014.

Suprabha Beckjord (b. 1956, Washington D.C. US) one of the most prolific multi-day distance runners in the world. Between 1997 and 2009, Suprabha completed 13 consecutive editions of the Sri Chinmoy 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence Race. In 1998 she set her fastest time for the distance of 49 days 14:30:54.

Suprabha only began running in the mid 1980s. In 1986, she completed her first multi-day event - a 200 mile race, where she finished as first woman. She then progressed to longer multi-day events, including five day races, seven day races and then the Sri Chinmoy 700, 1000 and 1300 mile races. She finished the 1300 mile race four times (1991-94)

In 1996, Suprabha was one of six people who entered the Sri Chinmoy 2700 Mile Race, setting new records from 1300 miles to 2700 miles. In 1997, she was one of five people who entered the inaugural 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence Race. Suprabha was 2nd in a time of 50 days + 02:09:56.

Between 1997 and 2009, she completed 13 consecutive editions of the Sri Chinmoy 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence Race. A total distance of 40,300 miles in 13 years. (The circumference of the earth is 24,901 miles)

Suprabha Beckjord at finish of 2009 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence Race

Suprabha owns a gift shop "Transcendence-Perfection-Bliss of the Beyond" in Washington, DC. and has been a disciple of Sri Chinmoy for many years.

Spirit of a Runner

A documentary video about Suprabha's efforts to finish the 2008 edition of the race. View bottom of home page for 3100 Mile Race

Quotes

Question: Is finishing this distance a case of mind over matter?

Suprabha B: Not so much the mind as the heart. The mind is so boggled with just the idea of that distance. The mind says you’re tired. I have to go beyond the mind and run this race with my heart, which is full of eagerness and joy. It’s a pilgrimage. I always go inside and meditate. You have to be aware of your surroundings of course, but for me, and for a lot of people, running is a way to quiet your mind a bit, and to feel happy just to be outside. To be outside all summer like that, from 6 a.m. to midnight sometimes, is a special thing.

''I know I can't do this race on my outer strength alone, so I have to draw on my inner strength.'' (Running on Inner Strength at NY Times)

""I get a thrill from being out here, It's a [dream] to be able to achieve a very long distance. It's something we can only accomplish with determination and willpower," (NY Daily News)

Further links

Interview with Suprabha (video)

External links

D C Runner completes longest race - interview
Washingtonian completes 3100 mile race - Washington Post
Suprabha Beckjord at Multidays

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About the author:

The New York Times recently published an article touting a runner "as one of the country’s top female ultramarathoners". Kudos to the runner highlighted. However, the Times writer, while defining ultrarunning as any distance beyond the marathon (which I have no qualms with), failed to examine distances beyond the many races that were highlighted in the article. Ultrarunning beyond the 50 mile and 100 mile trail races has a long and storied history dating back to at least the pedestrian races in the 19th century. See Harper's Magazine article by Sam Shaw "Run Like Fire Once More" for a bigger history of multi day racing.

If multiday races were included, then surely Dipali Cunningham would be up there as one of the all-time greats. Here is a brief resume from a career spanning from 1991 to 2015:

36 multiday races
30 first place finishes
12 times overall wins (i.e beating all the men in the race!)
3 world records (6 day race) :
1998 504 miles
2001 510 miles
2009 (best) over 50 years old 513 miles
2014 American US age group record 55-59 475 miles
3rd place in world for 700 miles (women)
4th place in world 1,000 miles (women)
33 Australian National records (24 hours to 1,000 miles)

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About the author:

For his record breaking performance in the 19th Annual Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race in 2015, Pekka Ashprihanal Aalto was voted by his peers as the Best Finnish Male Ultra-runner for 2015. The award is presented by ultrajuoksu.fi which is Finlands main ultrarunning website. Following is a translated exerpt from the article:

How do you train for a race?

I was distributing newspapers in the mornings. I was running with the carriage and distributing newspapers in an area, where they did not have elevators in the buildings. Already by that you got a good basic training. In addition, I did some extra running few times a week.

When coming closer to the race, I was running less often, but extending the distance of the runs. Normal distance is 40 km. During the days between, I did some walking.

How do you feel after the race, during next weeks?

After my first race, somebody told me that I am only watching the walls. But I was feeling very satisfied. It feels that there is no need to do anything. But nowadays, I try to do something after the race.

(For the complete ultrajuoksu.fi article translated into English...)

Other articles in Finnish from ultrajuoksu.fi on the 2015 Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race include:

June 13, 2015 article (prior to the race start) containing complete history of all 3,100 mile race finishers under 50 days.
July 24, 2015 article on the day Ashprihanal finished the race. The articles contains a list of every race Ashprihanal has run since 1999, along with a collage of photos of Ashprihanal, one from every day of his 3,100 mile run.
August 7 article with daily mileage of Ashprihanal's record breaking run as well as a list of final mileage total for all competitors.

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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.

On November 15, the Impossibility Challenger festival of record breaking took place in Berlin. Event organiser Abhinabha Tangerman describes his thoughts:

THIS YEAR I HAD the opportunity to become involved in one of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team's special events: Impossibility Challenger. I had been to this record-breaking festival for the last time in 2009, when I put on and off 239 pairs of socks in half an hour and also ran a mile while simultaneously kicking a soccer ball—for me two amazing personal records!

When Subarnamala, the previous director, asked me if I would like to organize the event this year, supported our volunteers in Berlin, I said yes. I am writing this report exactly one day after it happened. My voice has completely gone from all the stress of organizing, but my heart is full of joy at the beautiful day we had on Sunday November 15th.

SHEER HUMAN POWER

We had close to forty record applications, but then 17 record-breaking hopefuls cancelled. Worst of all, Subarnamala — who was going to attempt a record herself— fell sick one week before the event. She had been the main organizer for the past 13 years with a ton of experience. All of a sudden I had to take over her tasks. Stress levels soared. But with a great team of helpers and servers, we pulled through.

Record-breaking day started with a light drizzle—which only got heavier; so our 12 outdoor records took place in pouring rain. But the bad weather couldn’t dampen our spirits. We witnessed Viharin’s brother Radek pull a bus filled with disciples weighing 13,257 kilos a distance of 20 meters. It was a very special feeling sitting in a bus that was moved by sheer human power! Radek’s 16-year-old son—also called Radek—pulled the same bus without passengers, weighing 10,617 kilos for the same distance. A strongman family!

583 LAUGHS

One of the highlights was Samalya’s record attempt at running the fastest mile while wearing swim fins. The current record was 5:48 min. and Samalya had hardly trained—which I had scolded him mercilessly about the previous day. Whether it was the scolding, the eager crowd egging him on or his proud mom and dad who had showed up to watch, Samalya mustered all his will-power and smashed the old record by clocking 5:33 min. over four laps—all in pouring rain and with hardly any specific training! We are so proud of him. His feet, covered with blisters, were less than happy.

More amazing disciple feats followed. We know that Karteek is an excellent swimmer with 13 successful Channel crossings, but few people know that he is a great comedian as well. His record attempt at telling the most jokes in one hour was another highlight. The record stood at 550 jokes—no joke! The rules are quite strict—you have to tell all the jokes without a script and each joke has to get a laugh from the audience. Karteek blew everyone’s mind by telling 594 jokes, of which 583 got an audible laugh from the audience.

MISSING ARROWS

Unfortunately Ashrita Furman - the holder of the most Guinness World Records - ran into some bad luck. He arrived intent on setting a new record for breaking the most wooden arrows with his neck in one minute. You can’t carry arrows as hand luggage, so Ashrita had checked them in. But his luggage failed to show up at Berlin airport; it was still in Frankfurt! We managed to find some other arrows—no mean feat on a Sunday—but they were too thick. Ashrita missing his record was a little cloud on an otherwise sunny inner day. But he was happy to watch all the records being broken, and the other record-breakers received tremendous joy and inspiration from his presence.

The third record from an SCMT member was performed by Jendrik, from Berlin. Jendrik performed 4,831 ‘footbag stalls’, which means flicking a hacky sack from one foot to the other without dropping it. He’s a former hacky sack champion and even competed in the World Cup. Jendrik also was a tremendous help in the organization of the event.

START TRAINING!

I can’t begin to say what a joy and satisfaction it was to be part of Impossibility Challenger. And we’ll be back next year with a new edition. If you are inspired, I strongly urge you to try a record yourself! If Samalya’s and Karteek’s reports are true, you’re in for tremendous joy and fulfilment.

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About the author:

Leading the whole race for the women, Ukrainian Samunnati Nataliya Lehonkova of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team won the women's 2016 Skechers Performance Los Angeles Marathon on Sunday February 14 in a time of 2:30:39, a personel best. Over 20,000 runners finished this year's marathon.

Here is a video of Summaniti's finish (as well as the men's finish) from KTLA 5 TV.

Samunnati hails from Ukraine and is the fastest female runner in the international Sri Chinmoy Centres. Earlier this year she won the women's Dublin Marathon. She has also frequently participated in the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run - the world's largest peace torch relay - and has toured Australia and Europe with the international team.

For more on the marathon visit the official L.A. Marathon site.

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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.

Photos: Yiannis Kouros after his 1000 mile world record in 1998, with Sandra Barwick and Michel Careau. 1000km and 5000km record holder Surasa Mairer; 5000km record holder Ashprihanal Aalto.

The top performances in each distances are shown below; the full lists are available via PDF download. With thanks to Andy Milroy from the IAU

5000km

Men

Time	Runner	Country	DOB	Race pos.	Place	Date
40:12:30:26	Ashprihanal Aalto	FIN	27.08.70	1	New York	14 Jun/24 July 2015
41:10:15:48	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER	20.07.55	1	New York	11 Jun/22 July 2006
42:15:45:29	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER		1	New York	16 Jun/28 Jul 2002
43:01:52:17	Galya V. Balatskyy	UKR	21.07.72	2	New York	14 Jun/27 July 2015

Women

49:10:39:01	Surasa Paula Mairer	06.03.59	1	New York	14 Jun/02 Aug 2015
49:16:50:45	Suprabha Beckjord	21.02.56	1	New York	13 Jun/01 Aug 1998
50:06:42:43	Sarah Barnett		1	New York	15 Jun/03 Aug 2014
50:08:25:28	Surasa Paula Mairer	19.19.75	1	New York	16 Jun/05 Aug 2013
51:13:38:31	Nidhruvi G Zimmerman		2	New York	16 Jun/06 Aug 2013

3000 miles (Road loop split)

Men

39:04:39:10	Ashprihanal Aalto	FIN	27.08.70	1	New York	14 Jun/23 Jul 15
40:03:21:31	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER	20.07.55	1	New York	11 Jun/21 Jul 06
41:05:40:30	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER		1	New York	16 Jun/27 Jul 02
41:11:05:23	Galya V Balatskyi	UKR	21.07.72	2	New York	14 Jun/25 Jul 15
41:17:07:47	Ashprihanal Aalto	FIN		1	New York	17 Jun/28 Jul 07

Women

47:16:33:18	Surasa Mairer	AUT	06.03.59	1	New York	14 Jun/31 Jul 15
48:04:03:14	Suprabha Beckjord	USA	21.02.56	1	New York	13 Jun/01 Aug 98
48:09:13:25	Suprabha Beckjord	USA		1	New York	12 Jun/31 Jul 97
48:10:47:11	Sarah Barnett	AUS	19.19.75	1	New York	15 Jun/02 Aug 14
48:14:00:37	Surasa Mairer	AUT		1	New York	16 Jun/03 Aug 13

4000 km

Men

32:06:35:55	Ashprihanal Aalto	FIN	27.08.70	1	New York	14 Jun/16 Jul 2015
32:14:15:33	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER	28.07.55	1	New York	11 Jun/13 Jul 2006
33:17:28:24	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER	28.07.55	1	New York	16 Jun/19 Jul 2002
34:06:03:58	Ashprihanal Aalto	FIN		3	New York	12 Jun/16 Jul 2011
34:07:40:52	Galya V Balatskyy	UKR	21.07.72	2	New York	14 Jun/18 Jul 2015
34:14:29:41	Grahak Cunningham	AUS	21.05.77	1	New York	17 Jun/21 Jul 2012

Women

39:12:59:30	Suprabha Beckjord	USA	21.02.56	1		13 Jun/22 Jul 1998
39:13:14:07	Suprabha Beckjord	USA		1	New York	13 Jun/22 Jul 1996
39:15:18:05	Surasa Paula Mairer	AUT	06.03.59	1	New York	14 Jun/23 Jul 2015
40:00:33:39	Sarah Barnett	AUS	19.10.75	3	New York	15 Jun/25 Jul 2014
40:02:58:55	Suprabha Beckjord	USA		1	New York	12 Jun/22 Jul 1997

2000 miles (road only)

Men

26:00:35:45	Ashprihanal Aalto	FIN	27.08.70	1	New York	14 Jun/10 Jul 15
26:06:33:50	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER	28.07.55	1	New York	11 Jun/07 Jul 06
27:02:16:18	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER		1	New York	16 Jun/13 Jul 02
27:08:07:59	Ashprihanal Aalto	FIN		1	New York	14 Jun/11 Jul 09
27:11:44:13	Galya V Balatskyy	UKR	21.07.72	2	New York	14 Jun/11 Jul 15

Women

4w 4d 1h 6m 32s	Suprabha Beckjord	USA	21.02.56	1	New York	20 Jun/22 Jul 99
32:01:22:40	Suprabha Beckjord	USA	1		New York	13 Jun/15 Jul 96
32:03:12:15	Surasa Mairer	AUT	06.03.59	1	New York	14 Jun/16 Jul 15
32:03:46:38	Suprabha Beckjord	USA		1	New York	12 Jun/14 Jul 97
32:04:33:37	Sarah Barnett	AUS	19.19.75	1	New York	15 Jun/17 Jul 14

3000km (Road Only)

Men

24:04:06:04	Ashprihanal Aalto	FIN	27.08.70	1	New York	14 Jun/08 Jul 15
24:11:27:20	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER	28.07.55	1	New York	11 Jun/05 Jul 06
25:05:40:13	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER		1	New York	16 Jun/11 Jul 02
25:09:03:58	Ashprihanal Aalto	FIN		1	New York	14 Jun/09 Jul 09
25:13:33:08	Galya V Balatskyi	UKR	21.07.72	2	New York	14 Jun/09 Jul 15

Women

29:11:01:39	Suprabha Beckjord	USA	21.02.56	1	New York	13 Jun/12 Jul 98
29:14:10:10	Suprabha Beckjord	USA		1	New York	20 Jun/19 Jul 99
29:22:52:25	Suprabha Beckjord	USA		1	New York	13 Jun/12 Jul 96
30:00:21:34	Sarah Barnett	AUS	19.19.75	1	New York	15 Jun/15 Jul 14
30:01:03:19	Suprabha Beckjord	USA		1	New York	12 Jun/12 Jul 97

2000km

Men - road

15:10:06:02	Rimas Jakelaitis	LTH	14.04.55	1	New York	5/20 Sep 00
15:17:30:21	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER	28.07.55	1	New York	11 Jun/26 Jun 06
15:23:08:04	Istvan Sipos	HUN	28.05.59	1	New York	16 Sep/2 Oct 93
15:23:46:19	Al Howie	GBR	16.09.45	1	New York	16 Oct/2 Nov 91
16:00:31:50	George Jermolajevs	LAT	17.11.42	1	New York	11/28 Sep 95

Women -Track

19:20:26:07

Silvia Andonie

MEX

7.10.55

Monterrey

1/20 Mar 97

Women - Road

17:03:01:12	Sandra Barwick	NZL	27.02.49	1	New York	15 Sep/2 Oct 91
17:03:51:24	Surasa Mairer	AUT	06.03.59	1	New York	04/21 Sep 01
17:22:22:28	Martina Hausmann	GER	13.01.60	2	New York	04/13 Sep 01
18:00:30:42	Antana Locs	CAN	3.10.58	1	New York	12 Sep/1 Oct 94
18:00:58:22	Antana Locs	CAN		2	New York	15 Sep/2 Oct 91

1000 miles

Men - Road

10:10:30:36	Yiannis Kouros	GRE	13.02.56	1	New York	20/30 May 1988
11:20:36:50	Stu Mittleman	USA	12.05.51	1	New York	26 Ap/08 May 1986
11:23:07:21	Rimas Jakelaitis	LIT	14.04.55	1	New York	05/17 Sep 2000
11:23:18:32	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER	28.07.55	1	Athens	15/27 Apr 2010
12:01:25:47	Georgs Jermolajevs	LAT	17.11.42	1	New York	11/23 Sep 1997

Men - Track

11:13:54:58	Piotr Silkinas	LIT	06.08.41	1	Nanango	11/22 Mar 1998
11:23:31:44	Bryan Smith	AUS	26.10.43	2	Nanango	11/22 Mar 1998
12:04:06:02	Piotr Silkinas		06.08.41	1	Odessa	04/17 Oct 1997
12:11:32:33	Vladimir Glazkov	RUS	13.10.38	3	Nanango	11/22 Mar 1998
12:13:32:41	Vladimir Glazkov	RUS	13.10.38	1	Odessa	05/18 Oct 1996

Women - Track

13:02:16:49	Eleanor Robinson	GBR	20.11.47	1	Nanango	11/24 Mar 1998
14:10:27:21	Sandra Brown	GBR	01.04.49	1	Nanango	13/28 Mar 1996
14:22:22:42	Martina Hausmann	GER	13.01.60	1	Nanango	15/29 Mar 2000
15:15:38:19	Silvia Andonie	MEX	07.10.55	1	Monterrey	01/16 Mar 1997
15:21:36:13	Martina Hausmann	GER	13.01.60	1	Odessa	04/19 Oct 1997

Women - Road

12:14:38:40	Sandra Barwick	NZL	27.02.49	1	New York	15/28 Sep 1991
13:17:49:52	Surasa Paula Mairer	AUT	06.02.59	1	New York	04/18 Sep 2001
13:20:18:24	Dipali Cunningham	AUS/GBR	27.08.58	1	New York	10/24 Sep 1997
13:23:18:32	Antana Locs	CAN	03.10.58	2	New York	15/29 Sep 1991
14:00:51:24	Sandra Barwick		27.02.49	1	New York	16/30 Sep 1992

1500 km

Men - Road

9:14:30:44	Yiannis Kouros	GRE	13.02.56	1	New York	20/30 May 1988
10:23:58:46	Stu Mittleman	USA	12.05.51	1	New York	26 Apr/l0 May 1986
11:05:19:47	Al Howie	GBR	16.09.45	1	New York	16/27 Oct 1991
11:06:39:20	Rimas Jakelaitis	LIT	14.04.55	1	New York	05/16 Sep 2000
11:09:23:13	Georgs Jermolajevs LAT		17.11.42	1	New York	11/22 Sep 1997
11:21:38:13	Georg Jermolajevs	LAT	17.11.41	1	New York	11/23 Sep 1995

Men - Track

10:17:28:26	Piotr Silkinas	LIT	06.08.41	1	Nanango	11/22 Mar 1998
11:00:30:06	Bryan Smith	AUS	26.10.43	2	Nanango	11/22 Mar 1998
11:08:09:30	Piotr Silkinas	LIT	06.08.41	1	Odessa	04/17 Oct 1997
11:21:02:29	Alfredo Uria	ESP	16.02.39	1	Baracaldo	15/28 Sep 1996
11:23:04:03	Gary Parsons	AUS	23.12.49	1	Nanango	13/27 Mar 1996

Women - Road

11:16:51:33	Sandra Barwick	NZL	27.02.49	1	New York	15/26 Sep 1991
12:19:00:10	Surasa Mairer	AUT	06.03.59	1	New York	04/17 Sep 2001
13:01:42:20	C.D Cunningham	AUS/GBR	27.08.58	1	New York	08/22 Sep 1997
13:02:06:17	Antana Locs	CAN	03.10.58	2	New York	15/28 Oct 1991
13:05:26:27	Martina Hausmann	GER	13.01.60	1	New York	10/23 Sep 2002

Women - Track

12:06:52:12	Eleanor Robinson	GBR	20.11.47	1	Nanango	11/24 Mar 1998
13:10:29:48	Sandra Brown	GBR	01.04.49	1	Nanango	13/28 Mar 1996
14:12:07:05	Silvia Andonie	MEX	07.10.55	1	Monterrey	01/16 Mar 1997
14:21:45:15	Martina Hausmann	GER	13.01.60	1	Odessa	04/19 Oct 1997

1000 km

Men - Track

5:16:17:00	Yiannis Kouros	GRE	13.02.56	1	Colac	26 Nov/02 Dec 1984
5:17:26:38	Yiannis Kouros	AUS/GRE	13.02.56	1	Colac	20/26 Nov 2005
5:21:02:30	Yiannis Kouros	GRE	13.02.56	1	New York	02/8 Jul 1984
5:22:46:09	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER	28.07.55	1	Erkrath	01/7 Jul 2007
5:23:52:23	Brian Smith	AUS	26.10.43	1	Colac	13/19 Nov 1989

Men - indoor

5:18:39:55	Jean-Gilles Boussiquet	FRA	26.07.44	1	La Rochelle	16/23 Nov 1992
5:23:32:58	Gilbert Mainix	FRA	08.06.35	2	La Rochelle	16/23 Nov 1992

Men - Road

5:20:13:40	Yiannis Kouros	GRE	13.02.56	1	New York	20/26 May 1988
6:06:45:10	Rimas Jakelaitis	LIT	14.04.55	1	New York	25 Apr/01 May 2001
6:12:24:00	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER	28.07.55	1	Athens	31Mar/06 Apr 2007
6:23:10:30	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER		1	New York	26 Apr/03 May 2008
6:23:32:00	Wolfgang Schwerk	GER		1	Athens	15/22 Apr 2010

Women - Track

8:00:39:20	Eleanor Robinson	GBR	20.11.47	1	Nanango	11/18 Mar 1998
8:00:27.06	Eleanor Robinson	GBR	20.11.47	1	Nanango	11/18 Mar 1998
8:11:06:06	Martina Hausmann	GER	13.01.60	1	Nanango	15/29 Mar 2000
8:12:06:20	Sandra Brown	GBR	01.04.49	1	Nanango	13/21 Mar 1996
8:13:46:35	Silvia Andonie	MEX	07.10.55	1	Monterray	01/10 Mar 1997

Women - Road

7:16:08:37	Surasa Paula Mairer	AUT	06.03.59	1	New York	29 Sep/06 Oct 2002
7:16:11:00	Sandra Barwick	NZL	27.02.49	1	New York	15/22 Oct 1991
7:18:07:34	Sandra Barwick	NZL	27.02.49	1	New York	16/24 Sep 1992
8:08:03:55	Surasa Mairer	AUT	06.03.59	1	New York	04/12 Sep 2001
8:09:20:52	Antana Locs	CAN	03.10.58	2	New York	15/23 Oct 1991

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About the author:

The Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100-Mile Race was highlighted as one of '5 extremely extreme races' in the December 2015 issue of British Airways' 'High Life' inflight magazine.

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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.

Nirbhasa Magee from Ireland recently finished the 3100 mile Self-Transcendence Race on his first attempt. He became the first Irishman to finish the world's longest certified race - a unique race founded by spiritual Teacher Sri Chinmoy as one of the ultimate tests of physical, mental and spiritual self-transcendence. Nirbhasa recently spoke to the Daily Telegraph about what it takes to finish the race within the 52 day time limit, about using up 11 pairs of shoes, and whether he will go back and do the race again.

"If you possess a low pain threshold, get bored easily and need more than four hours' sleep a night, the 3100 Mile Race is probably not for you." Read more on the Daily Telegraph website »

The following video, made by Utpal Marshall, shows a short interview with Nirbhasa on the last day of the race, where he remains in a cheerful and positive frame of mind, despite the accumulation of deep fatigue by this point.The video is taken on this final day - hence Nirbhasa pretending to sprint out of the blocks.

Before entering the 3100 mile Self-Transcendence race, Nirbhasa had some experience in running multidays. He has finished two 10 day races, including an impressive 702 miles in the 2014 Ten Day Race. This performance indicated long-distance running capacity. However, nothing can really prepare a runner for the ordeal of completing the 3100 mile Race. To complete the race requires an average of just under 60 miles for 52 consecutive days. The remarkable thing about Nirbhasa's race was that he finished on the last day, with just a few hours spare. It was so close, that in the last few weeks, every minute became precious as he eked out mile after mile.

Some other articles about Nirbhasa and the 3100 Mile Race:

Irish Examiner - Meath man finishes world's longest race
Interview with the Irish Voice, the leading paper for the Irish diaspora in America
The Path to Self Transcendence begins with 3100 Miles, by Outside Magazine

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About the author:

The 7th Annual Sri Chinmoy Heart-Garden Celebration included a celebrity walk, and a 2-mile race. Over 100 hundred runners from over 25 different countries participated in the 2-mile race. The celebrity walk included several past olympians, local and state politians and park officials. (All photos by Bhashwar)

To return to The Sri Chinmoy Heart-Garden Home Page

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Third fastest legs in the world

I wrote earlier about the marathon career of my father (http://www.stutisheel.org/press/my-father-the-marathon-runner/). I wanted to share an update, as the last two years have been particularly bright in his sport life.

Following his principle, my father always selects one significant race to start the year, training for it and performing at his maximum. At other times, he occasionally participates in various short races – varying from 5 to 21 km in length.

In 2014, he chose the marathon at the European Masters Games in Turkey (age category 70- 74). As usual, he trained hardest in the last month before the race, running up to 155 km per week. Previously, my father’s only supplement was a multivitamin. Recently, however, I was able to introduce some useful supplements into his diet to help him recover faster after his runs. I tested out all these supplements at my 3100-mile race performances.

When my father arrived in Izmir, Turkey, a few days before the start of the race, he was stricken by the heat - 36 degrees Celsius. He was not prepared for that and I had no time to figure out a way to help him cope with it. According to the story my father told me after the race, the marathon went pretty well up to 35 km, when due to the great heat and dehydration, he started having cramps. He tried to cope with them by pricks of pins, which he salvaged from around his bib number … One cramp was pretty severe just in sight of the finish line… Can you imagine: you see the finish line but can hardly move! He managed to finish and overtook the second runner by 90 seconds. At the age of 73 my father, Dmytro Lebedev, became European champion with a time of 3:40:22.

2015. World Masters Athletics Championship in Lyon, France.

I convinced my father to pay more attention to his heart rate during training and competition, so he bought a Garmin watch. By uploading his workouts to the internet he also gave me the opportunity to adjust the volume of his running and his nutrition regime. In previous years, he had counted the workout time based on the given distance and the approximate pace. Now the watch was measuring the distance and pace, and it turned out that he was running slower than he thought. As a result of the watch he was able to adjust his pace and run about 530 km in the last month of preparation.

As the weather was hot in Lyon, we decided to make a special drink for the marathon, which contained salt, minerals and other components to support performance in the extreme heat. But on the day of the start, the temperature decreased to 23C, and weather conditions were pretty good for the race. My father finished third in his age group M70-74 with a time of 3:25:39. As he joked later - the third fastest legs in the world.

When he came to New York last August and we all met together it was especially touching to see how he inspires and encourages his granddaughter Alakananda in training for her first marathon.

Photos:

1. Three generations: Dmytro Lebedev, Stutisheel, Alakananda. After 2 mile race, New York City.

2. Finishing Lyon Marathon

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About the author:

Brett Wilkins from DigitalJournal.com profiles Marathon Team founder Sri Chinmoy:

screen_shot_2015-09-02_at_3.24.15_pm.png "Meditation has long been associated with spiritual awakening and deep relaxation, but we uncover the roots of a particular mode of meditation launched by Sri Chinmoy, an Indian spiritual guru whose meditative theories extended into the athletic world....These days, there is a lot of buzz around meditation and how it can improve a practitioner's quality of life. As mindfulness and other meditation-based practices have gone mainstream throughout the Western world, the meditative arts have crossed over from the realm of spirituality into countless other areas, including sports and physical fitness."

Read the full article on digitaljournal.com »

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About the author:

Ashprihanal Aalto 3100 Mile world record holder

Alison Mann from RedBull.com interviewed new 3100 Mile Race world record holder Asprihanal Aalto:

screen_shot_2015-09-02_at_2.27.11_pm.png "Imagine running 3,100 miles — that’s New York to San Francisco with a few miles to spare. It’s a long way, but perhaps it's made bearable by the varied scenery captured along the way, right? But what if you ran that distance by completing 5,649 laps of the same 0.55-mile route in Queens, New York, running for 18 hours a day? That’s what Ashprihanal Aalto just did, and he managed it in a record-breaking 40 days, 9 hours, 6 minutes and 21 seconds. Oh, and did we mention that this is the eighth time he’s won the event, known as the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race? That’s a lot of running around the block! We spoke to him to find out what drives a man to go to such lengths."...