The race leader Andrea Marcato is on course for his sixth consecutive win in the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. He is expected to finish late evening of Wed 15th (roughly between 9.30pm - 10pm). It will be a record for the most consecutive 1st places (Men) and is a real testament to his consistency and determination. Mr consistent Mahasatya Janczak managed another 65.3 miles. Vasu Duzhiy also managed exactly the same mileage as the previous day 64.7 miles.
The "Hardest Ultra Marathon"
For the initial three weeks of the race, Geng Lugong averaged approximately 64 miles a day. Running comfortably above the required 59.2 miles to complete the race distance. However, as we entered the 5th week, Lugong weakened because of fatigue, stiffness, flu - and what for him is an unusual western diet. HisdDaily mileage slipped below sixty to 55-58 miles a day.
Enter a local expat Taiwanese Mandarin-speaking ophthalmologist named Alex. After a worried call from Geng Lucong's helper, Alex agreed to cut short his vacation in Hawaii to come to New York and provide all kinds of physical, mental and spiritual support. As of day 46, Geng Lucong can finish, but it will go down to the wire.
In this video, Geng also talks about the real inspiration he receives from the words of Sri Chinmoy, the founder of the 3100 Mile Race.
Day 46 - Perfection Journey
More photos at Perfection Journey
Chasing the cut-offs
As race leader Andrea Marcato looks all set to finish on day 47 of the Sri Chinmoy 3,100 mile race, others are chasing the cut-offs to be able to finish in the 52 day time limit.
Mahasatya Janczak, in a recent interview, highlighted how, as the race goes on, one can become stronger, and one can also become weaker. Mahatsatya is a shining example of how a runner can become stronger as the race progresses. He has topped the daily mileage chart several days in the last 2 weeks.
Lu-cong is running his first 3,100-mile race. He has already surpassed his previous distance covered in a single event, but has certainly had issues in the last 2 weeks. After the excitement of day one, when everyone runs far more miles than they really need to, he settled into a regular mileage of comfortably over 60 miles a day. All seemed to be going well. Then, going into Week 5, on day 31, he suddenly dipped below 60 miles (due to a combination of bad stomach, flu and tiredness) The sustained effort of the event is subtly taking its toll. Since then, he has remained locked into a daily mileage in the mid-fifties of around 54/55 miles a day, below the 59.6 daily average but still enough to hopefully finish. Thankfully, in those first 5 weeks, he had built up a cushion to allow for a few “off-days.”
Lu-Cong, like all the 3,100-mile runners, is full of resilience and has found the inner determination to keep putting the miles in every day, while physically battling the cumulative fatigue a race like this naturally embodies.
At the close of day 46, he has 316.3 miles to cover in the 6 remaining days. An average of 52.7 miles a day. Watching the days go by and getting accustomed to all the 3,100 runners logging up around 60 miles a day, day after day, you could be forgiven for thinking running 52 miles a day is a piece of cake,
Then again, perspective is often needed. Ask yourself, “When did you last run 50/60 miles in a day, and how did you feel afterwards?” Could you have come back to do the same the next day….and the next day for another 46 days?
Logic and reason say that with the cushion he has, he will finish, quite possibly along with Daniela, late into the final day of the race on Day 52. However, none of the 3,100-mile runners take things for granted, as who knows what they may find around the next corner…..
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