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.
1,000-mile stories and stats
Late on Saturday afternoon, Andrea Marcato became the first runner in this year's Sri Chinmoy 3,100 Mile Race to reach 1,000 miles.
It was the seventh time he has reached this milestone, and his third fastest. His previous efforts are listed below. He has started this year's race well, sustaining a daily average of over 73 miles across the first thirteen days.
Andrea Marcato — 1,000-mile time comparison
| Date | Time | Av. daily mileage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20.10.2024 | 13 days, 3:02:08 | 76.2 |
| 2 | 20.10.2023 | 13 days, 7:12:25 | 75.2 |
| 3 | 12.09.2026 | 13 days, 10:41:52 | 74.4 |
| 4 | 25.10.2022 | 13 days, 16:41:00 | 73.0 |
| 5 | 13.09.2025 | 14 days, 1:29:42 | 71.1 |
| 6 | 26.09.2021 | 14 days, 5:09:21 | 70.3 |
| 7 | 03.11.2020 | 14 days, 5:20:20 | 70.3 |
The fastest 1,000-mile split ever recorded in the Sri Chinmoy 3,100 Mile Race belongs to Madhupran Wolfgang Schwerk, who passed the mark in 12 days, 15 hrs, 56 min, 40 sec in 2006 — the year he set a new 3,100-mile record of 41 days, 8 hrs, 16 min, 29 sec.
Ashprihanal Aalto ran it slightly slower, clocking 12 days, 17 hrs, 19 min, 40 sec on his way to the current 3,100-mile record of 40 days, 9 hrs, 6 min, 21 sec in 2015.
For the women, Taiwanese athlete Tsai Wen-ya set the fastest 1,000-mile split in the 3,100 in 2023, in 14 days, 8 hrs, 8 min, 8 sec.
As for the overall 1,000-mile road record, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team has led the way in creating opportunities to attempt it. The legendary Greek runner Yiannis Kouros holds the best recorded time for the distance, a phenomenal 10 days, 10 hrs, 30 min, 36 sec, set in the Sri Chinmoy 1,000 Mile Race in Flushing Meadows Park, New York, in 1988 — an event that doubled as that year's IAU World Championship.
Three years later, New Zealand's Sandy Barwick recorded the best-ever women's 1,000-mile time of 12 days, 14 hrs, 38 min, 40 sec. Remarkably, it came as a split during the 1991 Sri Chinmoy 1,300 Mile Race, which she went on to win outright, becoming the first woman to complete the distance.
Most recorded 1,000-mile times on certified courses have come in races organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in New York. The 1,000-mile races, along with the 1,300-mile and 2,700-mile events, were the precursors of what is now the 3,100 Mile Race.
Over the next few days, we will welcome others over the 1,000-mile threshold.
DAILY MILESTONES (all TBC)
- Andrea Marcato — 1,600 km in 13 days, 9 hrs, 9 min, 48 sec, and 1,000 miles in 13 days, 10 hrs, 41 min, 52 sec
- Radu Budan — 900 miles in 13 days, 3 hrs, 17 min, 36 sec, and 1,500 km in 13 days, 11 hrs, 38 min, 40 sec
- Annabel Hepworth — 1,400 km in 13 days, 7 hrs, 29 min, 45 sec, and 900 miles in 13 days, 15 hrs, 34 min, 48 sec
- Wei Ming Lo — 1,400 km in 13 days, 11 hrs, 50 min, 46 sec
- Vasu Duzhiy — 1,400 km in 13 days, 11 hrs, 37 min, 16 sec
- Stutisheel Lebedev — 700 miles in 13 days, 3 hrs, 26 min, 1 sec
- Ananda-Lahari Zuscin — 700 miles in 13 days, 10 hrs, 29 min, 6 sec
DAILY STATS
- Andrea Marcato reached 1,000 miles early this afternoon and returned to 70-mile days, recording 70.7 miles and finishing on a cumulative total of 1,028.7 miles.
- Radu Budan replicated yesterday with 65.8 miles, taking him to a cumulative total of 952.0 miles. He should reach 1,000 miles around sunset tomorrow.
- Annabel Hepworth went through 900 miles early in the evening and closed out the day with her best total since day 1, recording 65.2 miles for a cumulative 903.7 miles.
- Vasu Duzhiy went back above 60 miles today, clocking 62.5. His cumulative total is now 885.1 miles.
- Nina Huang-Lan finished the day with 44.4 miles, improving her total to 797.9 miles, and is set to go through 800 tomorrow.
- Stutisheel Lebedev finished with 39.4 miles for a cumulative 726.5 miles.
- Ananda-Lahari Zuscin, with a 44.9-mile day, improved his total to 717.7 miles.
"Self-competition is self-transcendence,
World competition is ignorance-performance."
— Sri Chinmoy
Follow the race
- Sri Chinmoy Ultra Photo 2026
- 3100 Mile US Gallery 2026 - Arpan's Galleries
- Perfection Journey - 3100 Mile Race 2026
- Runner interviews SCMT
The race has its own in-house messaging system, and friends — and even unknown admirers — can send messages through the race website. One of the long-time joint race directors, Sahisnu, receives them all. It falls to him to print them off as they arrive and bring them down to the course for the intended recipients.
One side of the rectangular course around Thomas Edison High School and its playing fields runs alongside the Grand Central Parkway, a busy highway carrying commuters and residents to and from Long Island.
How they feel at that point can dictate whether they stay on their current cruise control or raise the pace, almost imperceptibly, to eke out an extra lap or three in the evening session before going home at a time of their choosing.
Annabel started the Sri Chinmoy 3,100 Mile Race in 2024 but had to withdraw on medical advice, with a bad foot problem, shortly after reaching 2,000 miles.
Today I watched Nayaja and her helper Roxanna take five minutes at a "pit stop" to care for her feet. It looked like a well-drilled operation, every task carried out in order and with precision.
Many runners brought out their neck bandanas and added ice to them before wrapping them around their necks. Small bags of ice were also provided to put under caps.
Runners in the 3,100, especially in the early days, don't obsess too much about milestones. Three hundred miles, in the scheme of things, is not such a big deal. As the race progresses, however, major milestones such as 1,000 kilometres, 1,000 miles and beyond do become a focus and can provide a small psychological boost.
At around 7.30 on Wednesday evening, Stutisheel, who lies 9th in the field of nine runners, ran through the 200-mile barrier. A few minutes later, race leader Andrea Marcato breezed through 300 miles. The interesting statistic here is that already, on day 4, there are 100 miles between first and last place. Who knows how the race will unfold, or what gap will eventually separate first from last? Usually it is a matter of several days.
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