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.

Visit Perfection-Journey for great stories, photos and videos of the race.

The final race standings are here.

Our stats page has more in-depth results

Thanks for your interest!

Photos from Prabhakar

2016 Ten Day Race: Final - Men

		Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7	Day 8	Day 9	Day 10
Men
1	Kobi Oren	112	200	273	352	427	495	566	631	690	755
	day total	112	88	73	79	75	68	71	65	59	65
2	Ed Ettinghausen	110	181	255	312	386	463	532	590	660	717
	day total	110	71	74	57	74	77	69	58	70	57
3	Soren Raarup	85	135	201	257	345	426	488	553	624	693
	day total	85	50	66	56	88	81	62	65	71	69
4	Volodymyr Hlushchuk	77	147	212	263	319	384	444	509	577	643
	day total	77	70	65	51	56	65	60	65	68	66
5	Andrey Andreev	72	133	196	258	310	373	426	489	553	628
	day total	72	61	63	62	52	63	53	63	64	75
6	Sergey Kuzmin	70	132	190	256	320	381	432	483	553	627
	day total	70	62	58	66	64	61	51	51	70	74
7	Achim Heukemes	101	170	233	300	364	413	452	500	553	613
	day total	101	69	63	67	64	49	39	48	53	60
8	Oleksandr Kharko	72	136	196	255	315	372	431	485	545	612
	day total	72	64	60	59	60	57	59	54	60	67
9	Budjargal Byambaa	90	147	205	263	305	360	411	483	526	601
	day total	90	57	58	58	42	55	51	72	43	75
10	Ananda-Lahari Zuscin	82	157	204	277	350	394	438	482	533	585
	day total	82	75	47	73	73	44	44	44	51	52
11	Mahasatya Janczak	71	131	182	235	287	347	403	458	510	574
	day total	71	60	51	53	52	60	56	55	52	64
12	Sergei Komelkov	72	127	176	227	280	335	386	447	502	565
	day total	72	55	49	51	53	55	51	61	55	63
13	Sergey Leshchenko	80	140	200	241	300	360	394	447	500	555
	day total	80	60	60	41	59	60	34	53	53	55
14	Ushika Muckenhumer	70	125	176	228	286	340	393	450	504	552
	day total	70	55	51	52	58	54	53	57	54	48
15	Ales Pliva	75	137	189	240	289	330	368	418	470	534
	day total	75	62	52	51	49	41	38	50	52	64
16	Mikhail Vasilchenko	66	117	168	220	269	317	364	416	462	532
	day total	66	51	51	52	49	48	47	52	46	70
17	Michel Gouin	62	114	164	213	262	311	360	404	454	509
	day total	62	52	50	49	49	49	49	44	50	55
18	Kalpa Lazarev	71	122	177	220	261	302	341	387	426	468
	day total	71	51	55	43	41	41	39	46	39	42
19	Predrag Knezevic	66	117	167	214	264	312	356	391	425	457
	day total	66	51	50	47	50	48	44	35	34	32
20	Karteek Clarke	60	106	151	193	236	278	320	363	403	453
	day total	60	46	45	42	43	42	42	43	40	50
21	Andrei Somov	61	107	148	189	230	271	312	352	393	437
	day total	61	46	41	41	41	41	41	40	41	44
22	Janos Derekas	70	120	160	200	241	279	321	361	397	435
	day total	70	50	40	40	41	38	42	40	36	38
23	Deveshu Zuderell	64	107	148	192	233	272	305	347	387	429
	day total	64	43	41	44	41	39	33	42	40	42
24	Michael Korol	81	132	184	229	273	307	320	362	414	424
	day total	81	51	52	45	44	34	13	42	52	10
25	Sandro Zincarini	63	108	145	177	218	253	289	331	373	409
	day total	63	45	37	32	41	35	36	42	42	36
26	Kumar Limbu	76	111	135	160	200	222	246	317	353	404
	day total	76	35	24	25	40	22	24	71	36	51
27	Georgs Jermolajevs	77	125	164	186	233	272	296	331	355	400
	day total	77	48	39	22	47	39	24	35	24	45
28	Patanga Cordeiro	65	112	155	184	224	260	295	322	359	395
	day total	65	47	43	29	40	36	35	27	37	36
29	Richard Takata	63	115	168	204	235	261	288	311	343	393
	day total	63	52	53	36	31	26	27	23	32	50
30	Viktor Dodunov	57	93	142	153	193	236	261	307	340	370
	day total	57	36	49	11	40	43	25	46	33	30
31	Frederick Davis III	72	122	142	142	142	142	142	142	142	142
	day total	72	50	20	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

2016 Ten Day Race: Final - Women

		Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7	Day 8	Day 9	Day 10
Women
1	Sarah Barnett	90	151	213	278	347	409	487	550	607	672
	day total	90	61	62	65	69	62	78	63	57	65
2	Yolanda Holder	77	142	205	262	319	379	440	501	560	622
	day total	77	65	63	57	57	60	61	61	59	62
3	Manoshri Sykorova	84	150	215	274	339	404	442	494	552	609
	day total	84	66	65	59	65	65	38	52	58	57
4	Nataliya Hlushchuk	80	141	201	258	319	378	435	490	541	596
	day total	80	61	60	57	61	59	57	55	51	55
5	Gautami Sykorova	76	141	206	261	327	387	418	461	518	583
	day total	76	65	65	55	66	60	31	43	57	65
6	Vinati Docziova	61	124	178	232	286	341	393	446	502	568
	day total	61	63	54	54	54	55	52	53	56	66
7	Oyungerel Seded	74	131	183	226	279	330	379	433	482	524
	day total	74	57	52	43	53	51	49	54	49	42
8	Elena Kareva	72	129	181	231	280	329	381	432	477	522
	day total	72	57	52	50	49	49	52	51	45	45
9	Gudrun Freier	65	117	167	215	262	311	361	409	457	507
	day total	65	52	50	48	47	49	50	48	48	50
10	Kimberley Van Delst	81	141	191	232	272	311	356	398	442	501
	day total	81	60	50	41	40	39	45	42	44	59
11	Karnayati Morison	62	110	157	206	251	295	338	375	420	469
	day total	62	48	47	49	45	44	43	37	45	49
12	Ratuja Zub	60	115	165	215	257	298	350	395	425	467
	day total	60	55	50	50	42	41	52	45	30	42
13	Suparna Pustogowa	62	111	159	203	248	287	330	367	410	456
	day total	62	49	48	44	45	39	43	37	43	46
14	Giribhu Muhs	72	120	153	196	242	274	321	361	403	448
	day total	72	48	33	43	46	32	47	40	42	45
15	Yashasvati Plyavinskaya	55	105	150	193	245	286	322	366	402	447
	day total	55	50	45	43	52	41	36	44	36	45
16	Vasuprada Funk	63	111	132	150	169	185	201	219	233	258
	day total	63	48	21	18	19	16	16	18	14	25

2016 Six Day Race: Final - Men

	Name	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6
1	Aidas Ardzijauskas	105	186	265	350	439	517
	day total	105	81	79	85	89	78
2	Johnny Hallneby	87	174	261	348	415	490
	day total	87	87	87	87	67	75
3	John Geesler	96	167	234	294	363	426
	day total	96	71	67	60	69	63
4	Milan Javornicky	78	139	196	247	308	378
	day total	78	61	57	51	61	70
5	Priyavadin Reisecker	70	132	192	252	312	373
	day total	70	62	60	60	60	61
6	Wai Law	88	149	204	259	315	373
	day total	88	61	55	55	56	58
7	David Luljack	76	141	202	259	322	360
	day total	76	65	61	57	63	38
8	Arun Bhardwaj	81	147	191	234	276	340
	day total	81	66	44	43	42	64
9	Mark Dorion	79	131	186	220	273	331
	day total	79	52	55	34	53	58
10	Rimas Jakelaitis	75	110	185	211	257	320
	day total	75	35	75	26	46	63
11	Hoskuldur Kristvinsson	82	137	177	215	257	314
	day total	82	55	40	38	42	57
12	Roger Martel	68	116	169	201	242	278
	day total	68	48	53	32	41	36
13	Odgiiv Jadambaa	50	100	150	178	221	266
	day total	50	50	50	28	43	45
14	Marius Lacasse	48	84	115	147	177	206
	day total	48	36	31	32	30	29
15	Joe Cleary	62	111	151	151	151	151
	day total	62	49	40	0	0	0

2016 Six Day Race: Final - Women

	Name	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6
Women
1	Vikena Yutz	85	143	200	253	313	375
	day total	85	58	57	53	60	62
2	Susan Marshall	63	114	163	214	266	323
	day total	63	51	49	51	52	57
3	Gundega Gaile	66	117	165	214	263	315
	day total	66	51	48	49	49	52
4	Anna Eliseeva	61	115	159	206	244	292
	day total	61	54	44	47	38	48
5	Mattali Stebneva	55	101	149	192	240	285
	day total	55	46	48	43	48	45
6	Pushparani Piner	66	113	155	198	234	275
	day total	66	47	42	43	36	41
7	Tatiana Arnst	59	95	135	175	215	268
	day total	59	36	40	40	40	53
8	Erlinda Biondic	52	95	138	179	220	266
	day total	52	43	43	41	41	46
9	Anna Khimchinskaia	57	101	142	182	216	266
	day total	57	44	41	40	34	50
10	Lyalya Faerman	57	102	146	190	221	265
	day total	57	45	44	44	31	44
11	Albena Margaritova	50	84	117	156	193	228
	day total	50	34	33	39	37	35
12	Pratishruti Khisamutdinova	54	90	133	177	218	224
	day total	54	36	43	44	41	6
13	Avanayaha Tsendee	45	81	113	145	175	210
	day total	45	36	32	32	30	35
14	Sumiya Lundeg	5	5	5	5	5	5
	day total	5	0	0	0	0	0

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...

Books you might find interesting

Guru Marathon Sri Chinmoy

A life and teachings on meditation and athletics

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

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).

Race Director's updates

Eighteen hours await the 21st running of the Sri Chinmoy Ten Day Race, one of our premier events. 47 athletes have arrived from many countries to take part in this unique event, one of the longest running competitions on the calendar. 240 hours have to be dealt with, as the multi-day runners move along the certified one-mile loop in the famous Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which has been hosting our multidays for the past 16 years. The race starts on Tuesday, April 19 at 12 noon. Four days later 31 runners will join the fray in the 19th running of the Sri Chinmoy Six Day Race

The Ten Day started in 1996 at Wards Island in Manhattan near the Triborough Bridge (RFK Bridge) and featured 15 athletes. The course records for the event include 901 miles by Rimas Jakelaitis (LTH) in 2001 for the men, and 727 miles by Kaneenika Janakova (SLK) in 2014 for the ladies.

We hope to post daily results and screen shots of the gifted athletes as they attempt to garner as many miles as possible. We also offer best wishes to the brave runners as they seek to find out what they can do this year. 240 hours will be the goal- to survive and transcend. You never know what you have until you try.

Good luck to all the athletes and their family and friends.

This is the current list of participants as of April 9, 2016.

Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence Ten Day Race

	Name	M / F	Country
1	Kobi Oren	M	Israel
2	Achim Heukemes	M	Germany
3	Ed Ettinghausen	M	USA
4	Ushika Muckenhumer	M	Austria
5	Volodymyr Hlushchuk	M	Ukraine
6	Andrey Andreev	M	Russia
7	Ananda-Lahari Zuscin	M	Slovakia
8	Sergey Kuzmin	M	Russia
9	Oleksandr Kharko	M	Ukraine
10	Sergei Komelkov	M	Russia
11	Budjargal Byambaa	M	Mongolia
12	Kalpa Lazarev	M	Russia
13	Georgs Jermolajevs	M	Latvia
14	Andrei Somov	M	Russia
15	Sergey Leshchenko	M	Russia
16	Mikhail Vasilchenko	M	Russia
17	Ales Pliva	M	Czech Rep
18	Michel Gouin	M	Canada
19	Kumar Limbu	M	Nepal
20	Janos Derekas	M	Hungary
21	Patanga Cordeiro	M	Brazil
22	Karteek Clarke	M	Scotland UK
23	Mahasatya Janczak	M	Poland
24	Sandro Zincarini	M	Italy
25	Frederick Davis III	M	USA
26	Richard Takata	M	Canada
27	Michael Korol	M	USA
28	Predrag Knezevic	M	Serbia
29	Deveshu Zuderell	M	Austria
30	Soren Raarup	M	Denmark
31	Viktor Dodonov	M	Russia


40	Sarah Barnett	F	Australia
41	Elena Kareva	F	Russia
42	Nataliya Hlushchuk	F	Ukraine
43	Vinati Docziova	F	Slovakia
44	Vasuprada Funk	F	Switzerland
45	Giribhu Muhs	F	Germany
46	Manoshri Sykorova	F	Slovakia
47	Gautami Sykorova	F	Slovakia
48	Yolanda Holder	F	USA
49	Suparna Pustogowa	F	Germany
50	Yashasvati Plyavinskaya	F	Russia
51	Kimberley Van Delst	F	Canada
53	Gudrun Freier	F	Germany
54	Oyungerel Seded	F	Mongolia
55	Karnayati Morison	F	Canada
56	Ratuja Zub	F	Belarus

Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence Six Day Race

	Name	M / F	Country
60	John Geesler	M	USA
61	Aidas Ardzijauskas	M	Lithuania
62	Rimas Jakelaitis	M	Lithuania
63	Priyavadin Reisecker	M	Austria
64	Mark Dorion	M	USA
65	Roger Martel	M	Canada
66	Wai Law	M	USA
67	Arun Bhardwaj	M	India
68	Hoskuldur Kristvinsson	M	Iceland
69	Odgiiv Jadambaa	M	Mongolia
70	Milan Javornicky	M	Czech Republic
71	Joe Cleary	M	Canada
72	Johnny Hallneby	M	Sweden
73	Marius Lacasse	M	Canada


80	Dipali Cunningham	F	USA
81	Vikena Yutz	F	USA
82	Mattali Stebneva	F	Russia
83	Anna Khimchinskaia	F	Russia
84	Pratishruti Khisamutdinova	F	Russia
85	Anna Eliseeva	F	Russia
86	Avanayaha Tsendee	F	Mongolia
87	Sumiya Lundeg	F	Mongolia
88	Erlinda Biondic	F	Canada
89	Barbara Szeprethy	F	USA
90	Sumeru Scheucher	F	Austria
91	Albena Margaritova	F	Scotland UK
92	Pushparani Piner	F	Canada
93	Tatiana Arnst	F	Russia
94	Susan Marshall	F	New Zealand
95	Lyalya Faerman	F	Russia
96	Gundega Gaile	F	Latvia

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)

Race Director's updates

Eighteen hours before the 21st Sri Chinmoy Ten Day Race begins- 12 noon April 19,2016. 47 athletes have arrived in town and await the next sunrise. Four days later 31 runners will join in the 19th Sri Chinmoy Six Day Race. Both races will finish at noon on Friday, April 29. Flushing Meadows Corona Park has been the home of multidays on the mile loop near Meadow Lake for the last 16 years.

The Ten Day started in 1996 at Wards Island in Manhattan near the Triborough Bridge(RFK Bridge) and featured 15 athletes. The course records for the event include 901 miles by Rimas Jakelaitis(LTH)- 2001) for the men, and 727 miles by Kaneenika Janakova(SLK)-2014 for the ladies.

We hope to post daily totals of each athlete as well as scoreboard updates on this site to show the progression of the runners as they journey along with remarkable energy and diligence. 240 hours will be the goal- to survive and transcend.

Good luck to all the athletes and their family and friends.