Runners in the monster 1300 miler are rare, and women runners even rarer. Nidhruvi Zimmermann,34, from Vienna,Austria tried to keep pace and share the road with Martina Hausmann,39, from Wurzburg,Germany, who had been training for this race for two years. Zimmermann had leg problems early and left the race after 321 miles. Hausmann ran 421 miles for six days, which was a German womenís record, and continued to focus on the formidable task of 68.4 miles per day.

The mens race had three competitors- Vladimir Glazkov,60, from Russia, an engineer who was once the track record holder for 1000 miles; Edward Kelley,42,from Huntington Beach, California who had just won the Sri Chinmoy 3100 Mile Race only a month before; and Rimas Jakelaitis, the Lithuanian 100km record holder who had won the 6-day event last May with 517 miles. Jakelaitis set the pace for the first five days with 409 miles, but shin splints slowed him to a hobble. Glazkov ran an impressive 499 miles for six days and was poised to reach the bigger goal. Kelley needed to pass 621 miles to reach 20,000 multiday racing miles for the decade of the 90ís, but his tank was on empty. He managed 355 for six days but enjoyed the go-as-you-please format, which was a change from the rigid schedule of his summer runs the previous four years, where a 6-hour cutoff is enforced.At Wards Island, youíre on your own schedule. The companion 1000 mile race had four competitors, with Stefan Schlett,37, from Germany as the star of the field. History buffs might recall that Schlett was only the third finisher ever in the 1300 mile race in 1991. Stefan is an adventurer to the extreme. He has climbed high mountains, parachuted, done mega-triathlons, run the Trans-Am, and run just about any race around the world. In this race he ran well and passed 6 days with 467 miles, a new German record. Paula Mairer,41, from Salzburg,Austria , the only woman runner, had a good beginning with 410 miles for six days.

The 700 mile race had 15 competitors, including five women, with Dipali Cunningham from Australia as the favorite. Cunningham set a womenís world best for 6-days on the road with 504 miles in 1998, and was in good shape after four days with 313 miles.

This twelveth edition of the 1300, 1000, and 700 mile events was beset by the forces of nature at the 252 hour mark- Hurricane Flloyd had hit the Virginia coast and the Carolinas and was heading staight for us.Warm rain preceded the storm for a day, and the wind began to intensify. The forecasts were not good. High winds-70-80 mph; storm surges- 8- to -10 ft.; Flooding expected and 5-8 inches of rain. With all this information, a decision was made- stop the race for at least one to two days, seek shelter and wait to see if the temporary race-village withstood the weather. The times up to this point would hold, and the race would resume when the storm had passed.A convoy of runners and their belongings headed for Queens, where everyone was put up for a day and a half in dry homes, and the race village was boarded up and prepared for the worst. After 38 hours of waiting and resting, the race restarted on September 17th, bolstered by sunny skies and a course littered with twigs and branches, but little else. The hurricane had lost power in coming up the coast, and was only a tropical storm when it hit Gotham City. Refreshed, the runners returned to the village, set up their quarters and continued on to their goals.

Vladimir Glazkov, although the oldest in the race, proved to be one of the toughest as he pushed on to reach 1300 miles in 19 days 13 hours. Martina Hausmann became only the fourth woman ever to reach 1300 miles in 20 days 12 hours.

In the 1000 miler, Stefan Schlett finished in 15 days 11 hours, ahead of Paula Mairer who crossed the line in 17 days 4 hours. In the tiny 700 miler, Dipali Cunningham breezed through in 10 days 21 hours, ahead of 60 year-old Else Bayer from Germany, who finished in 12 days 22 hours.Young Pekka Aalto from Finland, in his first multiday, completed 700 miles in 10 days 23 hours to lead four other men.

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team is grateful to all the volunteers and professionals who helped make these races a reality, even in the face of Mother Natureís wrath, and to Sri Chinmoy himself for the vision and the inspiration to hold such events year after year, giving runners the message of new challenges and greater satisfaction. Good luck to all ultrarunners.

Sahishnu Szczesiul Sri Chinmoy Ultra Trio

Wards Island,NY September 5-26, 1999 (time was extended 38 hours) One -mile loop, paved, certified (with 24-hour,48-hr, 6-day, day splits)

Men 1300 Miles (18 days cutoff) 1. Vladimir Glazkov,60,RUS 19 Days+13:13:59 (82,164,499)

Edward Kelley,42,CA 900 miles (85,140,355)

Rimas Jakelaitis,44 562 miles (110,186,450)

Women 1300 Miles (19 days cutoff*) 1. Martina Hausmann,39,GER 20 Days+12:14:52 (94,163,421) Nidruvi Zimmermann,34,AUT 321 miles (90,159)

Men 1000 Miles (15 days cutoff*) 1. Stefan Schlett,37,GER 15 Days+ 11:26:19 (94,168,467) Norbert Karolyi,24,HUN 720 miles (70,138,354) Marty Sprengelmeyer,53,IA 115 miles

Women 1000 Miles (16 days cutoff*) 1. Paula Mairer,40,AUT 17 Days+04:09:11 (87,152,410)

Men 700 Miles (12 days cutoff*) 1. Pekka Aalto,28,FIN 10 Days+23:10:40 (85,147,430) 2. Andreas Puntigam,28,AUT 11 Days+11:12:13 (92,162,441) 3. Hubert Muckenhumer,32,AUT 11 Days+16:11:56 (75,139,420) 4. Abhichal Sherrinton,38,UK 13 Days+06:29:59 (80,142,393) 5. Michael Purwins,41,GER 13 Days+13:12:27 (66,128,383) Harald Oswals,31,AUT 622 miles (70,137,357) Szabolcs Cimmer,28,HUN 601 miles (76,132,327) Robert Zuscin,24,SLO 585 miles (82,122,305) Valeri Stobsky,35,BUL 527 miles (73,119,321) Tamas Toth-Urban,36,HUN 170 miles

Women 700 Miles (13 days cutoff*) 1. Dipali Cunningham,41,AUS 10 Days+21:51:27 (105,176,464) 2. Else Bayer,60,GER 12 Days+22:22:24 (80,145,400) Andrea Papp,38,HUN 622 miles (60,112,324) Elvira Janosi,44,YUGO 570 miles (85,144,361) Huguette Cherce,46,CAN 520 miles (63,108,264)