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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.

Moments in Paradise: a personal account on the Self-Transcendence 10 Day Race 2010 – Shashanka Michael Karlen

No, no, no! It is not that I was running10 days in paradise! On the contrary, many hours were physically and mentally very hard work.

No, no, no! This is not 10 days of vacation from work with easy jogging in a nice park. On the contrary, several of the 75 runners, already on day 2 or 3, would have probably preferred to be at work than at Flushing Meadows Park.

The Start

Soon after the start you realize the dimension of the endeavor. You realize that you are in for a multilevel experience where every aspect of your being from body to soul is involved. Experiences on different levels often follow each other in almost breathtaking cadence. The experienced old-timers like Stutisheel Lebedyev call this “the real fullness of life” and he adds immediately that he find this fullness nowhere as tangible as in these multiday races. Don Winkley, the oldest participant at 72 years, always had an uplifting story from his many years of ultrarunning, and calls the difficult moments “the character building miles”. I definitely had many of these – time will tell whether my character reaped the benefits of them.

One thing is sure: these races expand your capacities - physical and mental. Who would believe that at fifty you can run 531 miles or 850km in 10 days. And other runners did more than that. But it is also qualities like faith, perseverance, determination, patience, cheerfulness, inner focus and balance among others that are constantly trained and expanded. You are learning about your limits and you are trying to find ways to push the limits further or to go beyond them. In this “self-transcendence” lies one of the main goals of the race and also one of the main joys and fulfillment. Carl Lewis once said: "believe me, the joy that comes from 'going beyond' is the most incredible feeling in the world…" The ultimate joy comes from performing one’s absolute best, no matter one’s order of finish. I believe this statement by the legendary sprinter proofs also true for most of the participants in these ultra long distance races.

And then there are those magic moments when you unmistakably feel the close presence of your teacher, you experience the “perfect” running, the movement, the speed, the strength. If this running flow continuous it may develop into a kind of a trance where you do mile after mile almost effortlessly. Or suddenly you are running together with someone on the same speed and a team has been born. The teamwork may be only running together in silence, with a deeper inner understanding or you may chat along as the miles go by.

For me the best experience was on day 5 which was also the start of the 6 day race. It was a beautiful day, no cloud in the sky, absolutely perfect. At some point in the morning while listening to some devotional kirtan music on my Ipod, suddenly my whole perception changed. I saw not only the few meters in front of me but I looked up and saw the whole course with all the runners. I felt the tremendous aspiration of all the runners and I felt absolutely one with it. I also saw and felt nature around the course as never before. The different trees, the leaves, the grass, the lake, the birds, with all the creation there seemed to be a direct connection or oneness. It was emotionally overwhelming and tears of gratitude were flowing. This moments in paradise lasted for several hours and it was clear that for that experience alone it was worth to have done the race.

night-time in the camp

The real challenge of the race came with the following days and strong long lasting rains that flooded many parts of the course and that at certain parts brought up associations with the legendary “Woodstock Festival” where rain turned everything into mud. There were times when it felt like an epic battle against the elements. Later, a very strong wind, further challenged body and mind and when you add the permanent traffic and noise from the 3 surrounding highways and close-by La Guardia airport then you can imagine the difficulty of the conditions.

“Keep moving”, told me Louis Rios - another old timer, is the secret of most of the great ultrarunners and this is what you have to remember in these moments. There was definitely something of a heroic spirit in the air.

In the end there is a deep feeling of accomplishment and gratitude. Gratitude also to the organizers, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, and the many volunteers that spend days and nights at the race to make it happen.

10 days at Flushing Meadow- not always paradise but a spiritually very rewarding
experience.

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About the author:

This year's Self-Transcendence 6 and 10 Day Races in New York's Flushing Meadows-Corona Park are over, but in my heart and dreams they continue...I am currently washing two week's worth of dirty laundry and chasing my kids around the yard.

A longer report is forthcoming, and hopefully should appear in ULTRARUNNING magazine, on multidays.com, and in ULTRARUNNING WORLD ( European ultra magazine).

Some brief notes (made in sloppy scrawl during long flight home to El Paso)

I wore out/trashed four pairs of Asics DS Trainers (2010 model), two my normal size 11.5, two size 12. I also finished off a pair of adidas adizero aces (this in a mere 520 miles of running). Note that those shoes all weigh less than 10.8 ounces in size 11.5 according to my scale. I had a pair of adidas supernovas (heavier, 12 ounces), but they were too stiff and hurt my feet after two miles. I wear all these shoes in training and in trail races too. Generally, I have trained and raced in lighter shoes for the past 39 years--but that's just me.

JG1_5183[1].jpg This was the first race in my life (200+ ultras, and an additional 800+ races dating back to 1971) where I have had a shoe sucked off my foot by aggressive mud! And this was a "road" race. Suffice it to say the south little loop along Meadow Lake was a mudbowl, and also featured ankle deep ice water and floating foot bridges at times.

Once again I am in AWE of the work put in by The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. Without the expert medical help of Dr. Meghabhuti, chiropractors Mitch, and Garesh, message therapists Yuri and Tomas, Nurse Bahula, I could not have stayed healthy and moving. One European runner and I remarked how some USA runners who were running themselves further and further into injuries still avoided going to the medical tent (European runner to me: "Why Americans don't go to doctor?!" Certainly the worst injuries in the races all befell Americans, and I count my blessings I was not among them.

Without the round-the-clock gourmet food cooked up by Nandana Lynn, Sushovita, and Crew, I would have run out of steam (there was never once a shortage of food, even when cold, wet runners crowded the cafeteria grabbing like wild wolves at anything hot and savory). As hard as their running task will be, my friends in the 3100 mile this summer will also get to enjoy the repasts of these wonderful, always-smiling chefs. Also Shakti, Nandana's 8 year old daughter, provided endless energy and entertainment for the runners (one night I swore there was a cardboard box moving slowly across the path--it turned out that a certain 8 year old girl was inside the box playing a joke on tired runners! Ha!).

One person in particular whom I feel doesn't always get the credit he deserves is Bipin Larkin, the athlete village architect, lead carpenter/electrician/plumber. He and his small but tireless crew (Pavol, Asankita, Rajpal and others) could be seen out in their heavy yellow fisherman's coveralls in the teeth of the worst storms, pumping out overflows, replacing cones and barrricades, hauling gas canisters and supplies back and forth, fixing leaks -- and seemingly never sleeping. I met Bipin almost 30 (thirty) years ago at a wonderful wintertime marathon he directed along the New Hampshire seacoast (it was cold but less stormy there in February than it was in April this year in Flushing Meadows!).

Some folks have asked me how the 10 day was different from the 6 day, and my initial response is -- it was just longer! The last two days in particular dragged for me, and I missed my home and family, but then again the wonderful group of international runners and helpers at the race are like family too. Also, after 40 years of running, racing, my body does not recover from day to day as in my never-tiring youth.

One recent list topic I thought about during the race was Yiannis Kouros's opinion thta real ultras--REALLY going beyond the marathon--start at 24 hours. I have run some very tough trail 50kms and 50 miles, BUT must admit I hear what Yiannis is saying. Running for days requires other skills not needed in a shorter ultra. A multiday is doable by anyone with enough determinationb and some decent training, but the ongoing mental battle is different from a race lassting less than 24 hours. I do feel certain "spiritual" and philosophical approached are needed in such an unimagineably long event (see my interview with Utpal Marshall on "Perfection Journey" blogsite).

My race ended Thursday at noon, but my next two days in New York were anything but restful. Friday I saw one of my favorite people, Don Winkley,we off (we managed to make it the 1/2 mile to the nearest Holiday Inn Express after the race before both succumbing to deep sleep). Then I drove through heavy traffic into NYC for a walk around Fort Tryon's lovely flower gardens before a fancy outdoorss dinner overlooking the city.

Saturday I met old friend Chanakhya Jakovic (now of Slovenia) for brunch at one of my favorite NYC restaurants, The Smile of the Beyond, where race director Sahishnu cooked up fluffy pancakes, eggs, fresh orange juice,...The good food was matched by the good company of many of the runners from the races. Then Dr. Jakovic dragged me all around on a historic walking tour of Jamaica (this included the endless 150th Street hill site of marathons years ago, as well as the 3100 mile loop), before my legs said "enough." Note that Chanakhya and two other runnenrs from the 6/10 day did the weekly 2 mile RACE around Jamaica High School early Saturday!!

After buying a sari for my daughter Amalia from "The Divine Robe Supreme" (store could have been in a Harry Potter set), foisting all manner of excess "stuff" on poor Sahishnu (luckily he seems to have a larage garage), buying MORE gifts at the Card Shoppe and wonderful pastries and coffee at The Panorama Cafe (site of many Guiness World records set by Ashrite Furman), and saying emotional goodbyes to my Russian/Ukrainian friends (a bunch of young Ukrainians shared the shelter/dugout I was in with me), I rushed to LaGuardia Airport.

As I sped past Flushing Meadows one last time, I had a mental image of Sri Chinmoy himself. I thank him for his vision in creating all these challenging and beautiful multiday ultras. Best wishes to all ultrarunners,

Mark Dorion

El Paso, TX

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