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.-----Original Message-----
From: GARY CORBITT <[email protected]>
Sent: Sep 18, 2021 8:18 AM
To: Sahishnu Szczesiul <[email protected]>
Subject: 3100
Hi Sahishnu:
This message is a result of seeing Mark Dorian at the race a few days ago while watching the live feed.
Please share this message with the runners.
After hearing about the longest race in the world for years, I finally had the opportunity to see it firsthand in 2019. Arpan brought me to this experience one morning while I was in New York. I was only able to stay for a short period, but that was all I needed to understand that this was much more than just a race. I’ve become a bit mesmerized by the 3100 Miler ever since.
I watch the start every morning and tune in the live feed throughout the day. The race is an inspirational companion while I’m doing various things during the day. I wear my 3100 mile hat during this period. I post on Facebook interviews done from the excellent work of Utpal Marshall and his blog Perfection Journey.
I equate the completion of this run to be the highest athletic achievement an endurance runner can accomplish. There are many lessons we can learn and be inspired by. The first for me is the principle of mentalism that the mind is all, and everything is mental. The second is what may at one point seem impossible can in fact become possible.
I often find myself thinking about how my father would approach the 3100. I unfortunately never talked to him about the race. To be honest I didn’t give this experience the respect and reverence it deserved. My mistake - lesson learned.
In studying my father’s training logs he was injured much more than I could have ever imagined. I have many questions I wish I could ask him. Most would center on his spiritual beliefs and his holistic approached to healing and rehabilitation. His knowledge and skills in physiology had to be a driving force in his ability to train at such a high mileage level despite nursing injuries. I believe he was self-healing himself regularly.
My father felt he could have run across the country in 42 days. He talked about other goals he unfortunately never had a chance to attempt in his prime running years like 600 miles in 6 days and walking 100 miles in 24 hours. He only had one chance at competing the distances of 100 miles and 24 hours. Both races were in the UK. He set American records on both occasions and both performances were dramatically off days from what he was capable of.
I understand now that there are people that have run 100 mile races 100 times. Wow how the sport has evolved.
I thank the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team for all you do to continue the legacies of Sri Chinmoy and Ted Corbitt.
Best Wishes!
Gary Corbitt
Curator: Ted Corbitt Archives
Historian: National Black Marathoners Association (NBMA)
