June 30: Do All That I Can

Things have been getting hotter here for the past few days and it is not the weather.  There is a new and exciting level of intensity that has been slowly building amongst the top 3 runners.  You can clearly see it on their lap sheets, with each day bearing a staggering new total.  It is also something expressed in just the raw speed of which some are running, and never seeming to stop for barely a breath.  In each a fire has been lit.  Whether it pushes them to a tremendous new standard of performance or simply causes them to implode like the side of a tired volcano, the next few days will surely tell the tale.

Now to be clear, this does not include Pranjal the unofficial flag bearer for consistency.  As of last night he was pushed out of second place and is now currently in 3rd.  He lives and thrives in his own unique world.  Consistent, and superbly disciplined.  He is almost unaffected by all the to and fro that happens around and about him.  He remains poised and content and listens to a tempo all his own.  One that is unflinching in its absolute commitment to offer up all that he has each and ever day.

It is with Ashprihanal, Igor, and Sarvagata that the winds now suddenly blow hot and strong.  It is really a bit of a mystery that just suddenly appeared, spinning around and around in plain sight.  It is not obvious what it really is or how it started just that it exists for now like a galloping firestorm and 3 runners have sparks flying off their heels.

To illustrate visually how this is playing out you only have to look at each of their laps over the past few days.  Ashprihanal has increased every day for the past 3 days.  His numbers went from 132, to 136, and then to 137.  This means that yesterday Ashprinal ran a phenomenal 75 miles.  Igor also increased from 125, to 127, to 133.  Yesterday he ran almost 73 miles and moved decisively into the second spot by running 11 laps more than Pranjal.

Sarvagata, the man currently in 4th also increased from 128, to 134, to 136 laps.  This means that he ran just one lap less than Ashprihanal yesterday and if he somehow keeps it up, he will most likely pass Pranjal and take 3rd in 2 days time.

It is a race of such incredible length that anything can happen.  Perhaps by now everyone has simply kicked off the last of winter’s dust.  Their muscles are warmed up and particularly the 2 new runners, Igor and Sarvagata, simply want to push the envelop, see what their engines can really handle.  What ever it is that is actually going on it certainly appears as though somehow all of them have found themselves caught in the swirling mix of self fulfilling excellence that hasn’t  been seen here on this scale for some time.

To be frank this is purely a hypothesis from a side line observer.  But it would appear that the pot is being stirred, and each of the 3 has plunged their spoons into the mix all the way.  For Ashprihanal, he knows that at least for now he has a cushion of 41 miles.  Not one that can provide comfort for long, and definitely not if he has any kind of a bad spell or slips out of top gear in any way.  He is after all the wile veteran who stayed just ahead of another Ukrainian champion Galya last year by just 30 miles at the finish. For him this kind of thing is a motivation to really open up and fly.

For the Igor and Sarvagata, this is why they came.  To run a race and leave nothing behind.  They both have hungered a long time to be a part of this total commitment to the experience of Self Transcendence, and they are now showing that they have taken off the training wheels and have become what they have sought.

Apologies, please note that there will be no new reports for the next 7 Days

Today at last Purna  Samarpan will add that all important 4th digit to his total.  Surasa has 9 days in a row in which she has run 110 laps each day.

Pranjal looks at the lap sheet this morning and notices that he has slipped from 2nd to 3rd spot.  It is not a surprise and it doesn’t affect this champion one bit.  He know he is always doing his best.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This morning Pradeep has the help of Rabinath who is doubling as a digital diarist for his friend.

Meanwhile Rupantar shakes the bushes looking for another days worth of counters.

 

Start

Day 19

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These little clocks have so much power.  They open the door every morning at precisely 6 and then shut it once again at midnight.  Yet in those 18 hours so much happens.

There is no sleep but still there can be dreams that come true.  In no other place is the world of self transcendence made so richly available for all who can find strength and courage to journey to the place where it can be revealed.

 

 

 

 

Purna Samarpan reminds me that we talked just a week ago.  “I was in much worse condition then.” At the time his cold was causing it to be not just difficult to run but to even breathe.  He was feeling dizzy and took many breaks.  Since then he has gradually built his laps back up from 32 to the 113 he did yesterday.  The experience was a terrible blow to his chances of making the distance before the cut off.  Yet not so great that a strong glimmer of hope remains.

Rabinath told him yesterday that he went through all the numbers and realized that Purna Samarpan just has to average 114 laps every day until the end.

He has been receiving a lot of medical help from those who understand the tricky demands of ultra running and being able to perform at a top level at the same time.  “I had a good feeling to take antibiotics for that reason.”  He adds that he is also taking mega doses of vitamin c.  “That helped a lot.”

“I am just trying day by day to close the gap, to not let it get any bigger.  I am very confident.”  His optimism is always strong and bright.  At the chances of maintaining a 114 lap average, he says, “it is not impossible.  But it is definitely a piece of work.”

“I am confident that I will get stronger in the next days and weeks, and will be able to close that gap,  I definitely want to finish this year.  I will do all I can that is within my power.  The rest is up to the Supreme.”

“I might have been a bit faster last year but it doesn’t really matter.  Right now it is just day by day, lap by lap.  This is really what it feels like.  I just do my best then see what happens.”

“The past is dust.  Whatever happened happened and I am happy with that.  Who knows what it was good for.  It felt a bit like a purification process.  I could definitely focus on those days when I had to walk a lot, and couldn’t run.  So it helped me to refocus.”  He only managed to complete 103 laps yesterday.  He felt it was because he had done 3 big days in a row and needed to recover.  Now however he feels that he can do more.

“It is a day by day thing, and I am thinking in sectors of the day.  I have changed my schedule so that now I am taking 2 15 minute breaks and then 2 20 minute breaks.  Which is like every 3 hours.  He helps me a lot to stay more focused.  Because for 3 hours I can concentrate on my running better than I can for 4 or 5 hours.”

“It doesn’t help to be frustrated.  I think it only makes things worse.  On the good days when I felt my strength returning it kept me positive.  It is still a long journey.  I am very confident this year.  Some people in this race try and do a personal best, and try and be faster than somebody else.  For the back of the field, it is mainly about making it before the cut off.  That is what I am trying to do.  Of course it is not easy.  You have to continue to stay focused for a month to get it done.  If you are 50 miles short you won’t make it in the end.  But I don’t want to think about that.”

click to play interview

[audio:http://perfectionjourney.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/purna-samarpan2.mp3|titles=purna samarpan]

Poem of the day recited by Rabinath

click to play

[audio:http://perfectionjourney.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/rabinath.mp3|titles=rabinath]

 

 

Enthusiasm Awakeners

Click to play

[audio:http://perfectionjourney.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/parvati14.mp3|titles=parvati]

 

 

 

Am I doing all I can?
The human in me is telling me
That I am doing infinitely more
Than I can.
The divine in me is telling me
That I am doing as much
As I can.
The Supreme in me is telling me
That I have done nothing
And I can do nothing,
But that He has done
And will continue to do
Everything in and through me.

 

Sri Chinmoy, Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 61, Agni Press, 1983.

One thought on “June 30: Do All That I Can”

  1. Hi Utpal, I wish you a pleasant time wherever you go. Meanwhile we will have daily uploaded photographs to view to get inspiration from the brave runners and helpers. But we will miss your ever new and philosophical reports that allow us to at least comprehend a little what these remarkable people are doing for their own and the world’s good. We know that each little good thought is recorded in the universal cosmos so we can only assume what good vibration they are sending out. May we all try in our own fields to improve and give the best we can so the bubble of goodwill will grow into ever more good actions and one day may burst and splash down on Mother Earth.

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