July 8: Deep In My Heart

“Sometimes I have problems in my knee or maybe in my mind……mostly in my mind.” (laughs)

“I try to dive deep in my heart and take some happiness energy from it.  It helps me so much.”

https://vimeo.com/132982605

Today is the 25th day of the race and from his results over the past 2 weeks Vasu has been finding all the energy and happiness that he needs.  Yesterday he ran his 3rd consecutive day of 70 plus mile.

The 1660 miles he has run in the first 24 days of the race would take him from his home in St Petersburg to Omsk.  For a man so inspired to transcend himself he has a lot to be grateful for.  As of today he is 140 miles ahead of last years pace.

Vasu is in 3rd place.  He is 79 miles behind Galya and 14 miles ahead of Yuri.

“I have gotten many  letters and my disciple friends have written aphorisms for me written by Sri Chinmoy.  Also I have received an article on concentration and meditation.  I have tried to use it and it helped me so much.” Vasu says that his meditations have been bringing him much, aspiration and energy.

“After that I can easily run.”

Nicolai has been a very attentive helper for Vasu throughout the day.  “Usually things are very very good.  He does many jobs and this lets me be more relaxed and not think about many different things.  I am very grateful to have Nicolai.”  Vasu also has another Russian helper who comes later in the day.

We somehow run up behind Ashprihanal as we run into camp.  “He inspires me so much.  He gives jokes and says push, push,  push.  His mantra is push, push, push.”

Click to Play Interview:

vasu

Vasu arrives for day 25.

Vajra checks the board before leaving.

A peacock feather decorates the fence.

And some of the more practical items and tasks of the early morning.  It will be warm and muggy all day.  By late afternoon light showers will come but they will not be long or heavy.  Everyone will sweat a lot today.

Start Day 25

The sun hides briefly behind the tree along the service road.

Ashprihanal ran 76 miles yesterday and now has 1845 miles.  It is barely 7 am and already all the runners are sweating from the effort.

Of course more records again each day.  Ashprihanal is 31 miles ahead of Madhupran.

Just enough time for a skit this morning.

But other than that every second counts.

Grahak a great friend and even a better helper.

So much power and so much delicacy.

Last night Galya tied the record of running 70 plus miles for 24 days straight.  He ran 71 miles and now has 1739 miles.

I ask Stutisheel to try and explain what this record means.

“It is very hard to understand.” (laughs)

“What I can say is that it is a really amazing achievement.  For a few days he was complaining…O no, this day I will not do my 70.  But somehow he found the determination.  He found speed.  He found everything.  So it is just amazing.  It is inspiring. And absolutely not easy.”

Yuri had 66 miles yesterday and Has 1646 miles.

Yuri is 42 miles ahead of last years pace.

Atmavir is once again running smoothly.  He had 63 miles yesterday and now has 1542 miles.  He will make half way by early morning.

Greets a friend along the way.

It is great to see him doing so well.

“Now I wonder where that ball went.   I do see a squirrel though just  over there.”

“Your not talking about me are you?”

On the express train Ashprihanal.

Just a short break.

There is no public transportation available to Surasa, of any kind.

Surasa had 65 miles yesterday and now has 1478 miles.

Stutisheel had a good day yesterday  with 62 miles.  This morning he says he has no power.

Stutisheel has 1464 miles.

He gets some encouragement and ideas from Arpan.

Kaneenika di 61 miles yesterday.

She has 1432 miles.  To make 1550 by the end of day 26 is within reach.  She is 118 miles away.

The way is clear.

The help is there as well

For Nirbhasa the goal is in sight.

He ran 53 miles yesterday and has 1426 miles.  He has some work to catch up. The half way mark is 2 days away and he needs 124 miles.

Ananda-Lahari had 51 miles yesterday.

Ananda-Lahari has 1426 miles.

One little flower remains.

Baladev  had 53 miles yesterday.  He has 1303 miles.

Not easy.

“To me it is just so amazing.  I have to admit that I was very afraid of it at first.  Just the idea of it.  The most I had ever run was 50 miles.  So even just to come near it was scary to me.” Adhiratha now comes practically every day to jog and encourage the runners.  What he is talking about is the period in the early days when the race had first started.

“There is part of you that always wants to transcend and there is part of you (a reluctance in all of us) that says, enough already.  Because you know that in the middle of transcendence  is a rough row to hoe.  There is a big part of you that says, I don’t want to do that.  The other part of you is inspired.  Because it breaks the minds pattern of what you think you can do.”

Now of course is very different.  “Just to see them go through these experiences, and to see the joy that some of them have right from the beginning.  Or that some of them go through patches of real hard stuff.  You can see, and you can relate to yourself if you have ever done any endurance events.”

Adhiratha of course has swum the English Chanel.  He completed the distance once but tried multiple times.  “For me the cold water was the hardest part.”  He adds of course that training every day was the only option.  “If you were serious.”

As for the cold water it was nearly impossible to acclimatize in New York for the water that Dover had to offer. He says he could only stay in for 20 minutes when he first arrived there.  “If you listened to your mind, you wouldn’t go back in.  The next day you can go for 40 minutes.  Than 3 days later you were doing 2 hours.  Your mind had to accept the cold part of it.”

As we are talking Kaneenika runs past.  “She has probably gone further than she has ever gone before.”  He says for himself that when he transcended himself in any way swimming he would experience a burst of joy.  “Even though you were exhausted there was something inside that you that said I have transcended.  When I see these runners do it for the first time that is what takes my breath away.”

“Sri Chinmoy started this race and it keeps transcending.  People who have never seen him or even heard of him have picked up on the inner spirit.  That is the thing that is most impressive to me.  This spirit that these runners are carrying other people are picking up.  I always thought that was Sri Chinmoy’s goal.  To create something that people could manifest joy and inspire others to do it in their own way.”

Click to Play Interview:

Adhiratha

Prayer of the Day

Click to Play:

Adhiratha prayer

Enthusiasm Awakeners

Click to Play:

parvati

Divinity’s Sun
Is deep within
  My heart.
I must discover it.