“All I can say is that this race you don’t do alone. You are never alone out there on the course. You have so many hopes and dreams and inspirations of everybody, who is following the race. It is just amazing how even though you are not really in contact with humanity. You are not in contact with newspapers and whatever. You really feel how the race is somehow percolating out there, and inspiring people.”
The sound of Nirbhasa’s Finish:
“Life is hard for everybody. Everybody is running their own version of the 3100 mile race. Everybody has their own difficulties. Definitely I felt that if I could inspire even one person to stick it out one more day. To never give up. To just push your way through the tunnel. Than that is somehow really worth it.
“Nirbhasa you did something remarkable, you finished the race on your first attempt. You have become the first Irishman to ever finish the race.”
“I think the race is really Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy in action. The mind can’t really comprehend the distance. It can’t comprehend the enormity. It can’t even comprehend doing a full day, never mind, it is just trying to get to the next break. That is about as far as the mind can handle. It is only when you live in the heart, and only when you have tremendous eagerness. A tremendous feeling of being in the moment, and just being happy, and letting it happen.”
Click to Play Nirbhasa’s Speech:
Sahishnu announces Nirbhasa’s time and data.
“Finishing in 8th place in a time of 51 days, 12 hours, 12 minutes which is an average of 60.1 miles a day or 96.8 km. He is now ranked 32nd on the list of 38 finishers.”
“We are so proud of you. It is so hard to do this race.”
Click to Play Speech:
*It is with the deepest respect and gratitude that I thank all those who have followed the race here along with me these past 52 days.
No matter whether your visits were long and rambling or that you came for just a quick click now and then. I hope you have felt even an iota of the enormous blessing that this race is to me. That you are drawn even one step closer to your own perfect perfection……..Utpal
Nirbhasa wants a fast start to day 52
It is going to wet briefly this morning.
Nirbhasa has just 40 miles to run today.
“In a way at the moment it is just another day at the office.”
Yesterday on his 51st day of running in the 3100 mile he ran 59 miles. Now just 40 miles remain before he will become the 8th and last finisher of the race that will end at midnight.
“I still have a chance to do what the race is really here for. Basically give your all. I want to live the next 3/4 of my day with 100% intensity.”
When asked if there is something spiritually yet to be done. “There is always something. While you are here you make the most of the opportunity what the race has to offer. You have a lot of time to devote to your inner disciplines. Meditation, singing, just go deep within. In a way that I won’t get when I finish the race.”
I ask if he will miss this.
“I think all the runners do. Galya was telling me, he has been finished since Sunday. He said here you are 100% all the time. He says he misses that intensity. It is not even for 18 hours a day. It is for 24 hours a day. Even your rest is intense. Every moment of the day has meaning and every moment of the day has to be used for a purpose. So I guess with the little time I have left I want to appreciate that.”
“When you start the spiritual life, you are guided by your heart. It is not like I came here with a set agenda. I came because something deep inside knew that it would get tremendous joy from doing it. So I just followed that inner feeling.”
Nirbhasa believes that he has received and experienced so much here that it will take time to reflect on it. “I will only be able to appreciate fully or maybe appreciate more when I look back at it.”…..”The finish line is still ahead.”
“I think the race has a profound affect. I think it strikes people immediately when they hear about it. It doesn’t require a whole lot of explanation. I think it gives people a lot of inspiration, a lot of hope. It is really something that just unfolds inside the heart.”
Click to Play:
Nirbhasa has run the exact distance between New York and Dublin
Jown and big camera.
the list
Before the rain.
At last a day of rest.
“Boy do I wish I was a duck today.”
Kaneenika did 45 miles yesterday.
By Nirbhasa’s finish she will have 3000 miles.
Poems on trees
Anna
Many will miss the race tomorrow.
Lots of Kaneenika fans
Every runner is celebrated for what they have accomplished.
They all must be saluted and applauded and praised.
All champions
All true heroes
“For heavens sake Martha. The brochure said the hotel had a pool… I didn’t think that it was going to be this kind of pool.”
Much thanks to the Gopro
The day has just begun
Always a smile.
Ananada-Lahari ran 45 miles yesterday
At the end of day 51 he had 2690
The course will be quiet tomorrow
Baladev did 51 miles yesterday.
He started the day with 2644 miles.
He will stay until midnight.
“I think the odds would have been very high. In my mind he was always going to finish.” Not just Sadanand but also Nirbhasa’s mom Annette and Dad Jim were certain that he would make it.
“No doubt. Once he got to the starting line. He had enough training done. I knew he had the mental focus and capacity.”
“The things you can predict about Nirbhasa is certainly his persistence and his positive attitude. And his attitude of never giving up. That is what has taken him to 3100 miles today.”
“I think you identify so much with his effort and what he is doing that unfortunately or fortunately you start to feel his pain, his tiredness, and his joys, which is great as well. You actually feel a lot of oneness.”
“One thing is that it is challenging. It is really challenging. Because if for some reason he gets a sore shin or his tummy is upset. You feel all his problems that he is going through. If he is unhappy you feel unhappy. You try and do your best to help him. That is a real powerful experience. that feeling of oneness.”
“Not only with Nirbhasa but with all the runners. There is a real powerful oneness between all the helpers here and all the kitchen staff and organizers and the runners.”
Asked about the environment. “It is something that I knew that was going to be here. But I hadn’t really experienced its form that it takes on the race course. Somehow when you are not here at the course. For example when I was home in Dublin and checking on the race reports every day. You can identify with it. You do feel a sense of that beauty and the power and energy that is here at the race course.”
“To experience it first hand is another level. Very much it just takes you into the heart when you are here at the race course. You really see what each runner is receiving through this race. You can see it in their eyes. It is beyond words. You can see that twinkle in their eyes. Obviously you can’t quantify it. When you see that twinkle that is something special that they are receiving by doing this race.”
Click to Play Interview:
Paree recites the Daily Prayer
Click to Play:
Click to Play:
If you want your heart
To walk along silence-road
To reach Infinity’s peace-abode,
Then you must have
An excellent guide.
Needless to say,
Your own soul is by far
The best guide.
Gratitude! Gratitude! Gratitude!!!
I am all gratitude for these inspiring reports. Thank you Utpal for everything you do in this tireless service. 🙂
Utpal thank you very much!
Hi Utpal
my deep gratitude to you!
thank you
Thank You so much. Utpal.
Thank you, thank you, thank you a million times for every day’s precious reports, Utpal!! I will miss something, too, now that the race is completed for this year… What a race!! So many true, divine inner and outer champions!!! What a miracle, what joy, so much grace… Gratitude…
A BIG THANKS to all the people participating (also to Utpal), you might not be even aware how much inspiration, energy and never give up spirit we get from you.
Thanks a lot!
Thank you, Utpal. THANK YOU.
52 days adventure! thank you, “mister Perfection Journey”!
thanks again uptal. I love your blog.
Thank you Utpal.
What you gave – wholesome and deep inspiring accounts, superbly produced and edited video with equally chosen and appropriate music, atmosphere, timing, dignity, so much of your time,colour (no ref to socks -:)
What we got – joy, oneness, feeling of gratitude, better understanding of what and how special is the 3100 mile Self-transcendence Race, so much of your time (works both ways, your perfection.
With deepest of gratitude,
Ambarish
Utpal you are, and always will be one of the 3100 mile runners!
And if anyone ever asks you did you ever complete the full distance your answer should be YES!
You are the heart , mind , body, and soul of trying to bring this supreme effort to the world!
It is nearly impossible for mortals to wrap their heads around this race.. with your amazing accounts of each day.. Which I and so many people cherish…. there is a beautiful, and brilliant glimpse into what this race really is about .. And we all know it has alot to do with running….but actually .
As your stories show the 3100 mile distance is the ultimate metaphor of life.. .. with many of its struggles, beauty , and love that it holds for us!!
KUDOOS to Utpal !!!!!
What a wonderful finale. Thank you so much Utpal for the lovely words and glorious photos.
Millions of thank-yous, Utpal, for carrying us through the summer with daily top-of-the- mountain inspiration. by your self-offering, you kept us in touch with the heart and soul of the race. We really became a oneness-family while sharing in these immortal moments. Deep gratitude to you, and to all who made this experience possible.
Thank you so very much Utpal. Your accounts are brilliant, inspirational, heart felt and bring the reader into the experience completely. You bring this family together around the world doing the work of a guru. Our hearts go out to you every day, and today you can rest, until the next time we expect you to bring us all together once again. Peace be with you my friend.
I can only repeat THANK YOU, Utpal, for being such a perfect and selfless instrument. And once again, CONGRATULATIONS and all my heart’s deepest gratitude to everybody.
20675
The journey is too long
When we take the mind-guide
To help us reach the destination.
The journey is shorter than the shortest
When we take the heart-guide
To help us arrive at the destination.
Sri Chinmoy, Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, Part 207, Agni Press, 1994
Thank you Utpal, you really brought the blessings of the journey into my kitchen, 12,000 miles away. You are truly a great instrument. See you soon.
I can only reecho what is already said, incl. the socks 😉
I very much appreciated, that you retyped the words of the interviewed runners, as English is not my native language. I guess this is quite time consuming. So here comes another thank-you.
A final thank-you also to all the runners of this year´s race. See you all 2016?
Hi Utpal,
thank you, thank you, thank you – you always give us the feeling being part of this great achievement – thank you so much !!!!!
Your blog shared with us just how special, epic, immortal, sacred and inspiring this year’s edition of the race is. Those of us who tuned in from afar would never have known these truths without your special gift to convey them. It will take some time to absorb and reflect on the race through your lens. The greedy person in me now wishes for a film that pieces together the short videos into one documentary of the race. Have you ever done that before?