It is the beginning of day 3 and already the routine and rhythm of the 3100 mile race is beginning to feel solidly in place.
Those who come early come early and those who have a more relaxed concept of time arrive the best they can.
Technology ,in the insidious guise of accurate time, keeping snuck into the race last year. It looks like a simple clock. Of course it is anything but simple this 
little plastic box from space. It is actually called an Atomic clock and it pulls the exact time from distance pulses that have no heart and cannot be bent or swayed. The runners of course listen to much different signals. That have very little to do with technology, or space, or distant worlds and distant thoughts.
There are always the mundane and routine tasks in the morning. 
A shoe made ready, a supplement taken for a little boost, sun block applied for a day that may not be sunny but in the bright days of June, being out all day in the sun is a real concern. And yes working on feet, protecting feet, making feet happy.
My morning begins
And I immediately try to see
What God is doing.
What do I see?
I see Him weaving and weaving
And enlarging and enlarging
His Heart’s Compassion-Net.
from My Morning Begins by Sri Chinmoy.
As he does most mornings, Stutisheel moves quickly away from the starting line. After he has made his way around to the far side of the course I fall into his stride and we begin to talk. His 2 day numbers are not great but of course it is still so very very early. He has run the race 4 times and set a previous best last year. At that time he averaged almost 62 miles a day and his total so far is just 116.
His first comment is, “Alakanada (his daughter) is doing a great job. When I ask him about yesterday he says, “inwardly perfect. I was joyful, but outwardly there was some transitional things taking place.” I tell him that it sounds good. He laughs and says, “But you don’t feel good during this period.”
He is a very experienced runner in this event. He has been through it all and then some. He describes precautions and remedies that he has undertaken. When he noticed a problem with one of his knees he used a combination of natural remedies to help and then the problem promptly jumped to the other knee. At this point he is suspecting the fault may lie with new shoes not suited to him and the event.
After yesterdays rain he changed back into his more familiar model of shoes. He says, “after that it became better. I guess it is over. It won’t stop me from running.” As he is saying this we are moving along smoothly and it is difficult to detect any obvious weakness in his stride. He says, “In this race many subtle things can affect everything. Because there are so many steps. So many hours of running. ”
He mentions about the flowers that have mysteriously popped up all around the course. They are buried besides trees and in little weedy patches, but still offer up cheer and brightness. He tells me that Diganta planted them the day before the race and says, “It is so beautiful. A service from the heart. A real self offering.”
I ask him about what has happened in the past year and he tells me that he has written his 4th book. It is published in Russian and he says, “I hope to inspire others in Self-Transcendence.” The book is called, ‘Where Dreams Come True.’ When I ask him if it is about the race he laughs. “What else can I speak about.”
He tells me that in the forward he wrote, “I could not imagine that this 800 meter concrete loop will become Heaven for me, where all dreams come 
true.” He tells me his first book, which he wrote after his first race in 2004 is called, ‘My first 3100 Miles.’ His second is called, ’55 Days of Real Life.’ His 3rd is, ‘Believe in Yourself.’
It is obvious that the 3100 has become the focus of his year and for his family as well. For him the experiences gained here are all about transforming the inner and outer being. The race clearly brings his family together in a unique way that has no parallel in most outer world situations. At the same time he feels that he is inspired and encouraged by deep inner forces to come here and take part. The more he allows the spiritual, to work freely in and through him, the more he feels he can Self-Transcend and make progress. Because of this he feels grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it.
He says on the human level, “many things come to strengthen you and to teach you.” He describes a particular and personal experience he had last year that involved forgiveness. He feels, that the moment he let go of his negativity he was then free to move forward again both inwardly and outwardly. He says after this, “I could smile again and finish properly.” He set a new personal best because of this transformation.
He says that when he gave a lecture that included this information, someone in the audience was surprised by this revelation. He says they were shocked and amazed that this tension, on the human level, can block things on the physical level.
We talk more about this and I describe the race as a battlefield where each runner is forced to confront everything in order to make their way to the end. He says, “for me it is totally wrong to look upon the race as a concept of a battle field.” He tells me how he received a letter yesterday from a friend in the Ukraine. They had been researching the spiritual significance of pain and they told him that if one looks closely that within pain can be found both bliss and the Creator. He laughs when he mentions how she finished the letter. “Please do not experiment with pain here.”
“On a quite deep level the race is about progress. You are not running 3100 miles, you are running to your goal in the inner world. For me this race is so deep and so fast, running through the inner worlds.” He adds if you are not in a good and positive mood you cannot do your best. “If you are struggling with the miles it is impossible to reach your goal.”
For a very long task, such as an ultramarathon that goes on for many days, do I need to have patience or should I just try to have dynamism?
Every morning, when you are starting to run, you have to feel that this is the only day that you are running. Then, when tomorrow comes, again think that this is the only day. Otherwise, you may lose patience when you have to run more than a month. To try to always maintain dynamism is out of the question. If you try to have dynamism, you will fall down so many times! The best thing for you to do is to fool the mind by saying, “Oh, this race is only for one day.” Then you will take rest. When tomorrow comes, again you will think, “This race is only for one day.” Always divide it. Every day when you start, if you can convince yourself that it is only for one day, then you will think, “Oh, I can easily do it. Only last year I ran 3,100 miles. Today I cannot run 60 miles? Easily I can do it!” Since quite often the mind is fooling us, we have to use our wisdom to fool the mind. Excerpt from Run And Smile, Smile And Run by Sri Chinmoy.
May my soul dream on
Until its dreams
Come perfectly true.
Excerpt from Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, Part 184 by Sri Chinmoy.
Utpal, your service via these postings are really invaluable. I go out and see these runners everyday, but it is only by reading your blog that I feel truly connected with them and their incredible journey. You are a great writer and journalist. Thank you so much for taking what must be a huge amount of time to document this heroic and historical event.