June 19 As It Is

And I hear my Lord telling my heart

That He wants to entrust my heart

With His birthless and deathless

Cosmic Duties.

Excerpt from My Morning Begins by Sri Chinmoy.

The trans-formative nature of the 3100 mile race on the lives of the runners, both inner and outer is undeniable.  It will bend or break any rigidness within a person.  On so many levels this holds true.  Whether it be the physical body or the more intangible things like one’s mind and spirit.  There is an unique irony here, in that in preparation to take part, one needs to accumulate strength in both the body and the mind.   Yet as soon as the race starts a runner must be prepared to offer up of themselves as much as possible.  Be attached to nothing.  Just give of yourself with courage and humility and try and expect back as little as possible.

Pranab had an unbelievable experience in his race last year.  He lost an entire day to his rash problem and still came back and set a personal best.  I walk with him slowly for his first few laps of the day.  He tells me, “I got the skin situation like last year, but this time I got it right away.  It seems to be an allergy.”  He is wearing full length pants and jacket so his problem is not easily seen.  Yet in getting ready to go out today I have seen it and I know that it is not just uncomfortable but painful in places as well.

We spoke very often last year and I have seen some of the great strength and determination he has within him. I saw him work so hard for so many days last year that he not only set a personal best he also set the 4th best all time mark at this distance.  I know that he wants to go on now, but in his mind, he is not certain just yet if this is truly the right thing to do.  Rupantar is watching him very closely and was with him when he went to the Doctor the day before.  The diagnosis was not clear, and steroids were perscribed to help with the problem, but certainly not cure it.  No one knows what will happen next.  The one certainty is, that he will not be allowed to do any harm to himself.

The year following his triumph was not great. In April the skin problem came back briefly and then went away.  Also he sustained a hip injury that prevented him from training properly through the past winter.  He said he had, “Many attempts to start training properly which didn’t work out.”

In describing what happened in last years race it is clear that he looked upon the problem there as not just a physical ailment but something that was happening within himself that needed to change.  He says, “The amount of resistance we keep inside us is quite similar to the suffering we go through.  I realized that and gave up the last resistance.”  By making this inner change and also with the addition of grace he feels he was able to reenter the race after a day and come back stronger than ever.

His attitude before the start last year he says, “I was telling myself I am going to take it easy, and then I came back and I was dying to run and to finish. I was happy to run.  All of a sudden things went quite well.”

He calls the inner problems ‘resistance.’  He says, “sometimes the resistance is so deep you don’t even know about it.  Maybe that is why these experiences are so painful.  It pushes us deep within so that we we will discover or we will get rid of the thing we do noy know.  New comers always have a hard time at the beginning.”  He says not just for the new ones but for all who run the change will come about when the time is right.  When it does, than the mileage will come easier, and the experience for the runner will be more satisfying.  He describes it as a combination of the right time and the right energy to confront the block that is within a person.

He describes in particular the experience of a fellow runner last year.  “He was going through all kinds of obstacles. At some point in the race he just accepted they were there.  He then stopped focusing on that and started focusing more on just being part of the race.

He talks about his early multi day experiences.  He had heard about this race almost 10 years ago but described it as something that was way beyond his imagination.  His first 10 day race was in 2001, he called it, “a tough experience mentally.  It was obvious that I did not have the capacity to run a 10 day race.”  Yet despite his doubts about himself as a multi day runner he was  inexorably drawn to them, and over the past few years has become better practically with each one.  Now, come what may, Pranab will have an entirely different experience than any he has ever had before.  He says, “It is as it is.” Pranab says, “I definitly learned a lot about the circumstances and doing my best without expecting anything from the outcome.  Surrender yourself to the things that are happening and give up your resistance.”

He describes the passion that his Spiritual teacher, Sri Chinmoy had for the race.  He calls him affectionately his, “Coach.”  He said, “in so many ways he would find ways to inspire the runners”.  His regular presence here was probably the primary incentive for the runners to do their best.  It was also clear that he felt so much for the race and for those who took part.  He also advised the runners to smile.  He told them that smiling would help.  It was in and through their smiles he would be able to reach their hearts.

Paree Group Singing

Enthusiasm Awakeners singing

The great Czech runner Emil Zatopek was a keen observer on the sport of running.  He said many noteworthy things.