“You have to do 7 laps more and then you are half way.” Last night before she went home these were some of the last welcome words Surasa heard before leaving the course for the night. This morning as she set out on her long day of running the numbers beside her name show just 1547. Not a number that would immediately be taken notice of by the morning counters. That it teetered on the very brink of half way simply went unnoticed. At least at first.
Surasa in her always quiet gentle manner said nothing as she ran those 7 laps and then simply continued on with out saying a word to anyone. Gradually the numbers on her lap sheet were increasing but the significance of what was happening had not quite been processed by the counters. When the numbers were finally crunched and it was clear that she had in fact gone past the half way point I run out onto the course and catch up with her.
She says she was looking forward to going beyond 1550 miles. As for the long hard challenge still ahead of her. “Somehow it goes faster, you are going home. It gets less and less.” As for comparing her results to other years she says simply, ” I am not looking at this. I am just doing what I can. That’s it.”
As we approach the camp the happy jingle of dozens of tiny bells gathers into a bright celebratory welcome for this spectacular lady. The sound of a conch booms out in the background. She giggles with delight, steps momentarily to the board and points at those very satisfying numbers 1550. Then she leaves still chasing after an even bigger number. One that is twice the size, but maybe, just maybe, one that will come a little easier.
Listen to the celebration
When I live inside my heart-home,
I clearly see that my faith
Can run infinitely faster
Than my doubt
To carry me to my destination.
Sri Chinmoy, Twenty-Seven Thousand Aspiration-Plants, Part 249, Agni Press, 1998
ABC.com is here all today to do a story on the race.
Yuri getting ready.
Vasu arrives
Rupantar unloads fresh towels.
Nidhruvi tries to sort out a problem with a shoe.
Start
Something happened here yesterday that is difficult to describe, and also perhaps even harder to believe. The weather was hot and sunny much like it had been for most of the previous week. Yet for some reason, that eludes definition, it was a bad day for just about everyone here.
Yesterdays lap sheet totals clearly show that 10 out of the 12 runners had a significant drop in their mileage yesterday.
This morning starts off cloudy with light sprinkles from time to time. Atmavir pops open an umbrella. He went from 128 laps to 120
Sopan dropped from 111 to 92.
“The weather conditions weren’t bad at all but there was something heavy which was more subtle. I was extremely tired the whole day almost collapsing falling asleep on the sidewalk in the evening.” Sopan
Baladev dropped down
He went from 103 to 94
There is no simple answer for any of this
Ananda-Lahari had one of the biggest drops, from 117 to 97
We can always closely look but still not see everything.
The important thing is simply to keep moving. Ashprihanal had the most laps yesterday 121.
Still have to keep cool
Fix what can be fixed.
Nidhruvi just went down to 110 laps from 112.
Today will be a day with lots to deal with beside the weather.
Pranjal tells me about an experience yesterday when he started to have an uncomfortable lack of feeling in his face and some twitching. He took a little break and then felt better.
He says, “Sometimes you simply don’t get into the flow and other times you don’t have to push and your mileage is rising very fast. Sometimes with each lap you have to really really fight. Yesterday I had to give everything.”
Sopan and Ashprihanal call him the big pusher. “He is the biggest pusher out here running 6 am to 12 am with only one 15 min break at 3 pm!!!” Yesterday he ran 114 laps down from 116
Yuri is perhaps still recovering from his heat problem
He ran 107 laps where the day before he ran 108
Not much seems to be holding Vasu back
But Vasu did drop from 117 to 115 laps yesterday.
Singing does not stop
I spoke with Sarvagata about this all
He went from 113 to 104. He simply does not know what happened to him. He stayed happy he says but it simply didn’t happen for him.
Samahita does some gardening
Jagadhata and Pedro discussing race business….no doubt.
Atmavir and Yuri discussing race business too.
Still trying to have fun
There were just 2 runners who did better yesterday and one was Sarah. Who simply ran 93 laps the number she needs to do every day now.
Some don’t have to do too much
“You have to stay focused until the very end.” Surasa is the other runner who increased their mileage yesterday. She went from 111 to 113.
I am curious to know that since this is her 3rd time here does she enjoy it more and more each time she comes. “It depends on how you are feeling. If you are feeling good than everything is fine, and if you have no injuries than of course you can enjoy it. Like at the beginning, when you are just thrilled that you can run. Than it is easy. But if you have injuries than it is difficult to enjoy it. I thin it depends on how you are feeling.”
“I am feeling very good.”
“I get messages it is always nice.” She tells me that she got a nice message from Laura, (somewhere off in Texas where apparently there are no busy streets), before the race. “She told me that she was happy that I was running again.”
“This is always very nice and it touched me very much. Laura does not know me but still she has such concern, that she is writing to me. She said that it is nice that women are doing it. She cannot do it but she is doing it in another way.”
For Surasa she describes how while she is here she has to focus almost entirely on how she is feeling. She recognizes of course when others are doing well and also when others are suffering. But she also has a tremendously difficult task in front of her. One now that has been chiseled down to half its original size but still very formidable.
Kevin has been studying the race for the past few weeks along with another student from the University of Pennsylvania Corina. He has a friend at ABC, named Dan Kloeffler who has come to do a story on the race.
When asked what he thought he would see before coming.
“First off a million and one questions comes to mind. How can you even accomplish a 3100 mile race, and then the follow up. Why would you accomplish it? So when I started to learn a little bit more about the details, what goes into it. Not only physically but mentally. That’s when we started talking at ABC we figured that this was obviously something that should be covered.”
One of the usual aspects is that the runners have come from all over the world, “and we are in Jamaica Queens. There are so many aspects to this.” He is intrigued at how simple it was at the start at 6 am. “They all ride up on their bikes, and very casually and calmly put their shoes on. Then start at this one line in the sidewalk. Have a moment of silence. Then take off collectively.”
“That was when I started to understand a little more about what this race is about. You can kind of see it on their faces. There is an intensity but there is a purpose.”
He also has noticed the support system of people with so many various jobs to keep it all going. “Everybody has a role to play, and everyone seems to know what their role is. There is kind of a give and take of energy. We are going to be here all day but I still don’t think we will even scratch the surface. Even if you were here the entire length of the race I don’t think you could describe it.”
I suggest to him that perhaps it doesn’t fit clearly into the category of a sporting event.”I think very much that it is a sporting event because there is a goal.”
Dan tells me that the longest distance he has personally run is around 14 miles. “I can’t imagine waking up at 5 o’clock or 5:30 and have the mind set of immediately putting on your shoes and then have the mind set of running for the next 18 hours. I cannot understand how one, you physically can do it, and mentally how you can do it. Yet I see them walking past here and they have smiles on their faces.”
“So I am still processing it all but it is amazing to see that it is possible. I have been kind of asking myself, could I do something like that?”
“I don’t know. I am sure I will take a lesson away from this in that, the next time I look at a challenge as being impossible, I will think of this, and see this. It was tough for me just to get up at 4 o’clock have a cup of coffee and drive here and then just watch.”
“They have to get up and run, maybe 60 miles today. Then they have to do it again tomorrow, and then tomorrow and the next day. Mentally it is exhausting, just to think about it. But I suppose that is why there is only 12.( laughs)”
It will be a long day for the crew as well
The runners just always continue whether the camera sees them or not.
Prayer of the day
Recited by Surasa
Enthusiasm Awakeners perform the Song of the day
What are you waiting for?
Start running
Towards God’s Heart-Home.
Sri Chinmoy, Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, Part 36, Agni Press, 2004
Your everyday enthusiasm continues to inspire me!
Look forward to the daily posts and photos,
Peace to all>
Elmer
Thank you for your fantastic blog!
Wow! Surasa knows I think about her. I’m glad things are going well.