Day 31… Transformation of Nature (July 17)

From the very instant the race starts time starts to disappear. Yes on day one, 52 days looks like a giant piggy bank filled to overflowing with time. A runner at the start tries to gather up as many extra miles as they can. Knowing full well that bad days, ones in which you were unable to run 109 laps just might and also quite likely might happen when you least expect it.

No 3100 mile runner ever wishes to be in the deficit category. It is hard to regain those precious laps and as the race progresses past the half way point the task of regaining them gets so much harder. So what do you do when the tipping point arrives and there is simply not enough time to get them back.

Last year Smarana faced this predicament and now, with just 3 weeks left it looks as though he has arrived at this same place again. He starts the day with 1722 miles when he really needs to have 1,788 miles, the magic number. The race of course draws runners to this monumental task who are extraordinary and who view their lives here in ways that artfully straddle both outer achievement and inner progress. Quite often, as Sopan said yesterday, the race is really all about the inner experience.

Today Smarana says he wants to use the next 21 days to become a better person. “I am really getting my money’s worth here.”

“My focus is shifting more and more on the transformation of my nature. My focus on running is going more to the background. I see the race more and more as a stage for experiences to help transform my nature. In my first 7 races I was just able to push through. Now there has been a shift.”

“I feel as though I have a more conscious awareness of what’s happening. Maybe I have gone a little too far in the self transformation. (Laughs) You don’t have any real control here. I just want to be more conscious and feel and see and commit myself more. Previously I was just pushing through.”

“Every day is just, day to day, and from one break to the next. 21 days is really quite a lot. I remember the first time I did the race and had completed 21 days and when I realized I had another 31 days my mind was just in shock. It took me 2 days just to calm down. You just have to break it down day by day.”

Smarana feels that right now he is better able to experience the race. Observe the things he needs to learn and accept the inner experiences that he needs in order to become a better person. “Of course I wanted to have both the outer thing to finish the race and also the inner thing the transformation aspect.”