This morning nothing seemed to be going right. Weather issues, technical problems, and a general case of the early morning grumbles. The trajectory of the day was not going up and neither was my drone, due to rain. Generally it felt, that whatever could go wrong was in fact…. going wrong.
My interview schedule was topsy turvy and I was getting a little desperate. So I turned to Smarana, and asked for an interview, and he said yes. And it was not just a grudging yes, it was one of those sweet, deep, and grateful yes’s that in an instant melted away my woes.
We started our run with him carrying an umbrella in a light rain. The weather affects the runners in all kinds of ways, and even though it wasn’t raining heavily it was humid and the air was thick. He said it makes his legs heavy, and makes it difficult. He adds, “I am becoming more sensitive to the heat.”
When I ask whether or not he is looking for it all to be over, “There are two hearts beating inside of me. One wants it all to be over with and the other one feels that every day is so precious out here.”
“There is such precious energy out here and it is inspiring to see the runners who are still struggling. They know that they have to hit certain numbers in order to finish. The pressure they have and how they are dealing with it, is really nice.”
Smarana has also been inspired by all those who are selflessly working at the race. “Yesterday I was just in awe watching Sahishnu clean the food bar. He had such dedication and love while he was cleaning it.”
“Mario comes here after working a 12 hour shift in an intensive care unit and comes and gives massages to the runners, and then thanks them for coming to him for a massage.”
“There is such a high moral and spiritual standard here. You can just absorb it every day. It is really nice.”
“At the moment this is home but I know this game. You want to go to the beach or something like that and then when you get to the beach it is kind of boring. You are always longing to do something else. But at the moment I am enjoying being here. I know I can’t finish the race but I know it is just me and the course, with all the other runners and the helpers.”
“There is no outer glory. I am just doing it for my own spiritual development.”
The Board at the Start of Day 39… *Note totals may not be accurate..The magic number is 2,246*
Early camp
Vajra and Kobi
William arrives
Still early
Surasa arrives
Generator problems
Learning the ropes
William at his table
Kaneenika warms up
Konstantin getting ice ready
The girls
Vasu arrives with Sasha
Start of Day 39
Light spatters of rain
Vasu ran 70 miles his most in 10 days
He now has 2626 miles
Sahishnu arrives with the morning mail
He should finish in less than a week. He has 864 more laps to do and this could be his 3rd win in a row. He has completed the race 6 times.
Flower
A matter of proper spelling
Kobi did 63 miles
He now has 2551 miles
With his son Eli
Flower
Ushika did 64 miles
Getting a little foot care from Oscar
He now has 2333 miles
A really great race
A joy to watch
Flower
Oscar and Rupantar
Sopan did 58 miles
He now has 2296 miles
He is 32 miles over the magic number
Flower
Surasa did 58 miles
She now has 2284 miles
Under Vasuprada’s care. She is 20 miles over the magic number
Kaneenika did 60 miles
Then the rain came
She now has 2252 miles. She is 12 miles behind the magic number
With Leelavatee
Flower
William did 56 miles
He now has 2162 miles
“Who can jump higher, a kangaroo or the Empire State building. A kangaroo of course. The Empire State building can’t jump.”
Flower
Discussing breakfast
Smarana did 55 miles
He now has 2156 miles
Working on joy and his spiritual development
Flower
Snacks have come
Ananda-Lahari did 46 miles
He now has 2072 miles
Flower
Swamiji
Flower
Day 39
“No, I am absolutely serious guys. There are 9 runners who have been going around the school here since June, and I don’t think they are ever going to stop.”
Poem of the Day read by Sasha
Click to Play:
Enthusiasm Awakeners
Click to Play:
Spirituality
Is precious,
Unimaginably precious —
So says the heart.
Sri Chinmoy, Seventy-Seven Thousand Service-Trees, part 30, Agni Press, 2002
Thank-you, Utpal, for getting this video done.
The temperatures seem to be high everywhere. I cannot imagine to really run at all, but trying to run, gives me a faint sense of what the runners are doing there in whatever kind of weather.
Joke:
“I do not tell my dog, when it is his birthday.” “Why not?” “Because he does not understand.”:)
Thanks for the awesome updates Utpal.
Looking for a story, Constance the cook from Australia might be interesting. Helped at a 24hour, ran the next one with no training at an age when most are slowing down. She’s a former Buddhist nun and helicopter pilot!
Keep the inspiration coming. Gratitude.Grahak
Hi Utpal, please don’t be too harsh to yourself, even if nothing is working, your reports are great, even if you don’t have an interview it is also perfect as long as you show us what is going on at the Race
Thanks so much
A small correction: sometimes you call Max Oskar and it makes me laugh, I don’t know why you mix two of them
Nice to see Sasha again, say hello to everybody, they are all great people