Author: vasudev

Yesterday, on his 31st straight day of running Annanda-Lahari ran 77 miles. It was 10 miles further than anybody else had run that day and was only surpassed by his very first day of the race, in which he ran 82 miles.

To see him caught up free and unrestrained in the realm of speed is to behold a full throttled miracle. It can be hot, and it can be stifling humid and with his head protected by his large floppy hat he just goes and goes. Almost defying the intolerable friction of concrete and heat.

“I did 77 miles so you can say in a way that it was special. But every day is special.” Ananda-Lahari explains that there are also days when he tries his hardest and is still only able to make a much smaller number of miles.

“Yesterday I pushed hard and also had speed. So it is not my choice. It is the Supreme’s choice.”

“Somehow I felt already the day before that I would go for higher miles. It worked.” When asked if he got joy from the big mileage he says no. “Yesterday I was pushing pushing pushing and no real flow.”

“Early this morning I was falling apart, but now it is getting better and better. I can run very well now. We need patience and perseverance.”

“It should be easy. I know it is like that. You just need to enter into your heart and enjoy the whole day. Then we run and run and run. This is the goal but there are many many times when it is extremely hard.”

“You can’t just think too much ahead of yourself. So you stay focused. I have this lap to make and then the next one. You can’t think of the whole day because then you might think. O God, how am I going to survive this day?

Continue reading “Day 32… The Reality of Peace (July 17)”

I have to remind myself most days that while I had something close to a comfortable night in bed the runners have at best snatched just a few hours of rest. (with or without air conditioning) Harita ran 62 miles yesterday, something that will take me more than a week to do if I am lucky, and lets not forget she has spent the last 30 days running 1825 miles so far.

When we start our interview this morning a construction crew is tearing up the street at one end of the block. “You try not to notice them. But that particular (Noise ) has my whole body vibrating.”

“I have fantastic helpers. There are quite a few girls helping me. Suhasini is on the wake up shift. From waking me up to getting me out of bed until 8am. She is very good entertainment. She starts my day by telling me something completely random.”

One of Harita’s other remarkable feats is that she and Suhasini have told a joke together each day of the race in order to entertain the Enthusiasm Awakeners.

She believes that one of the earlier runners in the race, Grahak started the practice which has been caught on by others over the years. “Some of the boys realized that by performing a joke it magically makes you feel better.”

“It seemed pretty easy so I really quickly saw that if you have something in the first hour of the race to try and take your mind off all your aches and pains, exhaustion and tiredness. Then it can really really help. You feel lighter. It forces you to be in a more positive state of mind.”

“It really helps me to feel better. That is the main reason I do it. It is super nice to do something that gives people joy. If you can do anything in your life to give people joy then I think that is something that is really rewarding inwardly.”

“Fortunately or unfortunately each day is a whole new experience. Sometimes you have a great day and then the next you feel super exhausted. I felt super exhausted when I woke up this morning.”

One of the things Harita appreciates in particular about doing the race is being exposed to nature. “Last night there was a beautiful sunset and there was a full moon rising at the same time. Sometimes you feel that mother nature is really there with you.”

“You feel that you are this tiny part of something so much greater. That is one thing I have been trying to feel and that is something that I have been able to do more in this race, and more so as the race has gone on.”

She also says she doesn’t want to feel as though she can’t wait for the race to be over. She doesn’t want to imagine either that the 3100 is just about completing the distance.

“I want to really treasure the experience and be in the moment and take this as an incredible opportunity to be an instrument of God’s grace and really experience the fullness of the moment, and my own spirituality.”