Perfection Journey

It is easy to be impressed when someone accomplishes a great achievement.  But it is even more inspiring when you can also become aware of the inner strength of that same person.  The true and most significant qualities that are immeasurable and yet are the most important part of any act of self transcendence.

4 years ago William was miles behind in his quest to complete his first 3100 mile race.  Yet somehow he came back with surprising determination and focus in order to succeed. To understand even a little of how he found the capacity to do such a thing is to become aware of what a remarkable figure William Sichel really is.

This year his situation is even more dire.  This morning he is 72 miles back and has now just 20 days left in order to make it up.  What is admirable in William is of course that there is no surrender, there is n0 giving up.  He and his team are committed to being here and doing their absolute best until there is no time left to do even one more lap.

When we talk this morning I joke with him whether he ever wished he had stuck with Ping Pong a sport he was once very talented in.  “The honest answer is yes.” (Laughs)

“This is not the sort of race you enjoy all the time.  You are not having fun all the time.  You have all the emotions probably every day.  Certainly when you get to the end the overriding feeling and emotion is that you are glad that you did it.  The experience can only be gained by being here the compete 52 days.”

“There are moments in my day when I feel that this is the best thing that I could possibly be doing.  But you have to be here for the duration in order to get those experiences.  You can’t come for a couple of days and get them.  You need to be here day in and day out to get into the state.  As someone said to me the clue of the race is all about is in its name, Self-Transcendence.  It is not the 3100 mile race it is the self-transcendence 3100 mile race.”

“To get into that state you just have to grind it out.  Day after day, week after week, whatever the weather. That is the nature of the beast.”

William feels that for him self transcendence means reaching a higher mental state.  That can only be achieved by doing something unusual.  You can’t just wake up in the morning and go for a walk and say …..I am self transcending. It is a higher state of mind that can only be achieved by attempting extraordinary feats.”

William says that because of the length of the 3100 mile race no other event compares.  “It takes you to a state that you can’t achieve in shorter events.  You have to be doing the best you can every day.  It has all to do with the effort, and the commitment to the event.  My aim is to cover the greatest possible distance every day.”

“I am here to the stroke of midnight every night.  I am not cutting for home.  That is the way I do it and that is the way I want to do it. By doing that I am doing myself justice.”

The Board at the Start of Day 32…* Note totals may not be accurate… Magic number is 1,847*

It is even a little cool this morning

Continue reading “Day 32… Best You Can (July 18)”

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.”

It rained late this afternoon

The board at the Start of Day 31 *Totals may not be accurate… Magic number is 1,788*

Camp early

Continue reading “Day 31… Transformation of Nature (July 17)”

“I have no expectations, it is all the Supreme’s grace.”  Sopan humbly answered to my congratulations this morning on his great achievement thus far in the race.  “I feel that there is a force that makes everything work out.  I just try my best.”

“My first race was 2005, 13 years ago, quite a while ago.”  He says that in some ways the race was different when Sri Chinmoy the founder of the race was still with us and in some ways it hasn’t changed.”

He says that both Ananda-Lahari, Smarana and he were fortunate to have the privilege of participating in the race when Sri Chinmoy would spend so much time there encouraging all the runners. “Sri Chinmoy used to be the most regular visitor here.  He would come at least 4 times a day.” Sopan describes how he would bring treats for them and even play music in the same spot that the Enthusiasm Awakeners sing each day.

“Back in the day Ashprihanal and I used to run together at night.  Somehow we would be filled with energy at night.  We used to have fun, tell jokes, have a good time.  So one night, usually runners are tired, but we were having a really good time.  Running, joking, laughing loudly.”

“Then Sri Chinmoy drove by with the window of the car open.  He was excited, so happy to see us.  We were running at good speed and laughing.  He was so happy and he blessed us.” Sopan’s eyes widen and he makes the all so familiar gesture that Sri Chinmoy would so often do.  The hand gently rising up and down and made the sound he so often used to encourage his students, ‘Baaah, Baaah, Baaah.

“He really appreciated our enthusiasm.”

“Now at the race you have to be more spiritual.  You have to really surrender your problems.  Sri Chinmoy had this special capacity to draw your problems.  He had this smile, with it he had the capacity to draw all our problems away.  Now we have to consciously work on surrender. This is the main difference between the race then and now.  But in a way this makes the race more spiritual. Now you have to be able to offer up your problems within yourself.”

Came the moment this morning when it was time for me to leave the race.  I went into the van where I had left all my gear and found Sopan there quietly working on the blisters on his feet.  I sat across from him on the opposite bunk and talked with him for a short while.  Curious how his feet were holding up now well into his 30th day of running on them.

He said that they were fine but now that he was walking more it was creating new problems for his feet which have so far taken him 1759 miles.  Sopan was calm, quiet, and methodical.  There was no hurry and there was no rush.  He like all the runners have to continually do everything right.  Sopan after all does still have almost 1400 miles more to go.

Asked about his performance thus far he is grateful for this opportunity he has been given now for the 7th time.  He said that for him though the numbers were not to be chased after or pursued.  The race was all about the inner experience.

Bonus interview with Sandhani from last night

Weather advisory

Continue reading “Day 30… More Spiritual (July 16)”

“When they first told me the course was not flat I could not believe it.” Of course there a very select few who have had the opportunity like she has to circle the half mile block around Thomas Edison High school thousands and thousands of times.  Not just intimately understanding differentials in elevation but also every possible aspect of the loop.

Each day a change in direction and each day a hope and a prayer to be able to make the circuit at least 109 times.  As of 27 days of running Surasa has completed the loop 1,623 miles here just this year. That is not including the multiple orbits she has made in this same race over the years.

“I am happy as long as I survive.  When there was extreme heat my only goal was to survive.”

“My preparation for the race I have to say is not so good.”  Surasa says she does not keep track of her training.  “I don’t write it down.  I am running in the morning and I cannot manage more than 50 minutes.  On the weekend I try to run longer, 2hours, 3 hours.”

Surasa says that training has 2 sides.  When you run well you feel good but if you get tired then doubts can start to come about your fitness.  “That’s life. Training is always different than the race.”

“Many times I ran barefoot on grass.  I said to my feet, soon you will be running on sidewalk.  You have to remember this, running on the grass.”

“I have a very nice story that shows that prayer works.  The heat wave took all my energy.  Then I felt that something had changed. I had the best night ever.  I was sleeping through the night for the first time.  A little bit longer than 3 hours.  Then in the morning I felt, wow, such a good sleep.”

“It was the first day after all this heat.  Then I could do the mileage.  I believe I did 114 laps.  Everything was good.  Everything was much better. Later, on this same day.  I got an email from a friend.”  She was visiting a special meditation center for students of Sri Chinmoy in Germany.  She told Surasa, “I was praying for you.  I was sending light into your heart hoping that the light would then come down to your feet.”

“This was so amazing.  It was so nice for me.  It showed me that prayer works.”

Surasa’s name means, your heart is filled with boundless sweetness and affection.  Therefore you are making very fast progress in the spiritual life.

The Board at the Start of Day 28…*Note the totals may not be accurate… the magic number is 1,609*

Camp early

Continue reading “Day 28… Prayer Works (July 14)”

“I feel very very good.  I am very blessed.  I think it is getting better and better.  I can say I feel very good every day.”

If one were just looking at the scoreboard it would appear that Ushika is doing spectacularly well.  Yesterday  he ran 64 miles the most he has run since the first day of the race.  But his feeling good is more about what is happening within than the number of little plastic digits stuck to a scoreboard with Velcro.

“It was definitely special when I transcended my mark of 15 days for 1,000 miles.  This was the longest I had ever run before coming to this race.  Since then it has been a completely new journey.  I do celebrate each new milestone.  Like the halfway point yesterday.”

When asked what he did he says, “stop, smile, be grateful, take a picture of the board, and have a beer or an ice cream or both.”

Ushika says he would not have changed anything about his preparations for this race.  “My goal was to be more grateful.  Basically I am crying every day.  Not with pain but with gratitude.  So the only thing I would need would be more gratitude.”

“Yesterday Vasu and I were crying together.  Because as a new comer, I have teething problems, with the muscles, with the skin, with everything. Vasu always checks on me.  Most of the time when some problem arises he suggests some exercise and like a miracle.  Within one or two laps it works.  The problem gets considerably better.”

“Yesterday I told him that each and every exercise he had given me had worked.  I was praising the Supreme’s grace that it was working in and through him.  Then we both started to cry.”

“This was a gratitude moment yesterday.  It was when I realized what a family of heroes I have joined here.  That I am able to join them in running for the Supreme, fighting for the right cause, and growing into the light.”

The board at the start of Day 27 *Please note the totals may not be accurate…..the magic number is 1550*

Early

Continue reading “Day 27… Completely New Journey (July 13)”

Feeding the 3100 mile runners is no easy task and yet Nirjharini has been the head cook now of the race for the past 15 years.  Creating individual dishes specifically for each runner’s needs and appetites is a herculean task.  Now imagine this responsibility spread out over an 18 hour day.  Ensuring that each athlete has enough fuel to run 59.6 miles a day and more, and stay healthy and of course happy.

When you enter the race kitchen there are a number of impressions that greet you immediately.  Aromas of fresh food you are aware of well before you even knock on the door.  Once inside spotless cleanliness, and purity are something you cannot but unavoidably feel and experience.  It is what I imagine a temple of food is like.

Nirjharini and her crew all work with such love and joy it reminds me of how some great restaurants can provide great taste but you go away somehow still lacking.  Her food is always delicious and made with love. The best ingredient in all of life’s dishes.

I ask Nirjharini what she likes about helping in this important way for the race. “I look forward to this race all year.  Being here for me is a very special time.  It is a very sacred time.”  Nirjharini also carries very sweet memories of the early years at the race when Sri Chinmoy, the marathon team founder was still with us.”

Nirjharini says, “it is amazing what the runners do.  It is extremely inspiring.  They are all doing something unimaginable. I am very grateful that I can be part of this race, preparing food.  I really really admire the runners.  They are a big inspiration in my life.”

“The runners give us tips and we are trying to change the food for them,” … Mirka

“It is great.  It is one big family and I really enjoy it.  We can feel the oneness with the runners.  You can start to feel what each one likes or doesn’t like.  I feel like I am home here. It is really great.”….Sadajyoti

“I think it is a really really special race.  It is such a beautiful feeling to be here.  You can feel the Supreme’s energy very strongly.” Kamaneeya works as a counter most days as well as working in the kitchen.  The inner experience she describes, “it is so so strong it is really beautiful.”

I did not leave after my visit to the kitchen hungry in any way.

*Not pictured are Tanuja and Virochana*

The Board at the start of Day 26 *Note the totals may not be accurate…… The magic number is 1,490*

Continue reading “Day 26… One Big Family (July 12)”

Harita has been on the road with the Peace Run now since early spring.  She and the team have carried the Peace torch across the country and she has enjoyed serving a project that impacts thousands and thousands of people as it makes it way, not just across the US but also around the world.  Her break away from this epic journey has come to an end and she will soon fly off to Chicago today to once again rejoin the North American team.

Today before she left I asked her what her experience has been like helping and observing the 3100 mile race from the sidelines.

“When you run the race you realize that you wouldn’t be able to last more than a single day by yourself.  There are so many aspects of support, oneness, and encouragement and love that go into this race.”  Harita says this giving comes from many many people who serve the race in many many ways as well.

She says that over the last couple of weeks she has enjoyed and appreciated being able to observe the race.  “It is unfathomable how much goes into this race behind the scenes.”  Harita is impressed with people such as Vajra ,who do so much service to the race with the utmost humility and selflessness.

She says that people who are drawn to the race to serve do so for the opportunity to be a part of it.  “I had the sense when I was running the race that I was just a small part of it.  The runners are just one part of it.  The race creates this powerful reality here.”

“As a runner the most powerful thing that I could receive was encouragement.  In that encouragement you feel, oneness and you feel strength.  Everybody who takes part in it.  They feel that they are part of it.  They are also getting that strength and that encouragement and enthusiasm.  Thus becoming part of something greater than themselves.”

“We all know that are lives are unfulfilled if we are just thinking about ourselves.  Real fulfillment in life comes from being part of something bigger than ourselves. We realize that we all have something to offer to the world.  You don’t have to offer something amazing.  You can offer something really small, but if you offer it with all of your heart.  That is the most fulfilling feeling.”

The board at the start of Day 25 *Please note the totals may not be updated…..the magic number is 1,430

Early

Vajra starts the generator

Continue reading “Dy 25… Real Fulfillment (July 11)”

There are many people over the years who have made significant contributions to the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team races.  Who have worked behind the scenes to make sure that all the runners are served in the best possible way and are able to have a positive experience. The team simply would not be able to function without the selfless service of many.  Vajra is just one of those such people.  His dedication and commitment to the multi day races is extraordinary.

Here at the 3100 mile race he has been one of the early set up people since the very first race.  Up before dawn and patroling the course and collecting trash in very large garbage bags.  He is always smiling, always gracious, and willing to do just about anything that needs to be done.  In particular over the last 3 plus weeks he has massaged Kobi every morning.

What’s more he has talked to Kobi at length and made suggestions and given him tips and advice, crucial to a runner who is now plunging into a whole new world of endurance running.

As we are talking this morning I can’t help but notice he is carrying a mechanical counter in his hand.  Vajra tells me that for the past few weeks he has been chanting a mantra and uses it to keep track. He never pauses idle in his inner quest for God.

“In those early days I realized that there was something about this path that answered what I wanted to do most.  Love, with all my heart, soul, and physical God.  I found I was able to do that on this path.” Vajra says that the love evolved into something even deeper and more fulfilling.  “I want to be able to do this throughout my spiritual life.”

Vajra describes how often we are required to do things that outwardly we may not at the time appreciate.  It is only later that we realize the positive affect these actions will yield surprising results.  “You will end up finding something that helps you in every way.”

He says being part of the races has, “opened up many doorways.   It has made me realize that for every challenge that has been presented to me.  I have overcome them and in turn become a better person.  It’s a big thing in this life.”

“Not only to be a better person but also to become what your creator wanted you to be.”

“I wake up in the morning with this tremendous inner urge to start the day.  It’s a wonderful feeling.  It makes you feel like your life has significance, and you are doing what you are here to do.  What the creator has asked you to do.  You can’t beat that.”

The Board at the start of Day 24 *please note totals may have not been update…….magic number is 1,370.8*

Alternate side parking

Empty tables

It is going to be hot

Continue reading “Day 24… Opened Many Doors (July 10)”

There is a kind of silence and tranquility about William’s running.  Occasionally there might be a hard set to his jaw but his steps are always light and his pace almost precise and clock work efficient.   A veteran of many many ultra races he is a consummate endurance athlete.  No bravado, no hype, just get on the track and go for as long as you can.  After 22 days that of course is a significant total.

His mileage to date is 1288 miles.  A good number by any standard but still a little off the pace which is 1,311.  When you see him run, particularly late in evening when the track becomes his almost serene personal loop, there is little doubt he will gradually gather up all the missing miles and then some.

“We were hit with a heat wave earlier on and though I do heat training before I come out here.  It obviously doesn’t equate being hot for 18 hours a day.  I had to work my way through that.”  William also had a day of stomach upset that also set him back.

“I cope with everything and I am very philosophical.  My philosophy is to run as far as I can every day.  Despite the circumstances, whether it be physical or weather issues, or health.  Whatever I get I am happy with.  That is my philosophy so I might as well relax.  I am more relaxed than I was 4 years ago.”

“With experience you learn to look at the bigger picture.  The vast majority of time it is just about the next lap, this day, and nothing more.  That is the way I do it.”

“I have various athletic goals.  To finish in a certain position and obviously I would like to complete the distance within the time limit.  But to be honest I wouldn’t be devastated if I didn’t.  As long as I have done my best to achieve the greatest possible distance every day.”

“I try to make everything as simple as possible.  I used to have complex plans and mantras.  I still do use mantras occasionally.  Mostly I just boil it all down and focus on my breathing.  If my mind is drifting or I think I have a problem I always bring it back by focusing on my breathing.   That is the most important thing I am doing.”

“Most of the day I am just thinking about my breathing.”

William says it gives him peace and he appreciates the simplicity of it.  “It is always there.  I am not forcing any changes.  The breath is doing its own thing.  I just go along with it.”

“It is essential for me to have a crew supporting me.  4 years ago I tried to go without for the first 2 weeks, so I do know what it is like being unsupported.” He says that too much time is wasted if he doesn’t have the support of helpers.

“I do love the evenings. I love it after 8 or 9pm especially.  To me that is when I come alive, when it goes quiet here.  The crowds have all gone it is just me and the race.  To me that is my golden time, the evening.”

The condition of Yolanda’s feet was such that she went to a foot specialist to seek further treatment.  On her facebook page she released the following statement.  When the opportunity takes place I will ask for a further update.

The New York concrete got the best of my feet! I must stay off my feet for two weeks Thanks Dr Haskins & Dr. Karen Silver!!!

The Board at the start of Day 23 *Note the totals may not be accurate* The magic number is 1,311 miles

The early time

The morning chat

Continue reading “Day 23… As Simple As Possible (July 9)”