Perfection Journey

“I didn’t realize how hard the race would be.  Not just for the runners but also all the workers.”

I am going to be the 50th person to to complete the race but I didn’t realize just how many people behind the scenes working together to put the race on. I want people to know about this race, and how many people it took to put it all together.”

“The support of the Taiwanese community helped me a lot.  I realized that even though the race is called self-transcendence, but it cannot happen without the collaboration of a lot of people helping each other.  Now I feel I know more of the wisdom behind it.  It is only because of team work and people working together.”

“I am just a small person.  But the impact of my achievement that I have had on people is beyond my imagination.  I feel more people need to know about the race.”

“I never met Sri Chinmoy, but I feel that when he created this race he must have had some thought behind it.”

Wei Ming feels touched and inspired by the meaning of Self-transcendence the very meaning of the race and what he accomplished here in 48 days, 11 hours, 52 minutes setting a standard for all of Asia and older runners everywhere.

Continue reading “Day 50: Help Each Other”

“Probably to do something that is long and is good you need to love it.  I just love this race.  For me it has an intensity and many other things that I don’t go through in my day to day ordinary life.”

“I come here for self-transcendence.  For a feeling of oneness.  To see and be with the best people on earth.  To experience closeness to God.  So the race is a magnet.  I just can’t resist.”

“As time passes and you look back all your trophies and medals and rankings they all just fade away.  What remains is your experience and your discoveries.  What remains is the inner feeling.”

Stutisheel says that all the tough experiences that happen at the race fade into the background.  “The hardship all the tough days, you can’t remember.”

“You just remember being full of energy.  Flying around the course.  You remember sunny weather and a big positive drive and that is the main reason why I keep coming back.”

This is his 13th appearance at the race and says each one offers him unique experiences.  “The numbers don’t mean anything.”

“Actually 7 years ago today on day 49 I established my personal best of 48 days and 3 hours.  This year is different.   But still I am very happy to be able to play this game.”

“Sri Chinmoy was very involved with this race and would come and visit the race as many as 5 times a day.  Once, after the race was finished.  He stood in front of his house and said with such regret.  Telling Rupantar, how I miss the race.”

“So on one hand we are looking forward to the race finishing.  We are counting days until the finish.  On the other hand I already miss the race.”

“After 4 days it will be over. No more camp.  No more runners going around and around. Still it will be in our hearts. A good experience.  A very good experience.”

Continue reading “Day 49: Inner Feeling”

“Each of my races here are beautiful in there own way.  If you look at my first race it was very hard for me.  Perhaps even harder than this one.  But if we speak just about this race I had many more things happen to me.”

“I can’t remember all the things ….It started with blisters. I had trouble with my sciatic nerve, and other problems because of that.  Now I am having some trouble with my tooth.  Such kind of things.”

“I think we have these difficulties because it forces us to go deeper inside and find joy to make progress,  and do this not just for ourselves but for all of humanity.”

Vasu says he tries not to think too much about the finish which is now just 170 miles away.  But he is doing everything he can to get there as quickly as possible.

“I am trying now to offer more gratitude for this race  and for everything that has happened.  Also I am happy about the finish which is not only my achievement.  It is the achievement of my spiritual teacher and everybody who has been part of this race.  Without everyone this finish would not be possible.”

Continue reading “Day 48: Make Progress”

“It was the first year I ran in the race. When I reached 2700 miles, I was passing the counting table and people were congratulating me.”  Suprabha ( a fellow runner ) was also there and she also congratulated him.

Of all the support and encouragement offered at that moment Ananda-Lahari says he was basically not receptive.  His response, “it’s just numbers.”

Suprabha he says was puzzled by his response.  She said, “Isn’t it amazing that Sri Chinmoy comes here every day to play music.”

It was at this moment he says that he realized just how fortunate he was.  The significance of his spiritual teacher making a daily appearance to encourage and inspire him and the other runners was suddenly made clear to him.

“I was so exhausted and tired I couldn’t feel what was going on here.  For me it was a lesson on how good it is to feel grateful for everything at every moment. But if I cannot do this then I have to work on it.  For me it was a really good lesson.”

“The second lesson was I was really exhausted.  I was really tired on the last day of the race.  I will get there somehow.”

It was at this moment he says when time literally stopped.  At this moment Suprabha passed and asked, “how are you?”

His response he said was just to complain about all his ailments.  Suprabha said to him, “don’t think about it.”  Then she just ran away.

Somehow he says he was jolted out of his misery.  “I could run again and also time started running.  So I am running at my fastest speed.  I entered into my pain and I could just run.”

Continue reading “Day 47: Grateful For Everything”

“It was a much better performance than my previous time.  So in  that sense it is an achievement.  But my final goal is to complete 3100 miles.  So in that sense (new 4,000 km Japanese record) is just a transition point, to get to the final goal.”

“At each important milestone in the race such as 3,000 km, 4,000km, and so on.  People at the race do a mini celebration.  Something really fun and joyful.  So it made me so happy.”

“So as I was nearing 4,000 km.  I was looking forward to it because of the mini celebration.  So it was really fun and nice.”

“On the one hand, my feeling is I will be able to make 3100 miles the goal.  But on the other hand you never know what may happen in the next 10 days.  There might be some injury.  Small troubles happen all the time, every day.  At the end of the day I have to go one step at a time.  Clear each little obstacle one by one, towards the goal.”

“I am aware of the significance of the meaning of self-transcendence.  I feel that through my running I can better achieve knowing myself.  So running each day for the last 45 days has been a journey requiring me to face myself.  Looking into myself.  I would like to continues this journey of inner exploration for the last 7 days.”

Continue reading “Day 46: To Know Myself”

“I feel very good.  I can see the finish line now step by step, everything has turned out according to my plan.”

Wei Ming has had put on a remarkable performance of running since he took his first step here 44 days ago.  He says even though there have been a few differences in a positive way but overall the whole experience for him is much as he anticipated.

“I imagined I was going to encounter a lot of hardship, the beginning was a little bit hard but now things are better.”

Wei Ming feels that he is actually getting stronger as the race progresses.

“I have been training to be strong physically but lately I feel my spirit strengthening as well.”

“This could lead to the beginning of many different things.  It was my lifetime dream to run here.”

Wei Ming feels he is understanding more and more the meaning and importance of self-transcendence.  “After I understand it more I feel I will be able to contribute more to others.”

Continue reading “Day 45: Step By Step”

Though Andrea completed the 3100 mile race close to midnight last night he has chosen, as many do to run an additional 13 laps in order to make a full 5,000 kilometers.

Asked how he felt, he said,  “Quite good I would say.  I am really happy and satisfied.”

” I never had a clear goal at the beginning.  Because you never really know your shape, and you never know how the race is going to turn out, it’s so long.  But after one week or 10 days, I knew I could do better than last year.”

“So then it was goal after goal.”  He says that after 2 weeks of running, his helper Arpan, encouraged him to attempt to go for under 43 days.  “Then last week we realized we could go for 3rd place overall.  It was one goal after another.  Luckily I got them all.”

As for why he would choose such a difficult event.  “It is a drive that you feel from within.  Once you do it there is this inner call.”

“Without my helpers, I would not be able to perform at that level.  Definitely I could finish the race, but not in this way.”

“Arpan did a great job he was motivating me for 2 days because he saw that I was very close, to go under 43 days.  To get 3rd place overall.  He was pushing and pushing me.  Emotionally and psychologically.  He was telling me you can do it.  Come on let’s go.  Luckily I managed not to fall apart.”

“The inner part of the race, somehow I realized that the race for me was already done. It was meant to be like this.  When you struggle in the race you think it is about you, and your effort.  But in the end I realized it was already meant to be like this.  The inner part already knows in advance what is going to happen.”

Continue reading “Day 44: Inner Call”

Andrea’a time was 42 Days: 17 hours: 38 minutes: 18 seconds

 

The board changes slowly

The crowd gathers for the momentous occasion

Runners pass

Plans are made

Nearly time

Emotional

The champion’s wreath of honor

A precious moment for all

This year’s champion

A great performance

“Since last week I have gone through different challenging times.  Ultimately it is all God’s grace.  We just have to be surrendered instruments and have faith that everything is being taken care of.”

“Really a big part of that is also being at times a divine warrior, and really have to bring forward all your determination, and fight against those parts of yourself that want to give up.  Slow down or think that everything is too hard.”

“All of these things come forward in this race to be illumined and to be challenged.  That’s what makes the race so meaningful.  It gives you the capacity to see these lower parts of yourself.  See your limitations and then dive within to find the capacity to overcome them.”

“I was thinking that when I talk about being in the flow.  I thought that you might think that it sounds like just coming here and flowing along effortlessly.”

“For me the connection to the flow often means really having to fight to bring forward the highest in yourself.”

Harita feels that though each of her races here as well as each day she runs are uniquely different the essence of transformation continues to touch the same parts of herself.  At the same time every day is new and every experience is new.  You can’t compare it you really have to live in the moment.

“To take whatever comes and try and make the best of it with the tools that you have and have faith that are making progress and that you are moving forward. ”

“Sometimes you feel…..o man, how long am I going to have to deal with this.  Some aspect of my personality or some weakness.  But we always have to know that we all really are moving forward. The process of self transformation and illumination is really a long process.  A lifetime after lifetime process.”

“But we have to start somewhere and keep going, and continue and never give up, and have faith that we are moving forward.”

“The nature of this race is that you are continually moving helps to remind you that the momentum is created when you keep taking step after step.  Even if you are slow all those steps add up.  That is so symbolic to life as well.”

Continue reading “Day 43: Divine Warrior”