It is a sweet still morning, odd perhaps for a friday, when the world around us usually gathers itself for the final noisy chaotic rush of the week.  The sky is bright and glowing and the day will not get hot.  It is a day that is swelling with beauty and promise.  It is also the day that Pavol has dreamt about and struggled long and hard to achieve.

It is just a perfect morning to be wide awake.  Yet the first words he speaks today are, “It is like a dream.”  But this is a real and perfect dream for Pavol.  Today he will at last reach his goal.

On day 56 of last years race Pavol found a generous portion of solace for his mind but in his heart he felt he had not achieved his true victory.  He managed to complete 2700 miles on the penultimate day of the 3100 mile race.  It was a terrific performance considering how hard he had to work to get it but he had come to complete the full distance, not 2700, so it was a bitter sweet victory after 56 days of struggle.

On this bright morning he steps forward from the line with just 49 miles ahead of him.  There will still be a hint of brightness left in the sky when he crosses the finish line in the early evening.  He is not dreaming or sleeping in any way today. As he run he looks as though he is savoring each step. He does not look like one that he has spent 111 days here over two years going around and around thousands of times.

He is all too awake and alive and grateful to be here.  He is doing what his heart has asked of him. Tomorrow when he rises early and does not come back to the course, perhaps that will be a real dream.

This picture was taken by Alakananda at Asprihanal’s finish in 2007. Today is her birthday and she has offered this picture to all who have come to the race this morning.   For both herself and her Dad this picture represents their spiritual teacher’s love and affection for this race.  Sutisheel says, that you can see in this picture that he is asking her to take it.  So today she is giving it away.

On May 4th, his birthday, Stutisheel also gave it away and included the following aphorism.

I love the Supreme because I came from Him. I devote myself to the Supreme because I wish to go back to Him. I surrender myself to the Supreme because He lives in me and I in Him.

Excerpt from Service-Boat And Love-Boatman, Part 2 by Sri Chinmoy.

Continue reading “August 7 Like a Dream”

Ananda-Lahari tells me this morning, his 54th day on the course, that he walked all day yesterday.  I ask him if the reason he walked was due to lack of inspiration or due to lack of energy.  He answers quickly.  “Inspiration I have always.”

He is here at the race for the 5th straight year.  Over the years he has been much much faster and slower than he will be this year.  He has a personal best of 49 days and 14 hours.  It is a time that is almost 7 days faster than his current pace.  This year he is likely to finish on the 56th day, a slightly quicker time than he did here last year.

He is one of those very rare individuals in which the outer results seem to be secondary in importance to the inner achievement.  It is something that most of us like to strive for but so often fall into the obvious trap of wanting to see the results of our efforts all line up in our favor.  It is simple human nature to set goals and try to achieve them.  Ananda-Lahari is someone who is not oblivious about wanting to surpass his previous achievements, but more significantly, he wants to be satisfied and content within himself all along the way.  There is an outer goal he has worked hard to achieve here, but there is for him an inner goal that cannot be reached with footsteps alone.  It is reached with joy, positiveness, and prayer.    As he says, “I believe there is nobody here who is not trying to do their best.”

Keep trying!

Continue reading “August 6 This is What I am Supposed to Do”

Today Pavol is wearing a T shirt that says, ‘Go Forward.’  It is written in the gently flowing handwriting of his late spiritual teacher Sri Chinmoy.  The letters are a bright bold red and around it are a collection of four of his bird drawings in soft blue.

On this, his 53rd day on the course, Pavol is just 161 miles from completing his journey.  Just like Pushkar, his race in many ways began one year ago when he entered the 3100 for the first time in 2008.

His race last year was an epic struggle almost from the beginning.  An injury prevented him from ever really being able to run.  He courageously stayed on the course however for 56 days, at which time he reached 2700 miles and was obliged to stop, 400 miles short of his goal.  On the following day Suprabha finished her 3100 miles and the race was officially over.

5 days ago Pavol crossed a self-transcendence threshold that has weighed upon him for the past year.  Late friday afternoon he past the 2700 mile mark and then just kept going without a pause.  Knowing full well that not only was each step, one step further than he had ever gone in a race before, but also that his goal was now most certainly and assuredly fast approaching.    It now appears that on Friday, sometime in the evening of his 55th day on the course he will complete running the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race.

From time to time Pavol has written some short poems about his experience here.  Today his poem is:

No Mind

No Form

No Break

I am only running.

Continue reading “August 5 Go Forward”

Diganta starts his final day at the 3100 with just 51 miles to go.  For this young man from Austria, who is just 29, it will be his 4th finish of the worlds longest race.

When he arrived this morning he showed not a hint of excitement or anticipation, it appeared for all intents and purposes like just another day at the office. Not one he has been working so hard to reach for the past 51 plus days.

In his first few laps of the day he moves slowly and easily.  He says it will not be until he has 10 miles to go that, “I will have the feeling that it is really going to end.” For now he says it is just like any other day.  The major difference today being he says,”except that it is very quiet, because most of the people have finished,” and with this remark  he laughs.

He has received lots of encouraging messages from friends and family back home in Austria and from Italy where he lived much of the past year.  He tells me with real amusement about a fax he received from his two brothers.  One wrote simply, ‘greetings,’ and the other wrote, ‘Who ever runs the fastest finishes first.” He finds this amusing and I ask him if he thinks people understand what he is really doing here and has done over 4 summers and he says, “I don’t think so.”

A few days ago, a story was printed in the New York Times, written by a journalist who was describing what it was like standing in one gallery of the Louvre for two hours.  He just wanted to observe how the visitors reacted to the display of magnificent artworks that were notable, but were certainly not as prestigious as, lets say, the Mona Lisa.

He realized that most people moved quickly through the gallery rarely even pausing for even one minute in front of any of the priceless pieces of art.  If they did even stop, a precious amount of time was spent just looking at the label and not on the art. Some just snapped photos and moved swiftly through.  Perhaps trying to take in the whole museum in a single day.

Of course Diganta is not on display here at the race, nor are any of the runners who have finished their tasks or have yet to complete their journey.  He moves slowly so he can be easily seen, but our minds eye will never really catch the transcendent beauty and magnificence of what he or any of others have done here.

Later in the early evening at his finish Sahishnu will say of Diganta, “You are soulful, you are thoughtful, you care for all the other runners, you have always been an asset to the race, and you still know how to run.  People don’t realize that if you don’t run 41 or 42 days that you are not any good.  You run with such grace and poise, that Sri Chinmoy would be proud of you, and we are all proud of you.  Four times here, no joke.”

I tell you once and for all:

Simplify your life-pilgrimage.

God will be proud of you.

Intensify your heart-pilgrimage.

God will be proud of you.

Purify your mind-journey.

God will be proud of you.

Cancel your vital-journey.

God will be proud of you.

Expel your body-journey.

God will be proud of you.

Excerpt from The Wings Of Light, Part 18 by Sri Chinmoy.

Continue reading “August 4 Proud of You”

For several days now there have been bits of grey tape stuck to the sidewalk on all 4 corners of the course.  Little arrows have been carefully drawn on them and they are placed a generous distance from the inside corner.  They were placed there just to remind Suprabha not to make tight turns.  She says, “If you do wide corners it is much better for your hips. Because if you do a sharp corner it is harder for your joints.”  It has been just 6 days since Suprabha was teetering on the edge of not being able to complete the race.  In that time she has adapted to a whole new strategy in how to do the race and it appears to be paying off.  She starts the day with 475 miles to go.  Which seems like a lot if you consider it will probably take her another 11 days to complete it.  Each day she now only walks and leaves the course early in the evening to help rest her painful hip.   But one has to consider as well, that after she crosses the line here this summer she will have run 43,000 miles on this block over 14 years.

She describes her original hip pain as one that slowly became more and more intolerable.  She says, “it was going on for a week before it got to the worst point. It was very hard for me to walk around the course.  To me that is pretty bad.  If you are in a race you just assume you can get around the course.”

Mitch the chiropractor, who came to see her at that time said that when he saw her at the course she could not even stand on one foot.  The pain was just too excruciating.  The next day x rays were taken and the evaluation given quickly.  There was no damage to the bones and what was impressively clear, there was also no evidence of arthritis.  Which was a surprise to the radiologist when told that the patient had been running for many years over thousands of miles.  The exact cause of her pain was only guessed to be a soft tissue problem.  One that could not be irrefutably seen without an MRI.  In the meantime another Doctor suggested specific stretching, and more rest.  She speculated that most likely Suprabha had some cartilage loss or damage.  Suprabha says, “we are really happy that nothing was cracked or broken.”

When asked if she had ever given up hope she looks puzzled at that question.  It is almost as though doubt or failure do not exist in her vocabulary or in her make up.  Her answer, “I was just trying to figure out the best way to proceed.”  She turns to her friend Savita and asks her the same question, “Did I loose hope?”  Savita responds with something unexpected.  She says, “I think it added spice to the race.”  They both laugh and Suprabha answers, “this is the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me.”

Suprabha continues, “Over the years other people have gotten to go off to Doctors.  They took time off because they were sick.”  They are both laughing at this odd circumstance of having Suprabha for the first time ever leave a race due to injury.  Suprabha is content because the worst is clearly over and the goal is now less than 500 miles away. As for sorting out the most challenging experience of her running career and now seeing herself on track to make it to the goal, she says humbly, “It is very nice.”

Exactly one year and one day ago Pushkar Mullauer was forced to retire from the 3100 mile race.  After running for over 47 days he had covered an extraordinary number of miles, 2289. He had come however to that painful point in which it was clear that it was just going to be impossible for him to reach his goal.  He said at the time, “I  feel inwardly I did my best.  I did everything I knew.  I am happy. I will come back.”  Today his long journey will at last be over.  In less than 3 hours he will complete the final 16 miles and become the 7th finisher in this year’s race.

He is also wearing a red shirt today that is a replica of those of worn by the Swiss National soccer team who played so well in the World Cup in 2006.  He has never put this shirt on before and today he is wearing it in honour of his beloved country.  He says, “I am actually not a fan who buys a shirt of a football team, but that year was kind of special.  It was unbelievable oneness.  Everyone fought for the others.  No ego thing.  At that time I was living with a friend and he inspired me to print something on the back.  For me it was sure that I don’t write my name.  Then somehow I got the inspiration for Joy Guru and 27.”  It was in this way Pushkar felt that one day he would be able to honour both his late spiritual teacher and Switzerland at the same time.

picture courtesy of mahoney22

So he placed it in a special place waiting patiently for the exact right appropriate moment in which to wear it.  He says of last year, “unfortunately it stood untouched.  It also gave me encouragement just to see it.  Today it is not my victory.  For me it symbolizes oneness and victory.  The divine victory.”

On the list of great Swiss sports stars Pushkar probably does not even rank.  The whole world knows of the victories of Roger Federer who is said to be the greatest tennis player of all time.  Today Pushkar will set a mark for the 3100 mile race that none from his country has ever done before. The Swiss media will probably never even hear what he has done here in New York, but his friends back home in Zurich will surely celebrate his achievement.  And even though he is no longer physically present, the one whose name is upon the shirt, would surely be divinely proud of Pushkar as well.

If you do not run or have never run in competition then what takes place in this little corner of Queens will likely be foreign and totally incomprehensible to you.  If mysterious bits of your body hurt during exercise and the very thought of strenuous activity makes you exhausted, than really the notion of running 3100 miles will just not make any sense.  This is understandable.  There are lots of activities going on in this world of ours that nobody wants or needs to take interest in.

Yet if you have run a long race even once in your life something about this event will echo with familiarity.  You will have some innate understanding of what it is like to ask your physical to give more than it appears to have.  To view your fellow competitors as inspiration, so that you might draw upon the fragments of unwillingness and strength dormant within you that you might otherwise be reluctant to draw forth.

Also, you will identify with what it is like in those final fleeting moments, as you surge toward the finish line with every ounce of effort in your being.  That sweet feeling of release as you take one last final stride.  When you just let go of all the strain and all the pushing, and surrender to the certain realization that you have surmounted an inner and outer challenge.  You might even offer some gratitude that you have actually, for a time conquered the lethargy of the body and shown that it can be instead a dynamic and integral vehicle for your life energy.  Then you just might have a secret wish to do it again and try even harder.

3 runners today will finish their long journeys here.  It is astonishing that just a few hours separates each of them after 48 long days.  The distance that separates them is just a grain of dust floating in a breeze compared to the gargantuan distance they have covered here, 3100 miles.  What is notable about them today is also how close they all are to each other.  The word, competitors, sounds so foreign to three comrades who have shared intimately a monumental undertaking that no one can really comprehend but they themselves, and the tiny fraternity of runners who have also done this.

What is clear is that there is a certain joy in crossing the finish line to applause and cheers and being able to say it is over at last.  Yet most of the 3100 mile runners would say that is not the sweetest part at all for them.  That more precious are those moments when they are alone on the course, with maybe weeks sill to go.  It is then that they experience the grateful realization that they are living their lives to the fullest.

With each new day that Suprabha continues to return to the course it is becoming clearer and clearer that something truly miraculous is happening here.  It is not obvious in her slow measured walking.  Nor does it show in any way in the small numbers that are painstakingly gathering by her name on the plastic board that hangs on the fence.  Her appearance and manner continue to be content, patient, and unflappable.

Yet were most would fearfully see the vast distance still looming forbiddingly in front of her she does not.  Going into day 47 she has 647 more miles yet to journey.  The last two days she has not made even 40 miles.  Making a hasty calculation, at her present rate, she has more than 2 weeks of hard unforgiving slogging left in front of her .  It all seems impossible what she is trying to do and yet she seems now, more than ever before to be embraced by some dynamic hope that seems capable of smashing impossibility in a heart beat.  She is oblivious to doubt and insecurity and any nattering fear that may come and pester is swished away like a tiny bug.  But encouraging words can come faster and easier than the labored steps she puts in each day.

She is leaving the course early each evening as her Doctor recommended.  Last night the skies opened up with a torrential downpour just as she was about to go home.  In this way she is following her Doctor’s orders but confesses that she is doing a little more mileage than they recommended. She lives anew each day.  Hope is still fresh and alive in her.  If the strong pain comes back she will be mindful of its message.  She is not about hurting herself in any way.  Adversity is something one must battle for a life time.  Permanent injury is quite another.

It is so early and it is so late.  47 days ago she came here with a simple dream to finish.  It is the same one she has cherished for the past 13 years.  Now the future is not so obvious, yet if nothing else about what what will happen here over the next few weeks is obvious it is that she embodies fully the spirit and heartfelt essence of never giving up.

Few if any of us have ever faced the ferocious challenge that is now in front of her.  How many of us would simply give into discomfort, comfortably knowing that we would still be safely judged as heroic for going so far.  It is quite another thing to fearlessly push through the clouds of adversity when the bright daylight on the other side cannot yet be seen.

In the future it just may well be writ that if ever one wanted to cite an example of one who did not give up, it just may well be Suprabha and what she did here at the 3100 mile race.