With so many nationalities represented and so many different languages spoken, sometimes communication can be a little awkward at the Self Transcendence race in Flushing Meadow. But when you strip away the runners origins, eliminate personal habits, and simply just forget all the little idiosyncrasies that make up our fragile humanity something very powerful and genuine remains. It is of course the heart. It beats in the core of each runner and is the true engine that powers each and every one who runs here.
Some arrive so naturally gifted that when they run you might think you are seeing some ephemeral mirage. Yet within the super talented, if their heart and will is not strong, you will sense pretty quickly, as you watch them run that something is missing. It is perhaps what we all seek as well, that spark of indomitable life force. When we see it in others it can ignite our imagination and inspire us, as we see it burning within them.
In others as well, you sometimes find such incredible determination and energy that their bodies can barely contain it. Yet, despite this great capacity, the physical can only give so much. The body not really capable of harnessing this phenomenal life force.
When you watch Yuri Trostenyuk, 47, Vinnitsa, Ukraine, you cannot help but notice that rare combination, of both a strong body and a superbly strong will. A fellow Ukrainian admiringly describes him as the epitome of the Ukrainian spirit. For him this is a resilient toughness, that simply never ever gives up.
There is nothing pretty about his running style, but it doesn’t take to long to appreciate that he has an efficient and economical stride, as much as anyone on the course. He simply looks as though he is built to run, not at high speed, but simply to keep going and going forever. This is the 5th time he has come, last year he won the race and set a personal best of 693 miles. Currently, after 48 hours on the course he is leading with 189 miles.
I was able to run with him today accompanied by a translator. He tells me that he loves the race because it gives him a special experience that he can get in no other way. I wonder why he would pick such a difficult task like running 10 days to achieve this. He laughs and tells me that the goal may be hard to find, but when you at last reach it you see that it was worth all the effort.
He tells me that his first race here was very difficult for him. Yet despite this it was so fulfilling that he wanted to come back as often as he could, and do it again and again. He compares each new race here as if they were individual lifetimes. Each one evolving in its own way and hopefully reaching new heights with each attempt.
Even though he is leading the race at this moment Vladamir is just a few miles behind. I ask him if he feels any pressure from those who are so close behind. He tells me that the God that lives in his heart inspires him to do this, and so presumably he does not listen to the footsteps following so closely behind. Instead he just listens to his own heart.
There is one, not so secret inspiration he has that he hopes one day to fulfill, and that is participate in the longest race in the world, the Self Transcendence 3100 mile race. His message to all runners is simply to never stop. Never be discouraged by problems, or when things get difficult, there is a sun in front of them.
click to play interview (English/Russian)
[audio:http://perfectionjourney.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Yuri.mp3|titles=Yuri]
20 miles into her first marathon she was not certain that she could even finish it. If there was anything certain to Grete Waitz at that moment, on a cold October morning, was that most definitely she would never run a marathon again. Yet she did in fact complete the race that day. The second half of her race would turn out to be faster than her first. She not only completed running her first New York city marathon in 1978, she broke the world record as well by running 2:32:30.
“I think it really helps running with people when you are in a low spot. I just did a long race 5 days ago and I am really struggling.” It may seem a little peculiar for an experienced multi day runner to be having a tough time just a few hours into a 10 race. There is after all still a lot of real estate between her and the finish line.
When I meet her on the first day it is early afternoon and she has so far completed about 25 miles. At that time she is running with Dasha Yashina a first time runner from Russia. They are moving comfortably and their conversation seems like they have been friends for years and not just a few hours. Sarah says, “people are being really kind.” She was unable to attend last years race due to some complications involving a passport gone astray. She has regularly attended the race over the last few years. Now she says, “I want to see if it is possible to put 2 races together. Now I am wondering if it is such a good idea, and laughs.” In the 2009 race she ran 684 miles.
One can of course hope to come away from races, both big and small, with world records and great achievements. This is after all the day it was announced that the record in the marathon was broken. Self Transcendence however is something deep and it is something intensely personal. The counters cannot mark it down nor can reporters with microphones record it. We bystanders may be fortunate once in a while to see a certain smile and a glow about those who have stepped into a new realm. We might, but most likely we cannot see beyond the boundaries of our own world and limitations.
It is decidedly an exclusive New York Address. It is one in which there are many who would love to visit, but perhaps don’t have the very unique requirements to call it home. 
A stay here is never permanent. At the very best one can move in for just 10 days each spring. For those who are brave enough to come and do their very best it will be no vacation, and certainly no metaphorical walk in the park. To come and stay here in Flushing Meadow is to be part of the Self Transcendence 6 & 10 Race, an event so challenging and yet so fulfilling you will probably remember your stay here for the rest of your life.
For a week now, a construction crew led by Bipin, has been putting it all together. The first race starts on Monday and the preparation, just to be able to say “Go.” at noon on that day is an incredible undertaking in and of itself.
He is someone who not only has a keen understanding of the significance of the 3100 mile race but has also performed a very practical and vital role there as well for many years. Pradhan is someone keenly suited to finding solutions to the obstacles confronting the runners on many levels, not just the physical. In simple and practical ways his chiropractic treatments helps enable many of the athletes running there to perform at their maximum capacity, day in and day out. He is a chiropractor of extraordinary talent and though he no longer maintains a professional practice he still has been able to serve at nearly all of the multi day races that Sri Chinmoy Marathon team has organized in New York. This is no small feat as he is a resident of Chicago and yet has found time during his busy schedule to visit New York and willingly serve those who are trying to test the very limits of their physical capacity and endurance.
Pradhan: I think it was an actual extension of – you know –of his spiritual philosophy. It was something that evolved. He used it as a metaphor for what we’re trying to do inwardly. On our path, there are people who run regularly all the time. And it is understood that the runner accomplishes his goal by placing one foot in front of the other.
