Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race

Author Utpal 27 July This morning Igor makes a small joke with Sarvagata. This marvelous young runner, from Vinnitsa Ukraine, is is looking at the daily lap sheet report and points out to his friend, “you only made 99 laps yesterday.” It is just part and parcel of the quiet and gentle humor that is Igor. Sarvagata of course had no reason to run even one additional lap yesterday. For on that day he completed his journey. In the process setting a record for first time runners of the 3100. Read more

Author: Utpal 26 July Sarvagata’s sister, Sarvadhara is with her brother on this his final few hours here at the race. This morning he will simply continue to do what he has done now for so many long days. At the end of this day though, he needs go no further, and what is more, he will also be the champion. He has but 55 miles more to go now, so small a gap it is almost as though his foot is already poised to step at last across the finish line. Just a few laps more, when compared to all the suffering and joy he has experienced and endured now for 44 days. Using an American expression, I tell her that what he has left to do now is but a ‘piece of cake.’ I ask her if there might be a better expression in Ukrainian. She says his race is like a, ‘Gift from Heaven.’ Her expression is much better. Read more

Author: Utpal 24 July They are the quiet heroes. They are but 10 and yet though so small in number, these runners are a veritable army rising up to challenge impossibility. If you look for champions who wear capes and wave magic wands they will not impress you at all. For their foes are not diabolical wizards but things that can subdue us all, like weather and weariness. When our most crushing enemy is a simple lack of faith in ourselves they demonstrate each day, by simply lacing up their shoes that all ignorance can be defeated. You just have to try. Read more

Do you remember how your mother used to wake you up on schooldays. My Mom had just that special kind of tone to her voice that I assume most mothers just naturally use with their children. It was a blend of affection, tireless support, and just the right hint of the much tougher parenting material. Every morning here for the past 40 days Rupantar has had a similar kind of tone to roust exhausted runners out of chairs and gradually get them shuffling towards the starting line. Today he was using some of the tough love talk that I have rarely heard him use before. Read more

Author: Utpal 21 July Ashprihanl’s check engine light had to flicker on. He was pushing himself to a new record that day, having completed 24 straight days of 70 miles or more per day. With just a little more than 300 miles to go he could literally see the finish line in front of him. At his current pace it was now just a few days off. The footsteps of the young Ukranians had gradually drifted back to what had to be a comfortable distance behind him. He had to feel that on this his 11th year here he would not just have another victory but also a new personal best. Read more

Author: Utpal 19 July Most of us like to think of ourselves as being self sufficient. That no matter what the task in front of us might be, we will never feel any need to turn to others for support or help of any kind. It really depends of course upon, just how wide the independence streak is, painted up and down your backbone. By hook or by crook we try somehow on our own, to find a way to get the job done. In the 3100 mile race the demands are just so great it is also nearly impossible to find someone who is willing and able to help for all the hours of running that exist over the course of a long hot summer. Add to that, finding both the elusive chemistry of compatibility, an ever attentive disposition, and more importantly a sense of selflessness that allows you to slip invisibly into the life and needs of the runner. Read more

Author: Utpal 20 July The main quality I felt this morning was gratitude.” Just before dawn, and with just a few precious minutes to spare, Atmavir slipped alone into the quiet hallowed garden which is the Aspiration Ground. It is the local place close by that was once the main gathering place, in which the students of Sri Chinmoy used to meet on a regular basis with their late spiritual teacher. It is a sacred place still, in which his presence continues to be intimately felt and experienced by all those who continue to value his teachings.