Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race

Author: Utpal July 12 In their first 14 days here each of the top 3 runners had, what you could easily call, good starts.  On day 15 each of them would pass beyond the 1,000 mile mark and then from this moment on something inexplicably changed for all of them.  Since then the level of effort and overall intensity has risen to an astonishing new height.  Igor is the man currently holding down the 3rd position but really barely a slight breeze separates one from the other.  Read more

Every time I try and write a little story about the 3100 mile race I hope to open up the door to some new aspect of the event. On one level it can be seen as being monotonously repetitive and that nothing new rarely happens. Fortunately I have observed that it is in the runners themselves that new lights are constantly being switched on and illuminations are being revealed all the time here. Something which is incredibly significant and personal to each one individually but also something that can move and inspire me as well. Read more

Author: Utpal This morning after I left the race I went for a run nearby in a local park. Quite by accident I happened to pick up a fragment of conversation that 2 runners were having as they passed by me going in the opposite direction. What I heard one of them say was, “If I could kill my enemies, the whole world would have more peace.” For some reason those few words crept into a little corner of my mind and just refused to vacate the premises. Read more

Author: Utpal 29 June Quite often great moments in sports are captured by film crews and news reporters and are then shown on evening news programs or are splashed across sports sections of local news papers. If you score a goal, win a match, or set a record at something there is a pretty good chance somebody will be there to capture it for posterity. It will then fly out into the endless electronic void. Where countless eyes will be peering as it whizzes by into the great information wasteland. Read more

Author: Utpal 28 June I hoped to continue my detective work at the race this morning.  The burning question that continued to vex me, was how all the runners could somehow improve from Day 14  to Day 15 Sunday.  I had no plan on using any third degree questioning in my sleuthing, because after all something quite remarkable had taken place.  Still I found it puzzling that everybody’s laps had increased by a phenomenal average of 7 in just one day. There first thing that surprised me when I asked about it this morning was that really none of the runners had even noticed.  For them it simply wasn’t very important and, also it was a long time ago, a little more than 24 hours.  Their collective responses seemed to be reduced to the patently obvious, we simply had a good day.  Read more

Author: Utpal 26 June I try my best most days to get it right. To somehow with my reporting to capture the distinct mood and perhaps, dare I say it, consciousness of each day. Things can, and often do, change rapidly. As an early morning person as well I generally only get to observe a very unique and tiny portion of a much much longer day. The threads of these 10 lives will spin countless stories and experiences, right up until midnight, and really until they all can drift off into a brief slumber. Read more

Author Utpal 27 June Something happened yesterday that cannot be explained. On Sunday, 9 out of the 10 runners ran more laps than they had the day before. The only one who didn’t run more laps on Sunday was Surasa ,who ran exactly 110 laps the same as she has run every day for the past week. What make this peculiar event noteworthy is that the average lap numbers didn’t just go up a little, they went up a lot. Averaged out over the 9 runners it works out to be 7 more laps per person than the previous day. Read more