Archive for the ‘race experiences’ Category

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I Am Happy That I Am Happy

July 24, 2010
Utpal’s blog from July 2, 2010 “Right now I am trying to get them and their shadow lined up.  There is a nice shadow that they are casting, and I am trying to get the runner and their shadow following them.  I am trying to get each runner before the angle of the light changes, and it won’t work any more.  It is changing quick. “ “In the morning, the runners are different you know. They are really open.  They tend to really have unguarded expressions.  They have honest looks on their faces.  It is definitely the best time.” For many years Jowan has been coming to the race at all hours of the day and night.  Read more

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Day 41

July 23, 2010

A little after 2pm Asprihanal crossed the 2,700 mile split, later in the day at around 9.30pm Galya followed in his footsteps who is currently in the second place. Pranjal will cross the 2,700 mile mark tomorrow morning.

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 Yesterday Dharbasana was running practically all the time. The ointment and a special kinesiological tape did help in the long run. Each year we learn something new which helps us go forward. The tape was bright pink and from afar his leg looked covered with paint. Unfortunately, his hopes for a quick recovery were dashed. The remission turned out to be of temporary nature.

From morning till 5.30pm we had another runner on the course. On his birthday Arpan has a tradition to run as many miles as his age. Today he ran 58 miles(93,3 km). He chose the 3,100 mile course for a reason. In 2004, he did the 3,1000 mile race here. By the end of this humid but not really hot day, we had a thunderstorm with lots of rain. Most of the runners put on special rain-proof gear and went on running. However, some of them preferred to stay dry and waited for the storm to pass. Thunderstorms in New York area don’t last long. After 20 minutes it was drizzling.

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I Can Learn To Be Everything Here

July 22, 2010
Utpal blog from July 4, 2010
On June 26 1976 Sri Chinmoy stood in front of the Statue of Liberty and meditated before 27 young men who were about to run across all of  America’s 48 states.  It was to be a journey of  8,800 miles and  for 46 days they would carry a lit torch the entire way.  It was a continuous relay run and 2 teams ran  in 12 hour shifts 24 hours a day.  America was celebrating its bicentennial that year and the mood and enthusiasm in the country was unbounded. Read more

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Day 39

July 21, 2010

Galya’s birthday was real fun! It started with all the runners congratulating him, then the Enthusiasm Awakeners joined in. A little later Nandana brought a cake, and Alakananda put in her favorite unblowable candles. Then came the phones calls from Austria from his friends and emails from Ukraine and Russia. There was so much joy! The day was hot and sticky (36C) though. The birthday boy and others did the least miles…It’s day 39 after all, and exhaustion is all too present, especially in such heat when the body perseveres and struggles at a larger scale. At night, Asprihanal crossed the 2,600 mile mark and now he’s got only 500 miles to cover. It’s such a nuisance in comparison to what has already been accomplished.

Dharbasana was hoping so much to be able to run again, but as he said, “This race is the best school for giving up all expectations”. He still has hamstring problems. Purna Samarpan has done 2,000 miles for the first time in his life. He’s been having a difficult time here. “My body is falling apart”, he jokes.

Everybody appreciated the jokes that Grahak had sent to support the runners.  I remember one: a blond bear has been trapped. He chew off his forelegs and a rear paw, but still remained in the trap.

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Running is a Transformation Process

July 21, 2010
Utpal’s blog from July 3, 2010
“It is the one great school on how to be surrendered.”  For the past week Pranab has been a visitor to the race.  He has come from his home in Slovakia to support his friends, and at least for a brief while, be a part of the thing that has meant so much to him.  He has completed this race on 4 occasions and at each race he found ways to self-transcend.  Both by bettering his times each time and also growing as a spiritual person as well. Read more

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Not Giving Up

July 20, 2010
Utpal’s blog from June 29, 2010
She has been to the race many times before.  Today however Niharika is returning to her home in Finland.  She is here this morning cheering for fellow Finn, Asprihanal and of course all the other runners.  She is smiling and calling out to them as they pass by but it is clear that she looks just a little bit sad, because soon she will have to leave to catch her flight. Read more

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Day 38

July 20, 2010
Right after the 6 am start, while walking, all the runners sang a Happy Birthday song for Atmavir. It must be very special to have a birthday at the 3100 mile race. We gave him a T-shirt with Sri Chinmoy’s drawings of soul-birds. Everybody was wearing green party hats :) Atmavir is having a good day. We are expecting a birthday cake later in the day, too. Dharbasana has been struggling with hamstring problems and is reduced to walking. He’s tried every possible remedy and massage but nothing seems to help… Although he says it’s not getting worse. As we say here at the race, “The race gives problems, the race takes them back”. As usual, the Enthusiasm  singers come to the race every morning at 6.40am. It’s a group of girl singers who perform exclusively English songs by Sri Chinmoy. They are my favorite group performing at the race. Today I was sitting behind them and felt breathtaking beauty of those melodies and songs. Their morning performance is the most soulful part of the day. It reminds us of the times when Sri Chinmoy visited the race. Tomorrow we have another birthday boy. On the 39th day of the race Galya Balatsky is turning 39.

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