Pradeep Hoogakker, a member of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team and a 2011 Self-Transcendence 3,100-Mile Race finisher, was interview on KBS Kyoto Radio, Japan on October 22. The 10 minute program has been aired for 15 years, and is the first of this kind in Japan, specifically dedicated to lay runners. The runner-radio host Ms. Wakabayashi, a well-known figure in the running world, dedicated the whole 10 minute program for this interiew. The blog is in Japanese with an English translation to follow. (Photo; Pradeep completes 1,000 miles enroute to his 2011 finish)

KBS Radio Interview (in Japanese)

The following is a translation of the KBS Radio interview by Ms. Harashita Sunaoshi:

Teach Us! Fun Run

Let’s Run aired October 22

“The World’s Longest Certified Race 3100 Race”

I (the runner-host Ms. Junko Wakabayashi, aka Waka) interviewed Mr. Pradeep Hoogakker from the Netherlands, who completed this race in 53 days and 9 hours in 2011!! (with the translator Ms. Harashita Sunaoshi)

“3100 Mile Race”

• Started by Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in New York in 1997, continuing for 20 years.
• 3100 miles = 4989km (approximately 5000km)
• Race Track: 5649 laps of a 880m-long loop
• Cut-off: 52 days (To complete, the runner has to run at the pace of 95.9km per day.)
• Note: In the year Mr. Pradeep did the race, the cut-off was extended to 54 days due to the extreme heat.
• 39 runners completed in the 20 years
• The race track was open every day from 7am to 12 midnight.
• 7000 to 10000kcal must be consumed each day, equivalent of one week’s food intake for a person with normal activities.
• The kitchen crew cooks customized food for each runner.
• The runners use up 10 to 12 pairs of shoes.
• Average temperature: 30C, Humidity: 80-95%

Waka: What brought you to the race?

Pradeep: One day, while I was meditating after having a good run, the idea of running the 3100 mile race spontaneously came to my heart and I felt inner thrill. I had been to the race a few times as a helper before. I got advice from the runners then, and trained myself for 6 years. I trained to run long distances, starting from 10km a day, 40km once a week, and up to 100km once a month. I also practised how to eat while running, as well as trying different running outfits and shoes.

Waka: And the actual race came. Didn’t you get bored running 5649 laps?

Pradeep: Everybody asks that question! Actually, many ultra races have loops instead of a straight route. It actually makes a lot of sense since you can have your own table where you can put your belongings such as shoes and supplements. Also, you feel everybody is running together—from the fastest to the slowest ones in the race. We can inspire each other, and we feel oneness, which is really good.

Waka: Still, it’s sooo long. How did you keep your motivation?

Pradeep: We told different jokes to each other!

Waka: What was most difficult?

Pradeep: The first 10 days were really difficult. My feet were not used to running on concrete; at night, my whole body ached and could not sleep. My mind started thinking, “How can I run tomorrow being like this?,” which made me sleepless. But as weeks went by, I learned that I could run even if I had not been able to sleep the night before. Something within myself recovered with renewed energy.

Waka: What was most moving?

Pradeep: There were many things. I felt oneness, and one morning, as I watched the sun rise, I felt as if the sun was rising inside my own heart. And I felt: This is life…!

Waka: You experienced Life…yet, your feet must have been…?

Pradeep: All blisters! Can I say something gross?

Waka: No thank you! Did you discover something new about yourself?

Pradeep: I realized I had a tendency to feel sorry for myself. So I had to conquer that. I could not complete the race unless I could truly feel I could do it. The process of overcoming my weaknesses became a valuable experience.

Waka: Has your life perspective changed after the race?

Pradeep: Yes. The wonderful experiences during the race stay inside myself even after the race finished. I feel that happiness means progress; going forward. In ordinary life, many times we think we are going forward but are actually going round and round in the same place. But in this race, though we were running round and round, I felt I was going forward. Those are what I learned through the race. My weaknesses unavoidably came forward so I had no choice but to conquer them, which led to joy and happiness.

Waka: What is your goal now?

Pradeep: There are many. Everybody needs a new goal. My first aim is to improve my marathon time, from 3 hours 4 minutes to under 3 hours. I also want to write a book about my 3100 race experiences. Most importantly, I feel Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy “Self-Transcendence” is wonderful. No matter what field you are in, the important thing is to transcend yourself.

Waka: You have said so much today that resonate with our souls: ‘Continuous self-transcendence,’ ‘Importance of feeling inner thrill in your heart’, and ‘Happiness means progress’.

Dear listeners, are you doing something that thrills your heart? Are you trying to transcend yourself now? Yes, you can start today! I was so moved to meet Mr. Pradeep. Thank you so much!

 

Harita Davies finished fourth in the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, conquering the 5649 lap course in 51 days+12:48:14. It was her first finish and first attempt. She averaged 60.158 miles per day(96.815 km). She was a model of consistency throughout the seven and a half-week race. About four hours later, the pedestrienne Yolanda Holder became a legend, walking the entire 3100 miles and finishing fifth overall in 51 days+17:00:13. She became the oldest woman to finish the 3100 mile race, and only the second American woman to complete this difficult race. She is the first pure walker to attempt the distance. She has now set many age-group women's best marks for daily totals, as well as miles and kms. 

Nidhruvi Zimmerman-2700 miles- 51+12:43:51

Sergey Kuzmin- 2700 miles- 51+17:39:52

Harita Davies finished fourth in the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, conquering the 5649 lap course in 51 days+12:48:14. It was her first finish and first attempt. She averaged 60.158 miles per day(96.815 km). She was a model of consistency throughout the seven and a half-week race. About four hours later, the pedestrienne Yolanda Holder became a legend, walking the entire 3100 miles and finishing fifth overall in 51 days+17:00:13. She became the oldest woman to finish the 3100 mile race, and only the second American woman to complete this difficult race. She is the first pure walker to attempt the distance. She has now set many age-group women's best marks for daily totals, miles and kms. 

Nidhruvi Zimmerman-2700 miles- 51+12:43:51

Sergey Kuzmin- 2700 miles- 51+17:39:52

Harita Davies all but settled the competiton for fourth place overall with another solid day of 62.01 miles. She has but 197 laps to go to finish comfortably tuesday evening. Yolanda Holder reached 60.36 miles to stay close to her plan for finishing. She has 221 laps remaining, to be divided by two days. These two ladies deserve plaudits for their fine talent and performance under pressure. They were not expected to be on the scoreboard as finishers, but finishers appears to be their happy fate. The Day leader honor, however, went to another first-time runner- big Andrey Andreev- who rocked 70.24 miles out of his lighter, athletic body. He has supposedly lost nearly 13 kg from constantly moving for 16 to 17 hours a day the last 50 days. He also looks about 7 or 8 years younger, after a summer of running and running.

Nirbhasa Magee- 5000 km- 49+02:08:41

Sergey Kuzmin- 2600 miles- 49+12:01:10

Nidhruvi Zimmerman- 2600 miles-49+15:56:27

Kaneenika Janakova is on the cusp of greatness in the 3100 Mile Race. She starts Saturday with 96 laps to go (52.64 miles) in order to reach a personal best, a women's all-time best, and the performance of the race. She leads the mark of the great Surasa Mairer of Austria by 77 laps (42.26 miles), and will have tied the highest placing in 3100 Mile history by a woman (second), set by another immortal- Suprabha Beckjord of the US in the first 3100 Mile Race in 1997. She leads Nirbhasa Magee of Ireland by ten laps. He was 2 days 11 hours ahead of his split at 3000 miles from 2015. Both Kaneenika and Nirbhasa should finish the race by nine-thirty, and ten-thirty in the evening,respectively, if form holds. Harita Davies and Yolanda Holder continue the pursuit of laps in earnest. They are facing four more days of holding the difficult pace needed to finish. Stay tuned, folks.

Kaneenika Janakova-3000 miles-47 days+04:19:20- women's all-time best; old record-Surasa Mairer-47+16:33:18 (2015)

Nirbhasa Magee-3000 miles-47+06:0-9:27

Yolanda Holder-2800 miles- 47+02:15:07

Sergey Kuzmin-2500 miles- 47+08:56:40

Nidhruvi Zimmerman-2500 miles- 47+17:36:08

Ananda-Lahari Zuscin- 2400 miles- 47+14:08:45

It was sticky and overcast all day, with a small t-storm dumping a little rain on the race at 5:00 pm. The rest of the day was prime running weather, evidenced by seven runners moving past 60 miles like it was a 24-hour race, not a 52- day endurance test. Vasu Duzhiy moved into position to finish on Thursday night, with a  fine 71.34 mile day. He has only 123 laps to go, which is 67.5 miles. He can do that on Thursday, just because he has done it in previous races. Kaneenika Janakova is enjoying the view from second place overall, as she continues her assault on the two-year women's record. At the end of her 64.2 mile day, she now enjoys the cushion of 73 laps (40.01 miles) ahead of the women's best with three days left in her journey around the block. She has not run below 113 laps since Day 26. Third place belongs to Nirbhasa Magee, who ran 63.11 miles and continues on to his own glorious personal best on Saturday evening. Harita Davies had her best day since Day 31 with 62.01 miles. Yolanda Holder remained focused on her Herculean task by walking 62.56 miles. Both she and Harita can see the light at the end of the tunnel, a mere six days effort away. The final plaudit of the day goes to the wild card of the race- Ananda-Lahari Zuscin, who unleashed an 84.5 mile day, just to remind everyone that, yes, he belongs here among some of the best super-long endurance athletes on the planet. If you are in town, please come out Thursday evening, or watch the webcam. Vasu will be finishing his sixth straight 3100 somewhere between 10:00 pm and 11:00pm. See you there.

Vasu Duzhiy- 3000 miles- 45+10:03:50

Kaneenika Janakova- 2900 miles- 45+12:16:41

Nirbhasa Magee- 2900 miles- 45+13:21:01

Harita Davies- 2700 miles- 45+03:42:13

Yolanda Holder- 2700 miles- 45+09:00:51

Smarana Puntigam- 2500 miles- 45+04:24:35

Sergey Kuzmin- 2400 miles- 45+07:47:43

Ananda-Lahari Zuscin- 2300 miles- 45+04:24:35

"The new women’s record for the world’s hardest run was rewritten by a Slovak, 47-year-old Kaneenika Janáková from Bratislava. After 48 days, 14 hours, 24 minutes and 10 seconds she reached the finish of the longest and the hardest run in the world – 3,100 miles (4,988 kilometres) in New York. She beat the world record by more than 17 hours. In the final ranking, she ended up in second place behind runner Vasu Duzhiy from Russia. He won the 21st Annual Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race, finishing the run in 47 days +05:39:00."

for complete article in the Slovak Spectator...

The Quint: "Can You Run 10,000 km in 100 days? Meet India’s ‘Faith Runner’

"Call him Forrest Gump if you like, but you cannot help but be awed at Samir Singh’s passion for running. The 44-year-old has been running 100 kilometres every day through the busy streets of Mumbai since 29 April...

"It feels amazing to see the goal is about to be achieved," says Singh, who has been running for as long as he can remember. He set about on his mission after drawing inspiration from the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, the longest certified footrace in world that is held in New York."

The exhilarating weather of the past few days gave way to a hot sun with no cloud cover today. Three runners made it past 60 miles, with women's leader Kaneenika Janakova winning Day leader honors again. She ran 64.75 miles, including passing the 2700 mile split a full nineteen hours faster than in 2016. She is within eight laps of second place overall. We may see three finishers this week.

Vasu Duzhiy-2800 miles- 42+09:13:48

Nirbhasa Magee-2700 miles- 42+09:10:45

Kaneenika Janakova-2700 miles- 42+11:00:01

Yolanda Holder-4000km- 42+00:32:00; 2500 miles- 42+04:47:44    

Andrey Andreev- 2300 miles- 42+14:58:33  

Nidhruvi Zimmerman- 2200 miles- 42+05:24:35