Day 22 Sri Chinmoy 3100 Mile Race 2026

By Tejvan Pettinger author bio »
21 September

About the author:

Tejvan organises short-distance running and cycling races for the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in his home city of Oxford. He is also a very good cyclist, having won the National hill climb championships in 2013 and finished 3rd in the National 100 Mile Time Trials in 2014.

As runners enter the third week, the mileage totals continue to rise. As a casual observer, we can become complacent about the great effort of running multiple marathons, day after day, but this is what the runners are quietly doing.

day22

After day 22, six runners are above the daily average of 59.6. Nayaja Perugini has a buffer of just 0.5 miles but, after coming through the challenge of shin splints, is recovering well.

 

eaIt is not just a physical challenge of running up to an average of 60 miles a day for 52 days, but also a mental challenge. The race founder Sri Chinmoy knew the importance of inspiration for the runners. He gave runners advice such as trying to smile, maintaining cheerfulness, and offering gratitude during the race.

Sri Chinmoy also founded the early morning singing group Enthusiasm Awakeners. This group of women sing Sri Chinmoy's English songs every day and offer the runners prasad (blessed food). In turn, the runners sometimes perform short skits and jokes. But, for the runners, the singing group offers a new inspiration every morning, just at that time of the day, when the body can ache from the previous day's efforts and is slow to get going.

Out in the open, the runners have to contend with everything that Mother Earth sends to them. Yesterday, there were periods of heavy rain. 

This is a short video captured by Arpan. When it rains in New York, it can be like a tropical downpour. But, the runners must keep going.

 

“When the heart has aspiration
And the mind has enthusiasm,
There is nothing
That we cannot accomplish.”

— Sri Chinmoy

Andrea hits halfway on Day 22

Shortly after 4 pm this afternoon, Andrea completed lap no. 2,827. Just a number in some ways, but it is symbolic as the halfway mark of the 3,100 Mile Race.

Watching the runners circle the loop every day, it is easy to become complacent and take things for granted, forgetting the enormity of the task the runners are undertaking.

They have been running for three weeks now and are scheduled to run a total of 5,563 laps.

I asked Andrea if he had any special feelings on reaching halfway.

"I don't think too much about it really. I try not to think about how far away the finish is, as that can overwhelm you. It does give you a nice feeling of being at halfway, but I'm just concentrating now on getting to 1,600 miles; then it will be 1,700, then 1,800. So I try to break it down into little things to be achieved each day.

You know in the back of your head there is still a long way to go, but you also know that in a race of this distance, anything might happen. It can rain a lot, it can get cold now, and all these things can change your race."

Next Thursday will see us hit Day 26, the halfway point of the 52-day time limit. It's tempting to say it will be all downhill from there, but the runners know there is still much work to be done.

Daily Milestones (All TBC)

  • Andrea Marcato — HALFWAY: 1550 miles in 21 Days +10:23:35; 2500 km in 21 Days 11:16:50
  • Radu Budan — 2300 km in 21 Days 03:32:46
  • Annabel Hepworth — 1400 miles in 21 Days +14:21:43; 2200 km in 21 Days 05:02:47
  • Wei Ming Lo — 2200 km in 21 Days +09:15:47
  • Vasu Duzhiy — 2100 km in 20 Days 16:40:53
  • Nayaja Perugini — 1300 miles in 21 Days +14:32:04; 2100 km in 21 Days 16:15:42
  • Ananda-Lahari Zuscin — 1700 km in 21 Days 05:09:33

Daily Stats (All TBC)

  • Andrea Marcato hit the halfway point and continued on to another 70-plus day with 70.1 miles, again topping the daily rankings, finishing with a cumulative total of 1,577.7 miles.
  • Radu Budan ran another solid 64.7 miles, the 2nd-highest daily total, giving him a cumulative total of 1,415.4 miles.
  • Annabel Hepworth, possibly affected by today's rain, ran a 59.7-mile day — her first day below the 60-mile barrier. She closed the day with 1,408.3 miles.
  • Wei Ming Lo again closed out the day with 62.5 miles, finishing on a cumulative total of 1,397.8 miles.
  • Vasu Duzhiy continues to hit 60 miles, recording 60.3 miles today to give a cumulative total of 1,371 miles.
  • Nayaja Perugini continues to go well, increasing her daily total to 61.4 miles, finishing the day with 1,311.77 miles.
  • Nina Huang-Lan continued to battle through her own issues and finished the day with 41.1 miles. This improved her total to 1,164.2 miles.
  • Ananda-Lahari Zuscin, with a 46.0-mile day, improved his total to 1,089.1 miles.
  • Stutisheel Lebedev finished with a daily total of 37.2 miles and a cumulative total of 1,057.3 miles.

Follow the race

More about:

The 30th Annual Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race

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