The 3100 mile race is so long that, just as in life, you never know what lies ahead. As this journey to the unknown unfolds we learn from our experiences and the unknown slowly becomes the known. With this new knowledge of life and of ourselves we make progress and hopefully become better people for it. The runners in this epic journey are having this experience every day in their own unique ways as well. On my birthday today I wish to express this experience of the 3100 mile race with a poem I wrote 13 years ago, which I dedicated to Sri Chinmoy, the Founder of this amazing, on the occasion of my 50th birthday.  He had the vision of this race for years as he saw the increasing capacity for self-transcendence that multiday runners were developing. In this spirit Sri Chinmoy offered an opportunity for these uniquely talented runners to experience their own form of self-transcendence while inspiring others to do the same in other aspects of life.

Journey to the Unknown

A 3,100 mile orbit of concrete, automobiles and local humanity, 

Lightly spiced with a hint of nature 

And fed by the Grace of God, 

Supported with the efforts of friends

Who sympathize with the pain, 

The Joys 

And the challenges 

Facing at every moment

These handful of Hero-Warriors.

Running, walking, struggling 

To the beat of their own undying aspirations

In this perpetually moving Epic adventure,

These Ultimate Survivors 

Of obstacles unimaginable 

Are proving to humanity 

With their unparalleled perseverance, 

Adamantine wills

And unswerving Faith, 

That the impossible can be done, 

And the Universal Energy can be unleashed, 

To raise our standards and lift our minds 

Beyond the limits of our broken bodies 

And faithless thoughts, 

To reveal the Beauty and the Power 

Of life’s long and arduous 

Journey to the Unknown.

        Arpan DeAngelo

More about:

The 27th Annual Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race

View event page »