3,000-mile road to enlightenment is just around the block

About the author:

Nirbhasa is from Ireland. He is an enthusiastic multi-day runner, having completed four times the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race - the longest race in the world.

Source: The Times of London

Date: Friday, June 22, 2012

The Marathon des Sables passes over 150 miles through the desert dunes of Morocco; Greece has an ancient 155-mile course from Athens to Sparta, and each July, a pack of wiry men and women race 135 miles through the depths of Death Valley.

"Yet these 'ultramarathons' look like morning jogs beside the race that began this week in a quiet suburb of Queens, New York...

Cross-posted from us.srichinmoyraces.org

In the Media - more articles

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.

This week, the Irish Examiner featured an interview with Nirbhasa Magee. Nirbhasa, from Ireland and currently living in Iceland, is a three-time finisher of Sri Chinmoy 3100-Mile Self Transcendence Race. Nirbhasa first completed the race in 2015, and last year (2019) he finished in second place with a personal best of 48 days+09:04:57. The article by Cathal Dennehy examines the inspiration and motivations which help Magee accomplish this Herculean effort.

Read the full article

Nirbhasa finishes the 3100 Mile Race in 2019

In the interview, Nirbhasa explains how he copes with the intimidating distance of 3,100 miles.

“It was always very important to never think of the whole thing. Sometimes all you want is to get to the next break, then hopefully once you lay down a bit it’s a different race. You need a very good inner feeling for how far you can push it. It becomes a spiritual exercise. You have to run for the right reasons; if you run for ego or vanity, it’s reflected in the decisions you make and the outcomes of those decisions: injuries, heat exhaustion.”

For nearly two months of the year, Nirbhasa is running around one small half-mile loop in Jamaica, Queens, New York. Whilst this may seem very challenging from an outer perspective, Magee reveals how the complete immersion in the race, and the atmosphere of self-giving that surrounds it, gives him a profoundly different outlook on life when the race is over.

"If I have issues or something that keeps annoying me in normal life, when I finish the race that isn’t even a thing anymore. You do these races and realise there are very few real problems in my life. You get this real perspective that comes from inner peace.”

View full article »

About the author:

Harita Davies is one of only eight women to complete the Sri Chinmoy 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence race with two finishes and a best time of 51 days+09:35:20 (in 2019). In a new podcast produced by Nathan Gardner at "We can remake the world" Davies gives an hour-long interview talking about meditation, peace, self-transcendence and the experience of completing the world's longest race. During the interview, Harita gives insights into how meditation can help tap into a deeper part of one's being - an essential aspect in a race as gruelling and challenging as the 3100 Mile Race. She also talks with Nathan about the work of Sri Chinmoy in promoting peace, meditation and running activities. Harita also talks about the support and inspiration she gained from people around the world whilst running the 2019 race as the only woman in the field.

"I feel our state of mind and consciousness can have a direct impact on the world, and through the practise of meditation we can develop a greater awareness of how we can affect the world in a positive way."

- Harita Davies from Podcast.

Nathan Gardner also interviewed another great female 3100 Mile Runner Yolanda Holder.

Listen now