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.
Yesterday was day 24 of the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100-mile race. Andrea Marcato and Adrian Papuc were yesterday's top runners, both with 119 laps or 65.3 miles. Vasu Duzhiy became the second runner to reach 1550 miles, the halfway distance in 23 Days +14:53:59. While Geng Lu-Cong reached 1500 miles and, all being well, will reach the halfway mark today. Daniela Bojila in her first 3100 Mile race crossed the 1,400-mile distance.
Messages of Support
A daily feature of the race is when, at around 4:30pm each afternoon, associate race director, Sahishnu Szcsesiul, arrives at the race. It is a time of the day eagerly awaited, for he is also “The mailman,” bringing messages of support that have been sent to the runners.
All the messages that have been mailed in are dutifully printed off, collated, and brought to the race. Sahisnu waits near the “race refreshment area,” and as each runner passes by, they are handed their individual messages to be read and absorbed. The messages might be news from home, from friends and family, poems, and inspirational quotes to inspire them, or just general messages of support.
Alex Ramsey, the sole American runner in this year's event, had a surprise packet of messages recently. The young students at Free-Union City School in Charlotteville, Virginia, sent Alex a raft of good luck messages. It seems they don’t even know Alex, but heard about the race and saw an interview with him in the early days of the race. They were so inspired that they decided to write messages of support and hand-written drawings for him.
Alex was extremely touched by the support, as you can hear in this short video
When you are competing in a race this long, in a small, compact environment, for up to 52 days, it is easy to forget that normal life continues outside of the race. It cannot be underestimated how simple little things like a message can lift the spirits and make a good day even better. The runners do appreciate it, so keep sending the messages of support, even if, like the young students at Union-Free School, you do not even know the runners. You can send messages at the “Message the Runners” button at the top of the race home page.
Videos
- Stutisheel 3100 Mile Playlist YouTube Channel
- Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team 3100 Mile Race Youtube Channel
- Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team Vimeo Channel
Photos
- Sri Chinmoy Ultra Photos
- US Gallery - Photos for day 24
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