Day 38

Vasu Duzhiy was the day's top runner with 65.8 miles. Vasu has already finished the 3100 Mile Race 12 times, this would be his 13th successful completion. He has also won the race on 3 occasions. Throughout his 3100 Mile career, a real secret has been his remarkable consistency.  Geng Lucong is making a very good debut to his 3100 Mile career, but has recently had a problem with his breathing and had to go home a little early. By running late into the night, Adrian Pauc and Alex Ramsey narrowly went past their fellow runner and moved up a place.

Adrian has been running quite well in the last 45 minutes of the last hour for several weeks. Alex stayed close to Adrian, which helped him a lot. When Adrian went past Lucong, he increased his speed and his enthusiasm. The watchers of the race enjoyed the last two hours. We do wish Lucong can find his strength and finish the race.  Good wishes for all ten runners.

Schools out

Using a small compact loop for a multi-day race offers many advantages.

The small 0.5488-mile loop around Thomas Edison High School offers the runners regular food, drinks, medical support, and moral support from the race crew. Each runner has their own allocated rest area at trackside in one of the event’s RVs (Recreational Vehicles) or Camper Vans, as they are known in Europe.

The loop, being in a relatively quiet suburban area of Queens, offers, for most of the day, clear sidewalks, or pavements as they are called in Europe, to run a relatively free running line on the course. It is not like a local park or big city road race, which may have a road or park closure in place to allow runners free rein of the route. Being held on public sidewalks means the runners need to co-exist with other users of the route. For most of the day, this is fine.

However, one major disadvantage is that, as it circles the school, five days a week in term time, several hundred students enter and leave the school twice a day. It offers an interesting little cameo sideshow to the race, but also a considerable short-term obstacle to the runners who have to weave in and out of the students. Many of the students are indeed respectful of the runners, and have their own vague idea of the huge challenge they are undertaking.

You notice them sometimes making conscious efforts to allow the runners space. However, there are some who, in their own little world, are engaged in looking at a phone screen, or in the enthusiasm of the moment, are walking 3 or 4 abreast across the entire sidewalk, chatting away about their own breaking news stories of the day, totally oblivious that a runner is closing in on 2,000 miles and a possible National record. By weaving in and out of the students, they are adding extra distance to the accurately measured course distance, which, of course, is measured along the “shortest line.”

Some runners consciously take one of their short daily breaks around this time to minimise the minor disruption to the day. 

The runners, to coin a phrase, “take it all in their stride”. They know that, like everything else the race throws at them, it is something to be dealt with as calmly as possible with minimal drama, as in a few minutes, “This too will pass,” and the course will be clear again, and peace will return.

Videos

• Stutisheel 3100 Mile Playlist YouTube Channel  
• Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team  3100 Mile Race  Youtube Channel

Photos

• US Gallery - Latest Photos and videos for day 38
• Sri Chinmoy Ultra Photos Latest photos for day 36