Day 42

By Tejvan Pettinger author bio »
11 October

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.

Mahasatya Janczak continues his excellent run of form, top scoring for the day with 66.4 miles. An influx of visitors and helpers has also added to the spirit of the race. The weather was excellent, though talk of an incoming storm and heavy rain are on the horizon. However, the only way to deal with the 3100 Mile Race is to take each moment as it comes and live in the present moment. Whatever comes, the runners will be ready

Eating on the move. Vasu and Milan take on food. (Photo Utpal)

A famous Tour de France rider commented to win the Tour, you don't just need good legs, you need a good stomach too. Ultra-endurance athletes need to take on much more calories than usual and the ability to assimilate nutrition is essential. A 3100 Mile Runner has the kind of food intake that would normally give you stomach problems or make you obese. But when you are on the move for 18 hours a day, constant eating and drinking is part of the race. In fact, one challenge of the race can be to eat sufficient food to avoid losing weight, and therefore strength. In this respect, the unseen cooks and helpers are a critical ingredient of the race. Runners appreciate variety, tasty food which helps take on such a big amount of calories.

Decrease the number of your complaints

In today's video, Alex Ramsey shared his favourite aphorism of Sri Chinmoy

Decrease the number
Of your complaints.
Increase the power
Of your gratitude.

- Sri Chinmoy 

For a 3100 Mile Runner, running through rain, blisters and all the discomforts of being on your feet for 18 hours a day, there are potentially many things to complain about, but the remarkable thing is when the runners are pushed to their limits it can actually help to see a bigger picture, where they look for things to be grateful for and complain less.

It is certainly an admirable idea for all of us to follow, and if a 3100 Mile runner can have this attitude, it helps to put our problems in perspective.

Photo Blog by Utpal

Utpal Marshall has covered the race for many years. His blog, goes back all the way to 2010, there is a wealth of interviews, photos and stories, which are well worth checking out. This year he is back offering a unique insight into the race.

Photos

Video Channels

More about:

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

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