A third straight day of pleasant, relatively cool weather helped the runners along today. Vasu Duzhiy left no doubt of his fitness by garnering 70.24 miles. He lengthened his lead over Nirbhasa Magee to nearly 31 miles. Kaneenika Janakova powered away from the other ladies today, reaching 64.75 miles and solidifying third place overall. Sergey Kuzmin had his eighth straight quality day offering, bolstered by 65.85 miles. He is within five laps of sixth place. More importantly, he has reached the plus column in miles, and is on pace to finish if he can hold on for the next six weeks! Harita Davies is indeed another surprise. Coming into the race she was the least experienced, with the fewest credentials. Yet her consistency and determination is paying off. She has an 11 mile cushion after 12 days and looks smooth and relaxed while running.

Vasu Duzhiy-800 miles= 11 days+12:52:37

Kaneenika Janakova-700 miles= 11 days+04:47:00

Smarana Puntigam-700 miles= 11 days+06:03:31

Harita Davies-700 miles= 11 days+09:01:35

Sergey Kuzmin-700 miles= 11 days+12:27:36

Yolanda Holder-700 miles= 11 days+12:42:10

Nidhruvi Zimmerman-1000km= 11 days+02:42:10

Ananda-Lahari Zuscin-1000km= 11 days+13:11:40

With near perfect running conditions for much of the day, seven of ten made it past sixty miles. The low eighties, low humidity, clear skies and breezes helped for sure, but new levels of fitness are appearing on many of the stalwart runners. Vasu Duzhiy, as his running ability has shown, emerged again late to claim Day honors with 66.4 miles. Nirbhasa Magee had another respectable 64.78 miles to maintain his hold on second overall. Kaneenika Janakova again dazzled with 63.6 for the ladies. Sergey Kuzmin has climbed to within five miles of level standing finishing pace, after a rough few early days. Now he is the quickest at the 12-hour point each evening, before Mr Vasu assumes his mantle as top dog. 

Vasu Duzhiy-700 mies=10 days+04:11:35

Nirbhasa Magee-700 miles= 10 days+10:41:20

Kaneenika Janakova-1000km-10 days+01:25:12;  Smarana Puntigam-1000km-10 days+01:32:15

Harita Davies-1000km-10 days+02:22:31;  Yolanda Holder-1000km-10 days+05:29:04

Sergey Kuzmin-10-00km-10 days+09:14:30; Andrey Andreev-1000km-10 days+15:22:24

Seven of ten made it to 60 miles or more today with ideal conditions for running an urban ultra. Clear skies, low humidity, moderate temps and cool breezes paved the way for the runners. Only the last day school crowds at a few intervals along the course would even register with this determined group. Vasu Duzhiy led the way again with 66.4 miles. Nirbhasa Magee had another respectable outing with 64.7 miles; both men topped 700 miles- Nirbhasa for the third time in his career-and Vasu for the seventh time. Kaneenika Janakova led the ladies again with 63.66 miles. Six runners went pass the 1000 km mark as fitness levels are beginning to rise for many. 

Vasu Duzhiy-700 miles-10 days+04:11:35

Nirbhasa Magee-700 miles-10  days+10:41:20

Kaneenika Janakova-1000km-10 days+01:25:17

Smarana Puntigam-1000km-10 days+01:32:15

Harita Davies-1000km-10 days+02:22:31

Yolanda Holder-1000km-10 days+05:29:04

Sergey Kuzmin-1000km-10 days+09:14:30

Andrey Andreev-1000km-10 days+15:22:24

It was less humid today; the breezes arrived later in the afternoon. The runners were delayed a little this morning by the thousands of Muslims celebrating Ramadan being complete. The gathering on the close-by field of Joe Austin Ballfield  spilled out onto the sidewalks which are the perennial course for the 3100 Mile Race. Just before 10:00am the crowds of people dispersed and the dust settled down. The runners continued on their journey. Vasu Duzhiy again led all runners with 66.4 miles. He is a full twenty miles ahead of second place runner Nirbhasa Magee. Kaneenika Janakova leads the four ladies with 63.6 miles. Harita Davies and Yolanda Holder each had 60.36 mile days to maintain their position and average mileage for the Race. No positions changed today, but eight of the 10 made it past 60 miles. 

Six-Day races have a history dating back to the nineteenth century. For decades of the 20th century, the duration of six days, defined by Judeo-Christian mores, was the longest distance of races performed on foot, either walking, as done by pedestrians, or by means of the newer fad - running. Athletes did a style known as 'go as you please'- walking, jogging, running, and even sprinting. They tried to accumulate the most laps- aka-  miles, with victors winning prize money, and the admiring public betting on their favorites. They never did athleteics on Sunday.

With the rebirth of the six-day events in the latter 20th century, the once popular races had lost all attention from the public, and were considered as foolish endeavors by the average man. It has taken many decades before people in general, and the running world in particular, have paid any attention, or column space to the endurance grandaddy. In the 3100 Mile Race the 6-Day split is just a signpost on a much longer, arduous and difficult journey. Athletes run the equivalent of between seven or up to even nine six-day races in succession. The 3100 is not for the weak, obviously, but we always admire the runners as they tackle each challenge with conviction and enthusiasm, inside their 3100 mile race world. They must not be intimidated by the distance nor the daily mileage requirements. Rather, find new potential and bring it to the fore. Let us see if they can improve their next six-day totals in this race. 

On this sixth day of the event, all ten runners crested 333 miles, with the first six on pace to finish, and the remaining showing signs of life. Good luck to all six-day runners or potential multi-day candidates. 

Vasu Duzhiy- 419.2832 miles  Nirbhasa Magee-402.8192 

Kaneenika Janakova-367.1472   Harita Davies-365.5008 

Snarana Puntigam-361.6592   Yolanda Holder-358.9152

Nidhruvi Zimmerman-354.5248 Andrey Andreev-341.3536

Ananda-Lahari Zuscin-334.2192  Sergey Kuzmin-333.6704

Four of ten made it past 60 miles today, with Vasu Duzhiy cresting at 70 miles, as a deceptively hot sun stated to bake the course a little today.  Nirbhasa Magee stayed close to Vasu but when home earlier, making it easy for the Russian native to widen his lead. Smarana Puntigam made a nice rebound with 62.01 miles to maintain third place. Kaneenika Janakova took the women's lead by four laps, but Yolanda Holder was the star again with 62.01 miles to lead the ladies. She is only four laps behind equalizing overall pace for a 52 - day finish. It is still early in the race but she has very good leg speed and turnover, so she may have the tools necessary to get where she wants to go. Remember, though, it is only Day Four. 

The hard concrete course often causes leg soreness as the 3100 Mile Race runners will attest. The early days and even the first two weeks can affect veteran and newbie alike. A close observer could notice the slightly slower speeds today. What was also compelling were reports of severe storms in the area for nearly four hours. Heavy rains lashed the area with gusty winds and lightning starting at 5:00pm (Hour 11). Most runners stayed out on the course and welcomed the slighly cooler temps as storm after storm came through. Vasu Duzhiy kept his small lead over Smarana Puntigam of only 3 laps. Smarana did gain Day honors with 68.05 miles, however. Nirbhasa Magee stayed close with a 65.85 mile effort in third place. Harita Davies reached 60.91 miles to join the other two top female runners- Kaneenika Janakova  and Nidhruvi Zimmermann- at the day 2 total of 128.96 miles. The real hero of today was Yolanda Holder, who was treated for dehydration and lost over three hous of time. She had been struggling with stomach issues for nearly 24 hours. When the storm  started Yolanda was in her recovery mode, and began to walk with zest as temperatures started to drop, and her energy began to return. She was able to reach 53.23 miles and her smile returned as the storms began to fade. She went from disaster to back in the race in a flash. A few good weather days await. Hope still abides. Stay tuned!

Four of ten made it past 60 miles today, with Vasu Duzhiy cresting at 70 miles, as a deceptively hot sun stated to bake the course a little today.  Nirbhasa Magee stayed close to Vasu but when home earlier, making it easy for the Russian native to widen his lead. Smarana Puntigam made a nice rebound with 62.01 miles to maintain third place. Kaneenika Janakova took the women's lead by four laps, but Yolanda Holder was the star again with 62.01 miles to lead the ladies. She is only four laps behind equalizing overall pace for a 52 - day finish. It is still early in the race but she has very good leg speed and turnover, so she may have the tools necessary to get where she wants to go. Remember, though, it is only Day Four.