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

Race Director's updates

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

Books you might find interesting...

Sport and Meditation

Inner secrets to get the most out of training and competing

Race Director's updates

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.

In the Media

About the author:

Rupantar has been the race director of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team since 1985, having been asked by Sri Chinmoy to serve in that capacity. As well as working on the big races the US Marathon Team organise each year - the 3100 Mile Race and the Six and 10 Day Race - he also spends a considerable amount of time archiving the Marathon Team's 40 year history on this website.

Finland's number one ultra running site, ultrajuoksu.fi, writes about the 2017 Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race:

"Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race alkoi New Yorkissa 18.6.2017.

"Kisa järjestetään nyt 21. kerran. Juoksu alkoi 18.6.2017. 3100 mailin (5000 km) mitta vastaa matkaa USA:n halki. Kisan suorittamiseen on aikaa enintään 52 päivää, eli kisa päättyy 8.8.2017.

"Juoksu tapahtuu New Yorkin Queens’issä 883 m pitkällä reitillä, joka tulee kiertää 5649 kertaa. Juoksu aloitetaan joka aamu klo 6:00 ja päättyy klo 24:00, eli päivittäinen juoksuaika on enintään 18 tuntia. Keskimäärin päivässä on juostava vähintään noin 60 mailia eli lähes 100 km."

For complete article in Finish

In the Media

About the author:

Results (PDF Download)

airberlin_3100.pdf 359.15 KB

"If you take your jogging seiously, you should try the world's longest race. Participants in the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence Race, named after an Indian meditation teacher, run from 6am until midnight for 52 days. The route takes them repeatedly around the same block in Queens, New York, and averages two marathons plus 10km per day. After a total of 3100 miles (5000km), runners are sure to have transcended the limits of consciousness." From the May issue.

Visit Self-Transcendence 3,100-Mile website...

Visit Airberlin In-Flight Magazine website..

Race Director's updates

Although the temps rose to the high eighties, and the humidity climbed up the index, eight of the ten runners topped sixty miles. Day 13 leader was Sergey Kuzmin from Nizhiy Novgorod, Russia who reached 65.85 miles in consecutive days. He moved into sixth place and holds seven precious miles of positivity- in the plus column, to be more precise. Vasu Duzhiy holds firm in the lead, and for sections of the day was a moving clinic on efficient running in multi-days. His female counterpart- Kaneenika Janakova, looked downright unstoppable at times as well, as her fitness and experience are carrying her to new heights. She ran 64.75 miles today, her best two-day stint since last year in the same race. Andrey Andreev from St Petersburg, Russia had his best day in the last five (61.46 miles) and seems to be figuring out the necessary steps to moving towards the greater goal.

Nirbhasa Magee-800 miles- 12 days+02:37:67

Kaneenika Janakova-800 miles- 12 days+15:34:37

Smarana Puntigam-800 miles- 12 days+17:57:32

Andrey Andreev-700 miles- 12 days+05:35:30

Nidhruvi Zimmerman-700 miles- 12 days+12:06:09

Race Director's updates

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

No matter how much you train, duplicating running on hard surfaces is still not the same as what the 3100 Mile Race runners experience. The soreness in the legs is difficult to deal with, or can affect your whole race. That is why we always encourage runners to use the first two weeks of this race as an acclimitization period. Smarana Puntigam used his vast experience in multidays to take Day 2 honors with 68.05 miles. His seven straight finishes and numerous other multiday adventures have given him lessons to know what to expect and what to do. Five people made past sixty miles today. Vasu Duzhiy has a three lap lead over Smareana, and the the top three females all ended the day in a virtual tie with 128.96 total miles. the ringleader of that teio was harita Davies with 60.91 miles. The heavy rains and storms came at five pm( Hour 11). The runners continued on as cooler temps descended on the race course. Yolanda Holder made an amazing comeback from intense dehydration and nausea, reaching 53.23 miles when it seemed she hopeless earlier in the day.

The runners were still smiling, even during the rain. Almost makes one want to sing.

Race stories

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.

'This race is all about how things that seem impossible actually can be very possible...'. So begins our interview with Jayasalini Abramovskikh, who in 2014 became the first female Russian finisher of the 3100 Mile Race. She describes how she found the prospect of asking for two months off her job as an economist in Moscow to participate in the race quite daunting, but how if you are meant to do something then it will all work out.

She also talks a little bit about her goals after the race: "For me the answer is to have that deep inner connection with my soul, with my inner being, at every moment of my life, as strong I had during the race. There, the conditions are so extreme, that every momnt is a sincere prayer, evey moment is a sincere cry, and every moment I felt my soul expressing itself in through me. Now i feel the real objective, the real goal for me now is to to be able to feel this during any moment during the whole life."

About the author:

Ashprihanal sets wrold record in 3,100 Mile race

Photo: Ashprihanal Aalto of Finland completes the 3,100-Mile race in 2015 in a record-breaking time of 40 days 9 hours 6 minutes and 21 seconds.

The Joy of Six is a regular series of articles from the Guardian which focus on unearthing sport's hidden treasures. This week, the focus was on the worlds most unusual and bizarre races, including the world's longest certified race organised by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team - the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100-Mile Race.

The article notes: "The race was founded by noted spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, who opened the first meditation center in Queens after moving to the US in 1964. Finishers needn’t complete the full 3,100 miles, but that’s hardly the point. The goal is right there in the name: self-transcendence, achieved by pushing yourself beyond your physical limits."

Other races mentioned included the Iron Man ice competition in Arizona, the Man v Horse marathon in Wales and The Big Five marathon in South Africa, where participants have to dodge the big five game animals: lion, elephant, leopard, buffalo and rhino.

Read the article »

Cross-posted from us.srichinmoyraces.org