Heather Hansman's October 26, 2018 online Outside film review of Sanjay Rawal's documentary film, 3100: Run and Become, examines the 'philosophical side of long-distance running". The film explores the importance of running in the Narajo community, the 'marathon' monks of Japan, Kalahari Bushmen of Africa and the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100-Mile Race. The film centers on Finnish runner Aalto Asphrihanal and the 2016 3100-Mile Race. (Photo: start of the 2106 3100-Mile Race. Asphrihanal Aalto, first from right).

From the article:

"It's hard to show transcendence, especially the kind that comes from the devotional practice of moving your body, but that's what director Sanjay Rawal was trying to capture he filmed runners around the world."

More from the article:

"I was a competitive runner," Rawal says, "but I nver had a coach that told me what Shaun (Navajo runner) says in the movie - that running is a prayer and a teacher and a celebration of life."

The film is currently being shown at the Village Cinema East, Manhattan, New York.

For the Outside online review...

The home page of the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100-Mile Race...

In Lisa Colangelo's review of '3100: Run and Become', a documnetary film by Queens native Sanjay Rawal, the reviewer begins the article by offering the quesiton: "Why would anyone run 3100 miles on one city block for 52 days in a row". The film answers this quesiton by comparing the importance of running by the Kalahari Bushmen of Africa, the 'marathon' monks of Japan, the Navajo running community and the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100-Mile Race. The film centers on the 2016 Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100-Mile Race and world record holder Asphrihanal Aalto. (Photo: start of 2016 race. Asphrihanal Aalto, first from right in blue shorts and light blue top).

The film is currently being shown at the Village Cinema East in downtown Manhattan.

For the full article in amNew York...

For the home page of the Sri Chinmoy 3100-Mile Race

Ushika Muckenhumer is poised to make it to the finish of 3100 miles, after reaching 61.46 miles today. He needs a mere 48 laps to reach the rarefied air of a 3100 mile finisher. We expect Ushika to finish between 1:30 to 2:30 pm local time. His tremendous faith in the grace from above and the skillful pacing of each transition from morning to daytime to afternoon to evening has led him to a remarkable performance. He has kept his sense of humour as well, see evidence re: the multiple arrivals of jokes, in both German and English languages, on printed emails each day. 

Sopan Tsekov has charged into fifth place with a solid 60.9-mile day, and feels ready to reach the finish line on tuesday. He has done remarkably well in the high heat index days, such as the past few. Surasa Mairer went past 3000 miles for the fifth time in her illustrious running career. She has managed to hold onto fourth place overall for nearly three weeks. 

Surasa Mairer-3000 miles-49:17:22:31

William Sichel-2800 miles-49:06:45:46

Smarana Puntigam-2800 miles-49:09:44:31

Ananda-Lahari Zuscin-2700 miles-49:01:47:19

Okay, so you may have seen today’s results before reading this daily account of what might have happened in the long race just hours ago (Friday), and thought you saw a typo or serious mistake in the day leader totals for Day 48.  Well, I am here to defend the printed and published result- yes, a man did run 89.45 miles on Day 48, after having run 2551+ miles in the previous 47 days. The gifted, quiet, observant, running savant- Ananda-Lahari Zuscin- reached 89.4544 miles, and hopped on his electric bike and went home, satisfied with his effort. He has great running talent, and frankly, this observer feels he can run with the elite- if he wanted to. It is like Barry Sanders in the NFL – he retired just shy of the all-time yardage mark, with still great years left in his legs- because he wanted to. In my estimation, Barry was the greatest ball-carrier/runner elusive athlete that brutal sport has ever seen. Ananda-Lahari is not the Barry Sanders of multi-day racing, but he runs like a gazelle, and is humble, quiet to the core, and runs to his own inner drummer. And when he reveals his talent, it is awesome to see. He is smooth as silk, and can run quick for hours and hours. He ran more miles this day than he ever did on this course, even when fresh on the first day of any of his 14 years at the 3100 Mile Race.  God blessed this man. He knows it, too.

Ushika Muckenhumer-2900 miles-47:02:31:28

William Sichel-2700 miles-47:11:36:51

Smarana Puntigam-2700 miles-47:12:29:10

Forty-six year old multi-day runner Kobi Oren, from Kiryat-Tivon, Israel reached his dream goal of 3100 miles today, finishing in second place in 46 days+03:24:48. This was the third fastest first-time performance in the 22-year history of the event. Kobe became the first Israeli to run 3100 miles, and is now ranked 12thworld-wide in the super-long footrace out of 42 finishers, men and women. The father of four gave a glowing tribute to all that helped him, and even cited the uniqueness of the distance and the difficult venue as steps leading to a fuller awareness of himself. He is a well-known competitor in international races, and has been quite successful. A throng of well-wishers and race supporters were moved by his eloquence as he spoke of feelings of gratitude to all that inspired him, including his fellow runners in the race this year. We wish Kobi well and long life, for he was determination in action.

Surasa Mairer-2800 miles-46:10:09:00

Kaneenika Janakova-2800 miles-46:16:38:38

Sopan Tsekov-2800 miles-46:17:27:46

Ananda-Lahari Zuscin-2500 miles-46:01:31:56

Just a few minutes after 10:00 pm (22:00), Vasu Duzhiy crossed the finish line of the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race for the 5,649thtime in this race, marking his third overall victory. Vasu has now completed the longest certified footrace seven straight times, including back to back this year and last. He averaged 69.403 miles per day/ 111.693 km. He was serenaded by songs about victory, transcendence, and, even tunes about his homeland, as the crowd of over 200 people milled about, waiting for his final laps to count down with every step. The humble man articulated sincerity and gratitude as he acknowledged everyone for his support throughout the evnt.

Kobi Oren ran 68.05 miles to get into position to finish Thursday morning. He needs just 158 laps (86.781 miles) to reach his finish line. Ushika Muckenhumer continues to impress as he reached at least 60 miles for 25 straight days. Kaneenika Janakova can breathe a sigh of relief, after finally reaching cushion-land with a similar streak of 23 days above 60+ miles, accrued from a deficit that reached 46 miles behind pace on Day 22. Ananda-Lahari ran 70.24 miles to lead all runners for the Day.

Kobi Oren-3000 miles-44:12:12:54

Surasa Mairer-2700 miles-44:15:48:21

William Sichel-2500 miles-44:01:29:13

Smarana Puntigam-2500 miles-44:02:18:25

Ananda-Lahari Zuscin-2400 miles-44:05:20:30

Six runners made it past 60 miles, the skies were hazy at times, but the humidity was moderate. It was perfect weather for New York running in late July. Vasu Duzhiy, exuding confidence, smoothly reached 71.34 miles today, leaving 129+ miles to run, or 236 more laps on the final legs of his 3100-mile journey.  Depending how far he runs on Monday, his expected time of arrival should fall between 7:00 pm to 10:00pm on Tuesday evening. His lead has increased to 92 miles over Kobi Oren. Kobi should finish on Thursday as his premiere at 3100 miles has been impressive, to say the least.  Kaneenika Janakova has moved to only four and a half laps behind even pace for the race. Surasa Mairer has moved into fourth overall with another solid outing over 61 miles. Only nine days remain in the seven and a half week race. 

Vasu Duzhiy-2900 miles-42:00:26:12

Ushika Muckenhumer-2600 miles-42:04:42:20

Kaneenika Janakova-2500 miles-42:00:33:28

William Sichel-2400 miles-42:07:46:59

Smarana Puntigam-2400 miles-42:08:26:09

Ananda-Lahari Zuscin-2300 miles-42:07:14:23

The humidity factor kept rising all day, but so did the anticipation of everyone getting close to optimum health for a day. Sure enough, seven of nine runners made it past 60 miles, with one stalwart reaching 70 miles. While the anticipation of Vasu and Kobi reaching exotic mile and kilometer splits was real, the 70-mile contributor was none other than Ananda-Lahari Zuscin. The Slovakian, so used to being the slow walker at the back of the pack, certainly has his day once in a while. Today was just that, as he led everyone through the sticky afternoon, cloudy and rainy evening, and the laser light show of a ferocious thunderstorm. The days of the race are numbered, but the hearts of multi-day runners cannot be easily defined or measured. Thanks, road warriors, for giving us all a look at inspiration, no matter where your name is on the scoreboard-just for the sake of it.

Vasu Duzhiy-4500km- 40:08:55:42; 2800 miles-40:09:47:59

Kobi Oren-2700 miles-40:03:47:15

Ushika Muckenhumer-4000km-40:07:18:15; 2500 miles- 40:11:35:03

Kaneenika Janakova-2400 miles-40:07:24:51

In the up and down world of the 3100 Mile Race, five runners made it past 60 miles today. Kobi Oren reached 2600 miles with a solid 64.75-mile day, even though showers lasted for eight hours, starting in the late afternoon. Ushika Muckenhumer reached 62+ miles, giving him 21 straight days over 60 miles on each day. Vasu Duzhiy was the leader once again, reaching 67.5 miles just before midnight. Kaneenika Janakova has climbed to within 12 miles of even mileage to finish, after running her 17thstraight day over 60 miles. Her 30+ miles behind pace is dwindling fast. Surasa Mairer is enjoying the cushion luxury, being nearly 30 miles ahead of Kaneenika, with only 13 days left in the Race.  Tomorrow is another chance to make more progress for all the runners.

Kobi Oren-2600 miles-38:10:02:53

Sopan Tsekov-2300 miles-38:01:21:44

Surasa Mairer-2300 miles-38:03:58:30

Kaneenika Janakova-2300 miles-38:14:24:32

William Sichel-2200 miles-38:12:41:19

Smarana Puntigam-38:13:54:55

Ananda-Lahari Zuscin-2100 miles-38:10:47:48