After two weeks on a road course in the neighborhood in Queens,NY., Vasu Duzhiy leads the 20th Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race with 1014.73 miles. He is averaging 72.48 miles per day(116.65km). He passed the 1000 mile split today in 13 days+14:35:35, which is 22 hours,29 seconds faster than his previous best. Mr Duzhiy has increased his lead over second place by nearly 30 miles.

Surasa Mairer leads the trio of ladies in the race with 908.81 miles. She is averaging 64.91 miles per day(104.47 km).

The runners enjoyed fair skies, moderate temperatures and lower humidity today. The forecast looks similar for the next three days, which should help mileage expectations. 

The runners are settling in, their tasks are clear, if not formidable. Do as much mileage as possible, within the strict timeframe- without incurring injury. Today's test was offered by Mother Nature in the form of a line of thunder and rainstorms that moved into the area right at suppertime. The runners responded as best they could, overcoming torrential rain at various intervals. Yuri Trostenyuk persevered the best and won day honors with 65.8 miles. Surasa Mairer and Kaneenika Janakova tied for women's day leader with 64.21 miles. Estimates topped 2 inches of rain on the course over a period of a few hours. Somehow eight runners moved past sixty miles. Eight are still on pace to finish, with 39 days remaining. Vasu is sixty miles ahead of his personal best from last year. Surasa is 64 miles ahead of her record pace from last year. The race is still young, though, with many days and nights to determine the finishers. Stay tuned, as the first brave souls will move past 1000 miles and more in the next few days.

A cooler, overcast day prevailed as the intrepid dozen runners moved along the sidewalk course of the 3100 Mile Race. After ten days, injuries  and fatigue have spread out the field and dropped some down the list. The top three are all averaging 70 miles, with Vasu Duzhiy leading everyone with 737.58 miles. The three women have taken over spots five, six and seven over-all. Surasa Mairer is averaging a crisp 64.8 miles per day, Kaneenika Janakova is at 63.1 miles every day, and Shamita Achenbach-Konig resides at 62.01 miles per day.  Stutisheel Lebedev of Kiev, Ukraine has extricated himself from the cellar of the standings with three consecutive good days, reducing his mileage deficit by more than half. With six weeks to go in the race anything can happen, but the runners are moving with purpose, and dreaming of that perfect day ahead of them.

Ashprihanal Aalto-1000km-9 days+01:06:35 

Surasa Mairer-1000km-9 days+09:29:33

Kaneenika Janakova-1000km-9 days+14:56:27

Vasu Duzhiy wasted little time in extending his lead in the 3100 Mile Race today, running 71.89 miles while winning Day honors again. He has increased his lead to 16 miles. What is also interesting is that he is 63.3 miles ahead of his personal best from 2015, when he cruised to a personal best by almost three days. Surasa Mairer has moved up to fifth overall with a quality 64.21 mile day. She is averaging 64.69 miles per day(104.108km), and is 47 miles ahead of her record pace last year.  The first nine runners are all on pace to finish. Ashprihanal Aalto had the second best total today with 68+ miles. He will be a player in the overall standings if his fitness level continues to rise.

Volodymyr Hlushchuk from Vinnitsa, Ukraine suffered a setback when he had supposed back spasms that prevented him from moving at all. An alert physician diagnosed kidney issues that were resolved with medicine and water intake. He was able to get back on the course at 4:00 pm and continued on until midnight. His diagnosis looks fine and his resolve is to continue. Luckily he has only a small deficit to remain on pace. 

Matthias van Baaren has been giving us these beautiful graphics reports for quite a few years now! He has just sent us a 23-page graphic report detailing the entire first week of the race, you can see a few of the pages in the slideshow above.

The full PDF is available to view here »

It was sunny and pleasant with lower humidity, but a tricky-hot sun offered no respite throughout the afternoon. Vasu Duzhiy thrilled with a late run to reach 76.28 miles, and top off a six-day split with 447.27 miles, a mere lap behind Czech Republic leader Atmavir Petr Spacil, who fashioned a 70.24 mile day to keep his '70's' streak intact. Mr Spacil opened with a 16-day 70+ mile streak last year in this race, which placed him behind only the enventual winner and record-holder until the 17th day.

Today only eight runners made it past 60 miles for the day- a testament to the difficulty of getting used to such a formidable distance in a compressed format. The three women in the race flourished in the pleasant, cool evening air and little wind. Surasa Mairer reached 389 miles for six days and looks in control of her race. Kaneenika Janakova looked solid all day and is very focused on her running gait being as efficient as possible. Shamita Achenbach-Konig looked like a veteran super-long runner, staying until nearly midnight and reaching 63.11 miles for the day. 

Six Day Splits

Atmavir Petr Spacil-447.82(720.69 km); Vasu Duzhiy-447.27(719.81km); Yuri Trostenyuk-430.25(692.43km)                                                                                     

Ashprihanal Aalto-416.53(670.35km);Ananda-Lahari Zuscin-410.50(660.63km);Volodymyr Hlushchuk-390.19(627.96km)

Surasa Mairer-389.09(626.19km);Kaneenika Janakova-377.02(606.76km);Shamita Achenbach-Konig-369.89(595.28km)

Sopan Tsekov-362.75(583.80km);Baladev Pavol Saraz-349.58(562.60km);Stutisheel Lebedyev-326.53(525.50km).

The runners of the 3100 Mile Race face obstacles that most athletes rarely face in a running competition. The long days on the road spent moving, on concrete, in hot weather. The pressure of running 59.617 miles per day, required to be able to finish within the 52 day time limit. The first week or two of the race can be described as the break-in period- the body, and sometimes the mind, start to adapt to the heavy workload with an athletic response. Injuries- particularly blisters and shin splints- lurk around the unprepared  if their trainining has not been thorough and full of experience.

With those thoughts in mind, one can appreciate the totals acrued so far. Atmavir Petr Spacil remains atop the leader boards with 305.1 miles after four days, averaging 76 miles per day. Vasu Duzhiy from Russia has reached second place today with a fine run of 74.08 miles. Ananda-Lahari Zuscin, the surprise early leader of the race remains tied with Yuri Trostenyuk for third place with 291.96 miles. Record -holder Ashprihanal Aalto from Finland resides in fifth place, an uncommon spot for him, but he is building his body back up from last year while still averaging 70.1 miles per day. Surasa Mairer, the queen of the women's contingent  and another returning champion, leads by eight miles over the strong competitor Kaneenika Janakova.

After trailing Slovakian Ananda-Lahari Zuscin by a scant lap after one day, Atmavir Petr Spacil reversed the favor and tied Mr Zuscin with the same number laps after two days. Both men stand at 159.70 miles, just shy of 80 miles a day. Vasu Duzhiy remained in third with another 72+ mile day. Yuri Trostenyuk from Ukraine pulled into fourth place with a fine 71.89 miles. He is averaging 76 miles per day. Ashprihanal Aalto stands in fifth place, an unlikely position, but given his all-time great performance last year, he gets a flyer from this observer. His legs don't have the spring and his astounding long-distance resume predicts a little more human level of performance. He is still averaging 72+ miles a day.

Austrian Surasa Mairer climbed within one lap of Kaneenika Janakova of Slovakia with a fine 64.21 mile day. Both ladies are averaging 67 miles per day. Watch out fellas!

In all, eight runners passed the 60 mile mark, with the top four men cresting 70+.

The hazy sunshine gave way to bright skies in the middle of the day, as the summer solstice arrived in New York just after 6:00PM EDT. Have a great summer, oh Northern Hemisphere.

Twelve courageous runners stepped up to the start line and moved forward precisely at 6:00am as a crowd of 200 people watched the beginning of the 20th Annual Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race today. The setting is the same .5488 mile (883.2079 meter) concrete sidewalk around a vocational school, playground and athletic field used for the previous 20 summers (the forerunner of this race - the 2700 Mile Race - used the exact same course in 1996). The men’s and women’s record holders headlined a strong field from seven countries.

The race employs a mandatory 6-hour curfew at midnight. After the first 18 hours, Ananda-Lahari Zuscin from Slovakia led the pack with 85.51 miles, a scant one lap ahead of Czech Republican and eight-time finisher Atmavir Peter Spacil. Russian Vasu Duzhiy, who finished third last year, was third again today, with 13-time finisher and world leader Ashprihanal Aalto comfortably in fourth, tied with three-time finisher Yuri Trostenyuk. The top five men total an amazing 33 finishes of the world’s longest certified race.

The distaff side was led by Kaneenika Janakova of Slovakia with 75.18 miles, good for sixth overall as well. Three-time finisher and women’s record holder Surasa Mairer of Austria was sitting at 70.24 miles. Shamita Achenbach-Konig was third with 66.95 miles for the ladies.