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.
rain
Are there any limits? Normal service resumed.
Eight years before the first 3,100-mile race, Sri Chinmoy was interviewed by John Hanc, a well-known New York journalist.
At the time, the 1,300-mile race was the longest the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team had organised. This was seen as an event to push the boundaries of running endurance to its limits. Sri Chinmoy, as we now know, had other ideas.
John Hanc: On the ultra-distance side, you and the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team have been leaders in expanding the limits of what people can run. Do you think there will be any limit to the distance people can run? Ten years from now, will we be talking about a 2,000-mile or a 5,000-mile run?
Sri Chinmoy: "No, there is no limit to the distance, because there is no limit to human capacity. Human capacity depends on our inner hunger — how sincerely we need something or are crying for something. In the material world, if someone has tremendous greed and wants to become a multi-millionaire, he works very hard, and eventually he fulfils his desire. But by possessing the material world, we can never be happy. We can only find joy by serving as an instrument of God and fulfilling His Will. If God wants us to be a sprinter or an ultramarathon runner, and if we follow His dictates, then naturally we will become very happy. It will not matter if we stand first or last. Success or failure, we shall place at His feet. What matters is that we are pleasing God in His own way. How do we know what God wants us to do? By praying and meditating.
But even on the outer plane, our capacity is constantly expanding. Right now, 1,300 miles is our longest race. To run 1,300 miles in 18 days is almost beyond our imagination. We feel that is our ultimate capacity. But previously, we felt that 1,000 miles was the limit. Who thought of a 1,300-mile race five years ago? At that time, people would have thought I was a crazy man if I had suggested that. But now you see that this crazy man was right, because people are doing it. Somebody just has to start. We always have to go ahead, because life means progress.
The inner runner is always trying to inspire the outer runner. First, the inner runner says, 'Go forward, go forward, go ahead, go ahead!' Then the outer runner says, 'How can I go ahead if you do not give me the aspiration and inner cry?' Then the inner runner gives the outer runner the inner cry to do something and to become something good. In this way, the inner runner offers inspiration and aspiration to the outer runner."
In yesterday's race news
Normal service was resumed yesterday as Andrea Marcato bounced back from his "little sickness setback" and threw down a 70-mile day.
Heavy rain and fresh winds for much of the day made things somewhat challenging, but they did not stop our intrepid adventurers on their onward journey. See the US photo gallery here to feel the atmospheric conditions.
Normal service was resumed yesterday, in some ways.
- Andrea Marcato bounced back from his "little sickness setback" and threw down a 70-mile day (details in yesterday's daily update). He totalled 70.1 miles for the day to finish on 1949.5. Assuming he has no reaction to today's effort, he should reach 2,000 miles early Sunday evening.
- Radu Budan ran a 63-mile day, continuing his own race and consistently logging the miles to reach 1867.8 miles at the close of the day.
- Annabel Hepworth ran a couple of miles below her usual daily total but maintained her 60-mile threshold, running 60.8 miles to finish the day on 1783.9 miles.
- Wei Ming Lo maintained a 62.5-mile (100 km) baseline to finish on 1779 miles.
- Vasu and Nayaja both recorded 61.4 miles, leaving them on 1732.9 miles and 1685.2 miles, respectively.
- Nina continues to crack on, hitting 47.7 miles for the day.
- Ananda-Lahari and Stutisheel battled the conditions to achieve 36.1 miles and 35.6 miles, respectively.
"When your mind is plagued by dark doubts,
you are bound to be imprisoned
by all limitations — inner and outer."
— Sri Chinmoy
Race report: Tarit Stott
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