Day 28

Great day. 100 laps and still alive. The recovery is underway. Today will show how things have improved. The weather has been great although this morning seems a little humid already.

Reuters came yesterday to do a story. There has been more press and TV this time than ever before. Madhuprans performance so far is one of legend.

Day 27

Today I felt like some corner had been turned even though I only managed 83 laps. Yet those laps were finished in a much more positive and relaxed state.

Day 26

"Tonight half the cake has been eaten" said Rainhald, as I prepared for my final lap of the day. It seems to have come very quickly and tomorrow Madhupran will hit 2000 miles.

Today worst became normal as I struggled to hit 84 laps. The Chiropractor came today and had a look at the major issues but by mid-afternoon things ground to a depressingly painful halt. This is where the race really begins. Getting beyond this problem is now the meaning of my life.

The weather is cloudy and cooler which is a blessing and is supposed to remain for several days.

Day 25

My problem with my quad/ham issue continued slowing me even further to 80 laps. Rathin experienced a similar kind of mileage day.
The morning rain was torrential for a while and continued wet for several hours until the afternoon. The top runners continue to impress.

Day 24

One of the reasons for this blog is to enable me to remember what happened after the race is finished.
Today was not a good day. In fact I can regard this as the worst day in some respects so far. On the second lap of the day I felt something tighten very quickly in the upper quad region followed almost immediately by the hamstring tightening - that was it for the rest of the day and I only completed 83 laps.
I haven't stretched at all, so maybe that was part of the problem and also perhaps I was moving a little too fast, not in touch with my body. Whatever it was it turned into one of those "special"days.

Day 23

The day number gets confusing as sometimes I post in the morning and cant think without coffe in my blood.

So, another roaster, though it cooled off early tonight. Madhupran hit 75 miles for the day, 137 laps I think and Asprihanal was a little short.

Those people still trying for 51 days all maintained there levels today. Stutisheel had a poor day after a run of 114 laps. Suprabhs hit 96, Rathin continued his climb off the bottom of the pile to be replaced by Suprabha. I managed 108 laps.

Rainald counted the number of steps on the course and said it was about a 1000 per lap...

Day 21

I'm not sure what day it is anymore. I know it's Sunday. It was very hot today and humid - just like they predicted.
Madhupran ran 75 miles today and Asprihanal took the day's honours with 77. Phenomenal performances.
I hit 100 laps for the first time in a while.

Day Whatever

These last few days have been tougher and tougher and gets a 2 out of 10 only because somehow I made it to 96 laps. Today was a new emotional low and fortunately some people took pictures so there is evidence to support my position. I arrived just as the runners were starting so had no time to tape my arches but lost no time. However within a few laps it was clear that I was struggling and having to expend more energy just to hit 6LPH. My quads were complaining and when I pushed, shins began to grumble. By mid-morning my arches had gone again and I had to stop and tape both feet. Yesterdays taping had left me a blister or two to go with the daily crew that arrive. Although small-ish, I don't think I've ever had so many blisters.
The arch problems stem from the Asics, which is not good news. In fact it meant that today I used my last pair of new shoes - New Balance 856's - All donations of NB 857 4E gratefully accpted.

Apart from me Madhupran took the days honours for the first time in quite a few days. Asprihanal didnt quite have the power today.
Suprabha hit a 100 and Rathin made it all the way for 2 days in a row.


Helmut Schieke celebrates his 67thbirthday.

Day 20

Perfect running conditions helped everyone today except for a storm just before 9. Its getting hard to write at night at the moment and emotionally yesterday was not a good day. After seeming to work hard all day, the evening seemed to fal apart. The previous day had been very poor until 4:30 and then had a great turn to finish with 97 laps.

Madhupran seems to have foiund his game again.

Day 19

Reached 1000 miles today. Madhupran has continued his recovery with 131 laps.

Day 18

Day 18 began in a furious storm with high winds and rain lashing the camp and the runners and prevented runners from accumulating their usual mileages.
The winds died down by mid-morning and the temps and humidity began to rise again.

Madhupran is still recovering from his stomach problem and Asprihanal ran hard all day to take advantage. Martin struggled with an uncomfortable blister and Rainald and Rathin contiued to make good mileages as did Suprabha.

Madhupran's helper, Helmut Schieke was 67 today and there was an ice-cream cake to celebrate.

RTL, the German TV station came today, Ted Corbitt came out to the race the day before

Day 16

Madhupran hits 80+ miles and Asprihanal completes a week of 70+ miles. It's tremendously inspiring to be with these runners.

Day 15

Asprihanal moved into second place today with another awesome performance - 80 miles despite some heavy rain showers early in the day.

Day 14

Camp was abuzz tonight as Asprihanal took the days honours with 79 miles - 2 laps or so ahead of Madhupran and cutting the gap between him and Srdjan, still in second place and who topped out at 72 miles today, by some 6 miles.

The rain came again today. Fortunately the showers were relatively short-lived. The humidity was very high all day and the forecast is for more of this over the next 4-5 days.

I am still ahead of 2004's position - by 600 metres



Hans-Jurgen Schlotter

Day 13

Madhupran reached a 1000 miles tonight, about 10:30 ish. Srdjan escaped tonight on 903 and Asprihanal had another good day to maintain third spot.

After threatening for some time, the rain finally arrived about 11:30 tonight and I left in a thunderous downpour. The high humidity today no doubt affected some with Rathin continuing his recovery after his good day on Day 11. Tsvetan has a little Achilles problem, Rainalds knee is improving. Pranab and Martin are doing well and Smarana also had to take it a little easier today.

Day 12

Not so easr

Day 11

Kuranga withdraws from the race while Madhupran Wolfgang Schwerk continues to pile up the miles with 781 after 10 days and a 478 6 day split. Srdjan Stojanovich lies second and Asprihanal Aalto is third.

The warm weather continues.

There seems to be a problem reaching the SriChinmoyRaces.org site.

The 10th Day

Several musicians come and play at various places and times around the course. Here we have Virendra playing drums and it immediately reminded me of a movie where this band was playing in such a rough dive that the stage was inside a cage.

Anyway, Premik came later with his Sax and played some entertaining songs.

The warm weather was here again today and somehow the day was particularly difficult and I finished grateful to have been able to cover 50 miles. Hans-Jurgen had a good day and seems to have recovered from his shin-splints.


Just before I left tonight I shot the scoreboard. Right-click for bigger image.

Day 9

Tonight I finished 100 laps with 5 miutes to spare. I have to thank Sundar and Dusan for dragging me out of the van with 8 laps and 75 minutes to go. I completely crashed out. Then, with 5 laps or so to go when I was shuffling around, 85% asleep, Smarana took me by the hand and encouraged me to go "A little faster" and I finally did it. Its great to reach goals, however humble.

Madhupran continues to impress with another great day - I didn't check the scoreboard so I don't know for sure who is where. It was a lot cooler today and escaped with a light shower in the evening.

Medur said he will put some photos up on the race site. As soon as I find a link I will post it.

Day 8

The temperatures rose higher today but fortunately the humidity is still fairly low. The 10 day says that there will be t-storms and rain for 9 out of the next 10 days so a change is due any moment.

Rainald and Stutisheel were slowed yesterday through injury and the course was busy with visitors yesterday, Sunday.

I am still ahead of previous races but getting the mileage up to 111 per day is very difficult.

Knees have been bothering me over the last few days interspersed with sore shins. Madhupran is still roaring away with the lead but no-one escapes "issues".

Day 5

Martin and Pranab are continuing their great start to the race, though others struggled a bit today. Hans Jurgen has shin splints and was also feeling the heat today which though a little warmer only had 28 % humidity this morning, according to Chanakhya. Asprihanal had a better day, Rathin and I hung in there for the bare minimum (BM).

Pradahan came today for a day or so and lots of other visitors came by.

My love affair with Fix You continues unabated

---

Miles: Today - 50

Miles:Total - 281

Problems: Knees,

Severity: 7

Temps: lo 80's, cool in the eve

Mood: Middling cheerful

Light in the Dark

Well, maybe it's not really that bad but could only manage 50 miles today. The morning was ok but in the early afternoon my knees gradually began to seize and by late afternoon I was getting concerned enough to consider a return to the matrix. Suprabha and Rathin lapped me depressingly often and continued to do so all evening. I had this problem last year as well as the same back issue. I don't remember how I fixed the knee thing, which could be a real help now. I took some Iron, Adrenal Support and a couple k of Vit C but they're still very stiff.

Chanakhya said that I was ahead of my mileage in previous races which is good.

---

Problems: Knees, blisters

Severity: 8, 2

Temps: moderate, cool in the eve

Mood: Thank God for the Matrix

Fix You

I dont know how I missed it but I've only just become aware of this song.
In a moment of desperation today I reached for my new MuVo and one of the first tracks that came on was Fix You. Its starts kind of slow, then there's a guitar bit, then there's this Moody Blue's-ish harmony section. I played it again. And again, over and over for about an hour. I took a break and came back out and continued to play it until a quarter to midnight. Now I've just found this on YouTube. I can' t put my finger on what it is but its about loss and separation and a bleeding heart. I'm a sucker for bleeding heart music. I call it Mourn.

Anyway today was another slide toward the bottom of the barrel. My back was killing me yesterday and today was a replay... until...












Anyway short term solutions sometimes help and I eventually made it to 100 laps. As did Rathin as it turned out and Suprabha scored 101 which is a good sign. Madhupran has established a lead over Kuranga. Hans Jurgen has shin splints but still managed a good day. Stutisheel finished strongly tonight.

What a difference a day makes

Multiday races are always full of surprises. Only Martin, Pranab and maybe Kuranga seem to have escaped unscathed by the end of Day 2 from the rigours of the race. Madhupran nevertheless blasted out over 75 miles to take the lead. Several of us today commented on the acclimatisation process. "Yes. It'll take us two weeks before we've really settled down". Of course.
Its amazing how all the little details get forgotten about and they return like long lost friends to accompany us again.

First Day

So thats it. Day 1 for me yielded 124 laps. Madhupran and Kauranga got off to a great start

Last day

Pictured are Chanakhya and Shishaldin, who both ran the 6 day race in April/May and came to checkout the course yesterday.
The weather is still cool which is good - weather.com gives a 10 day forecast predicting temps. in the mid 70's, although there will be some rain about.

Yesterday I bought a Creative MuVo and we will see how it holds up to the rigours of the race. I have been wanting to get an iriver but they're still a bit pricey.

I will be going in to the race with some new shoes. My basic stash is
Asics 2100, I have 6 pairs of those,
Asics Evolution
NB 856
NB857 2 pairs and
Brooks Addiction,
plus odds and ends lying around. The 2100's last about 3-4 days and hopefully the others a little longer. I will probably need 1 or 2 more pairs at the end of the race.

Run and Become in Victoria, London have been very supportive and generous and I am very grateful for all their kindness.

Cool June

There's been a lot of rain over the last week or so and its quite cool here at the moment which is great news as the start approaches. The intense heat and high humidity make not only the days uncomfortable but also the nights. I'm sure though it will warm up in July.

Rathin arrived yesterday, Madhupran comes today.

I saw Trishul a few days ago. He always has a positive outlook which is very helpful. This months UR magazine discusses the link between the mind and the body and drew out some interesting points. However they didn't dig to the roots of the runners faith. Faith is kind of a Christian word in my mind but beyond that, its structural importance in the psyche is very significant. Maybe they'll get to that another time.

2006 Self-Transcendence 3100

I had been planning to blog on the main blog but since people have been returning to this site I will keep this page going.

Just a week to go before the race begins. Already the runners are beginning to arrive - I spotted Ananda-Lahari last night.

There is a list of runners available on the 3100 site.

The weather is forecast to be fairly moderate for the next 10 days or so with temps in the mid 70's. Last years first three days were roasters. Threw us in at the deep end.

Face off: NB856 vs Asics 2100

I have been running in New Balance for years now with occasional head turns in moments of panic.
So my last long run was something of a surprise when I ran 10 miles last Sunday in the Asics to discover the personality of the shoe. Not only is it a smaller, lighter shoe but it is a faster shoe. It's design makes me want to run fast. The NB is a heavy shoe for the heavier runner and have lots of support in the places that a big, heavy runner moving slowly will need: Its a slow shoe. This is a real revelation. I am a little on the heavier side, last weigh was 180, but the usual reason I wear the 854/856's is because of the awesome comfort they provide especially during a race. They break in very quickly and the cushioning lasts. My only problem is the heel wear (see Sept. 16th) which means the shoes last no more than three days. Somehow I have to develop a new style that minimises this drag. It will save me hundreds of dollars.

The Other Blog

Most activity is happening on the Bravenet blog at the moment. Todays posting is a little look at the shoe problem I have had for the last 3 years. Part of the problem is the concrete and last year, after kindly waiting for us to finish the race, a substantial part of the course was replaced with fresh concrete which is very rough in places and extremely abrasive for running shoes. However we all survived to tell the tale and will be back next year to see how many more shoes we can go through in 64 days.

Checkout The Other Blog

The Medical Aspect

Pradhan (left) and Vajra

Pradhan Balter travels 1000 miles a week from Chicago to New York to help the 3100 runners. We asked for his thoughts about the race and they will be included in a small magazine we are putting together to commemorate this years event.

"The 3100 mile race is an absolutely phenomenal event and each of the runners who participate are doing something which is also phenomenal, inconceivable almost from a mental stand point. From a medical stand point it is interesting to watch and it’s also interesting to participate in. First of all from a deeply personal stand point by virtue of having the opportunity to treat each of the runners you really feel part of their experience and you feel glory in their success and it really is very joyful for me to see each of these runners finish and their accomplishment feeds me tremendously.
Secondly also from a physical stand point it’s interesting to see runners coming in with injuries which would stop them in a normal course of events, severe shin splints, blisters these are the kinds of things which if you are working that day you would call your boss and say I can’t come in today yet the runners persevere and run through these injuries and resolve them themselves and I have to use the term miraculously resolve them themselves. The physical surrenders to the determination of the runner and instead of imposing it’s will, it surrenders to the will of the runner who says “I know that you are injured but you have to heal yourself so that we can continue in this incredible task” and it does. It’s just amazing. I’m watching shin splints disappear in two three days or at worst two weeks and afterwards they are running and they are running really well. I see blisters disappear and infections come and go. You will see a runner come and have absolutely no life energy and the next day he is putting in more laps than everybody else."

Multiday hosting is a feat in itself Pt 2

This was the tenth year of the race on this site. The first race was the inaugural 2,700 and since then as the number of runners has increased so has the nature of the facilities provided also evolved. In this years race there were three vans that have been kitted out with a bed and lockers for daily gear storage carpeted of course. On the roof was a retractable awning that served as shelter from the sun and from the storm. These customisations were carried out by Bipin, pictured here. There are also two trailers attached to vans. One contains chairs, tools, cooler, ice and food storage and the other was the medical trailer where the foldable benches were stored. At midnight everything was broken down into smaller parts, stored in the vans and driven off for the night and brought back at 5:45 the next morning. Breakdown required 3-4 volounteers each night to ensure a quick getaway after the long shift.
4 Porto-sans had to be organised and taken care of and Bipin fitted a small sink to the end one and runners were able to keep hands clean. Very important.
Medical care was provided by a small but dedicated group of personnel. Pradhan, Vajra, Tejaswi, Mitch, Aklanta and a crew of ladies who took care of Suprabha everyday.
Then their was the website updates that Sahishnu took care of when he got home after the evening shift and the results that we recieved each morning of the previous days progress.
Permits from the Parks dept. and the necessary paperwork/permissions that can take Sandhani a lot of running around plus accomodation for the runners all summer. Then at the end of the race there's the design and production of the t-shirts, awards, certificates, photo albums.

This level of support has been a hallmark of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team races over the years and is unparalled.

Multiday hosting is a feat in itself

Counters came from Florida

One of the main reasons that there are so few multiday races is the amount of logistics involved. Hosting a multiday event requires a crew of people to take care of all the details necessary and there are a lot of man hours to cover especially in the 3100. Running time for this years race amounts to 1138 hours. For most of the race this required 2 counters at all times to record the runners laps. The counting day was split into three shifts.
Three Race Directors split the day into 3 shifts. There were four cooks preparing three meals a day. They also made soup and snacks between lunch and dinner and late evening snacks as well. Plus of course miscellaneous items that visitors brought and ice cream. The RD's made sure that the water table was always stocked with water in cups which had to be imported in large containers several times a day plus snacks like fresh fruit and cookies, chips etc.

To bel be continued.

Walking and Running

Aid station from behind the fence.
Some people do spend time walking but it is difficult to walk 50 miles everyday, which is why 50 miles used to be the daily minimum. If you look closely at what the runner has to do to complete his mileage a clearer picture can be seen. The day is 18 hours long so from that deduct all things that a person has to do to live on the track for 2 months.

Bathroom stops

Depending on the food there can be between 2-5 stops for the bowels plus from 5-10 urine stops.(1 min per hr)

Skin protection procedures.

This includes prevention and treatment of blisters and hotspots. Chafing prevention. Sun protection.(1 min per hr)

Changing

It is often necessary to change clothes or shoes. After the first day when the feet have increased by one or two sizes often the shoes have to be customised. Also the changing weather conditions often require appropriate protection.(1 min per hr)

Food and water

Intake of calories is on an enhanced level - 5-10k per day. Assessing whats available from the table and matching that with the bodies desires/needs,putting food into cups to eat whilst moving still takes time.(2 mins per hr)

Rest

Most runners take short breaks throughout the day from 10-30 minutes broken into varying sizes. This totals a minimum of 70 minutes a day of absolute basics.

Most runners have about 16 hours a day give or take a few minutes.

Every day is different but all of the above have to be factored in for the basic issues. Other things can and do develop; for example, injuries. The course of the 3100 is completely on concrete which is an extremely hard surface to spend one's day plus the concrete wears the shoes away very quickly which can also lead to stress injuries. Every runner has some physical issue over the duration of the race and shin splints is not uncommon plus a host of repetitive use problems that occasionally arise

So this requires about 3.1 miles an hour to cover 50 a day and 3.8 to cover the 61 to finish in 51 days. This is the basic without having to deal with any extra problems.

The Award Ceremony

The 2005 Self-Transcendence runners













With the race founder Sri Chinmoy













Srdjan Stojanonich receives the winners trophy

Sri Chinmoy gave a short talk to the runners and one of the things he mentioned was the importance of smiling. Recently Sri Chinmoy said that a smile meant new energy and new life and this could help the runners when they were feeling a little down.

Todays pictures courtesy of Adarini Inkei

The end plus one

Now that the race is over, the recovery begins, especially for Suprabha and as we work our way back up the list of finishers the runners are getting stronger and stronger. Srdjan finished almost 3 weeks ago now. Tonight there will be the official ceremony to present the awards.

Mitchell Proffman is a Chiropractor who donated his services to the race free and he wrote a short article about his experience that can be found on the Sri Chinmoy Races site.


Tsvetan beside a scoreboard that records a remarkable achievement. Think you could run 3100 miles? Less than 10 months before the next 3100 mile race starts.

Day 64

Suprabha completes the picture, gets her cake and she gets to eat it as she celebrates running 3100 miles for the 9th time.

Day 63

The penultimate day and the temperatures are getting even higher hitting 100 degrees at La Guardia.
Here Suprabha is being taken of by long time friend, Shadri.

Day 62

Suprabha and Chakori


The 2005 Self-Transcendence 3100 mile race will end when Suprabha crosses the finish line at approximately 10:30 on Sunday morning.

The temperature is said to feel like 97 degrees this afternoon and an hour ago I took this shot of Suprabha stuffing ice into her cap to keep her head cool as she continues her journey to her steadily approaching goal.

Able to relax for a few minutes I listened to the cicadas in the trees with their wave-like whirrings while the ground is littered with dry, brown leaves in what was the medical area, shaded now in the late afternoon sun. Suprabha, passes by with 76 miles to go, alone now in her seeking to reach her goal of a ninth consecutive finish out of nine editions of this race plus the original 2,700 giving 30,600 miles in total. This is a race that reaches beyond the minds ability to comprehend into the ever-presence of the heart which feeds the life-quest of the being. And all this on a concrete sidewalk a litle over half a mile long in the heart of Queens, New York.

Day 61

Sarah and Suprabha


Suprabha moves closer and closer to her finish in tough conditions. Todays high was 95. Tomorrow will be a little cooler but humidity is still on the high side - 50% now and 70% tonight and possibly 80% tomorrow.

This race has been different in many respects from the previous races that I have run. As well as there being a record number of finishers, the race founder Sri Chinmoy has made regular visits to the race to encourage the runners. This race is a spiritual exercise as well as a physical challenge and this brief excerpt from a talk on Self-Transcendence illustrates the point.

"There is a royal road that leads to self transcendence. That road is our surrender, our conscious, unconditional surrender to the Will of the Absolute Supreme."
Sri Chinmoy

Day 60

A very happy Martin Milovnik finished the 3100 mile and 5000 km distance tonight.This makes him the 12th finisher and during this race went beyond 870 miles for the first time. Martin had a great race and checkout his mileage chart on the Sri Chinmoy races site and you can see clearly how it went for him.

Some people manage to run the race and not get any injuries. That itself is a miracle. Plus all the male starters finished except for Kuranga who stopped after Day 3 - everyone else weathered the storms, inner and outer to make this the most successful edition in the race's 9 year history.

Our thoughts and attention turn at last to Suprabha who had accumulated 2944 miles when this shot was taken. She will finish on Sunday morning after a long race which began with her only having run once since last year due to a knee injury. Her strength, faith and determination make Suprabha indeed the 3100 Queen.

Day 59 - 5000 km's later

3100 miles and 5000 km completed this morning. My part in this play has ended and now I am a spectator encouraging the remaining runners to their goals. Later this afternoon Robert, pictured here this morning, will reach 3100.
The weather has changed over the last few days since the intense heat and humidity finally broke. There is a dryness around the course. Leaves are falling in the breezes from the Plane trees which are the most common trees around the course. The grass by the school has largely turned brown and the playing field in the photo is losing its greenness. It hasn't rained much recently - a blessing for the runners feet, though most blisters have healed up by now.

Day 58

So, many thanks to all the crew members especially to Chankhya who has devotedly and at his own cost, brought me a cup of coffee and a muffin every day for 2 months. Sri Chinmoy was present at the finish to my great fortune and I truly feel gratitude at being able to complete this race, his vision, for the second time.
Tomorrow I will finish the extra laps to reach 5000 km.

Day 57

Rathin makes it home.

Four of us left and I finish the day with 78 laps to complete to make it 3100.

Day 56

Trishul finished his 5000 km in the morning just before the 2 mile race. Rathin moved closer to the Golden Shore as the crowds subsided and the camp enters a peaceful stage. Saturdays are usually quiet in the neighborhood.

Day 55

Three finishers today. First up was Pranab who roared around the track for a few hours this morning shortly before Stutisheel crossed the line for the last time, this year. Late tonight, about 11 p.m. Trishul Cherns celebrated his third finish with Dart the dog and a few friends gathered to honour the great Canadian runner's tremendous achievement.
In the house today was Pradhan who came from Chicago to help us out in medical and got me going again.

Day 54

Big surprise today when Pranab caught up to Stutisheel. Hot day and 3 people scheduled to reach 3100 miles tomorrow. Bodies getting thin on the ground now that 5 have finished yet the energy was great today.

Managed 103 laps today in a brand new pair of Brookes Beast. The sole on the shoes is very durable on the rough concrete and last about a week. A little heavy but highly recommended for this kind of event.

Pranab getting serious

Day 53

Hi