Now it is Time to Run

Tomorrow Ashprihanal will be the first to finish this long epic journey. As a measure, of the champion he is, he ran over 72 miles yesterday. But he was not alone in posting big miles. Pranab and Grahak also ran more than 70 miles Sunday. The goal is not just in sight, it is just a few steps away.

God's Heart is the Beloved Mother of all. God's Eye is the Beloved Father of all.

Guru Sri Chinmoy






Asprihanal could have easily given himself a much easier day yesterday, but he did not. He ran more miles yesterday than anyone other than Pranab, who ran the same amount.

Grahak, who is just 250 miles from home also ran nearly 72 miles.



Diganta, who has learned all there is to know about Harry Potter, ran 57 miles yesterday.

And Vajra, who knows these things, cuts a papaya just so, and saves the seeds for some. Who feel they help with their digestion.





Stutisheel turned down his jets a little yesterday. by running 64 miles. In Greek mythology there is a character named Icarus, who had wings made from feathers and wax. When he flew too close to the sun, his wings melted, and he fell to the earth. As Sutisheel describes his previous days, in which he flirted with 70 miles, he reminds me of this fable. He says this mileage, "was too high for me, too much for this body, so far." And so he has backed off to where his body can function most efficiently.

He has nothing but positive things to say about the other runners. He calls Grahak, "a rising star." Pranab he is also most impressed with. He says he feels good and that now he is counting the days till his finish, which could well be in 7 days time. He says that the odd thing that happens after the finish is that he then counts the days in the other direction. How many days since he completed the race.

It is now a belated First anniversary for Parvati's Enthusiasm Awakeners. They are one year and one day old today. Parvati tells me how excited the runners were with their gift bags yesterday. They each had a name on theirs and would call out with delight when they read them, "it is for me."

Stutisheel hefted his over his shoulder like a Santa Claus. Parvati cannot chat long and is quickly back in the act of singing, but she wants to share with me an important thought, about her group singing here, and all the attention that Sri Chinmoy gave her and the group. She says, "I would not have received a fraction of the grace if it were not for them, the runners."



Looking and sounding none the worse for wear, at 1 year and 1 day.


Ananda Lahari has somehow sprung back to life. He ran 62 miles yesterday his most in 2 weeks. He tells me that he had, "days and days of no running." He was vexed with first shin splints, and then low energy. The shin splints were cured eventually but his recent malaise seemed to be reluctant to be cured.

He tells me that Pranab was the one who came up with the cure. It is the same one which helped Stutisheel who was suffering from poor liver function. It is MCT oil which is an extract from coconut.

It turns out that Charlie, who is an osteopath thought he was not having proper digestion of fats. When Pranab heard this, he thought that the MCT oil would work. Ananda Lahari describes an almost miraculous turn around. After just a few hours he was able to run again.

He describes that for him an average day should be 111 laps. Yesterday he completed 114, but also says, that for 10 days last year he was able to run 128 laps a day. He is enthusiastic about the less than 700 miles he has yet to run. He says, "I can do it, now it is time to run."

Diganta has a little more pressure on him than most of the runners. He is on track to finish the race, but at his present pace, he is in danger of missing his flight home to Austria. He has apparently done the math, and no matter how you look at it, it will be tight, very tight.

As he calculates it now, he will finish the race, and then have just 6 hours to catch his plane. That is, if he does, as he says, "60 miles a day for the next 10 days." For this to take place he will need to do 111 laps every day, and as he says, "You can't have problems, you to be sharp, all day."

He tells me that he is getting a lot of support from friends and colleagues back in Austria. He says, "the support helps." We somehow get on the topic of his Mom, who lives in Innsbruck. Like most moms she is concerned about his health, but also, that she is very proud of her son. Much to her delight, she has spoken about him twice on Austrian radio.

And since she just might be watching this blog, Diganta and I decided to send her this little video postcard. It's a little private, but if you too are a mom, or just wonder what a runner would like to say to his mom, give it a play.

THE DAWN

Silence

Is the dawn of time

Sound

Is the dawn of will.

Man-success

Is the dawn of aspiration

God-progress

Is the dawn of Perfection

Excerpt from The Golden Boat, Part 4 by Sri Chinmoy.

Too Good To Be True

It was another dose of that rainy day feeling, at the 3100 mile race this morning. The day's forecast calls for intermittent showers. It seems as though however, that a great inextinguishable momentum has built up, over the past few days. That weather, of any kind, will not be able to slow down the inexorable conclusion to this, the world's longest race.


Aspiration Flames
grow into the
realization sun

Guru Sri Chinmoy









Stutisheel arrives after yesterday running his most mileage since day one, 69 miles. He sees a new record for himself getting ever closer.

Abichal has definitely learned how to run again, having completed 59 miles yesterday. The most for him in nearly 2 weeks.


Petr ran a very routine for him, 65 miles yesterday. I will spend the first few miles of the day with him.

Grahak will cross a small but significant milestone when he completes 2800 miles later today.



Any time it is this dark at 6 in the morning you know it is a miserable day.

Suprabha ran 55 miles yesterday her best in almost 2 weeks.





Nobody can argue with the atomic clock, held by the ever enthusiastic Rupantar.







Petr tells me that he ran with Ashprihanal last night. He says, "he was not pushing. He will have a great race." It seems that Ashprihanal wants to run within himself, and wants to enjoy his last couple of hundred miles here. They both felt, that the one who pushes the most, is Pranjal. He is the first to arrive at the race in the morning, and the last to leave at night. Often he will take only one short break all day long.

He is also impressed with the two new runners this year, Pavol and Christopher. They will likely not complete the distance but they have been positive and in tune with the race. He says of them, "they will still have a good result."

He then becomes deeply philosophical about his experience here. He says that in one way, he feels as though the race has not happened at all. He says, even though he has, "40 days behind me, but it is still timeless time." This is of course not a case of benign forgetfulness, but rather he feels very much in tune with the deep inner inspiration that propels the race and the runners forward.

He repeats the word special energy several times. He tries to not look at the race with his mental perception. He says, that at least for him, thoughts of self, just get in the way of the true inner experience. In a subtle way he feels as though, that once one gets into the flow of things, they can experience what it is like to "fly through eternity." That for this to happen, "you have to become mere instruments."

"If you are receptive, you don't have to push to do anything. The moment you think about yourself you will experience suffering." He also believes in the importance of being receptive to the others on the team. He tells me that he experienced a big change, that took place for him, on day 40. The day in which it was raining heavily in the morning. He calls the conditions that day like something out of the new testament. "40 days, really tough." Despite this, he describes, that he inwardly experienced that his Guru, was working very hard to elevate the consciousness of the world. He felt that during the day, "An ocean of light descending on the earth." As part of this experience, the day went from one extreme of darkness to one of most pleasant sun light.

As for his race he feels that inwardly the work is already done. For him the last few hundred miles will be just about surrender, and celebrating the inner victory that has already taken place.

I left the race this morning too early. Unfortunately I missed a most significant event, a celebration of the first anniversary of Parvati's Enthusiasm Awakeners group. They gave the runners many wonderful gifts, including these new yellow shirts, with the name of their group on it.

Smarana tells me, "I missed something. It blew my mind what they had done." There was so much joy that all the runners felt like they were little children receiving presents.

I remind Smarana that he had told me, some time earlier that he wanted to enjoy the race. Yesterday, it was clear that he was not having a good time. He tells me now, that he is in a better spot than yesterday. He describes some of the problems that he has recently had to deal with and it is easy to understand why, he almost said, "that's it."

He says, "You can't back off." He describes that when you have problems you can't hold on to them, they have to be let go of. "Be in the moment, what you do you do. The future presents itself anyway." Ultimately no matter how bad the difficulties you face, you still have to find a way of turning them around. He says that the positive influences here, far far outweigh the difficulties. He mentions that one continual inspiration for him is race director Rupantar, "He is always positive, all the time."

When I come upon Rupantar he is discussing with Sundar the meaning of the expression, 'time and tide wait for no man.' The discussion gets as far as the possibility, that it came from some seaside civilization, somewhere, some time ago.

I ask him about the race and he says, "It just shows you how tough the runners are. They are able to establish their oneness with Guru." He mentions how that Sri Chinmoy always enjoyed opportunities when his students could extend themselves to their physical and spiritual limit.

He says that in this new world without him there are, "Not many opportunities to really transcend yourself. This race offers an unparalleled opportunity." It is one in which the runners and all who identify and participate get so much, and also one in which the runners can feel they are pleasing their Guru.

Not a small milestone, Grahak completing 2800 miles. Bells are rung, shouts are heard, and he rewards himself with a cup of food.






In the morning Petr had told me about Pranjal's toughness, and I tell him this. He laughs a little and says, "Somebody has to be first and somebody has to be last." Referring to the fact that he is usually the first to arrive and then go home. He ran 64 miles yesterday, the most in a week for him.

He says that Pranab also, only takes one short break a day. Something like 15 minutes. I ask him about the distance he has left to run. He tells me, with quiet calmness in his voice, "500 miles, I am getting closer."

I have a conversation with him, about whether or not people or events around him can be distracting to his own effort. He says, "Everybody has a part in this race. How could it work without cooks and counters. This race is not just about us runners."

This is his 4th year here and he tells me how hard it was when he first came here in 2005. He feels grateful that he had the opportunity to come and also to have returned every year since then. When Sri Chinmoy gave him prasad, he always used to thank him. He would remark to him later, that he always did this.

Now we discuss the importance of smiling. He says, "it is an important thing to smile. When we do this Guru can take our problems from us. It always helps." We are about to part, when he says one last important thing. "It is not about what miles you do, It's about what you get inside."

Most of the day a crew from CBS television have been at the race shooting a feature story. Steve Hartman, who does human interest stories for the evening news, has told me that he has wanted to do this story for 3 years.

His long time camera man is Bob Caccmise, who has been with Steve for a long time. Also with them are a producer and an intern. When I first see them, Steve, who is not at all interested in famous people and world stories, is doing the rather humble job of pedaling his cameraman around on a small bicycle.

They spend quite a few hours here, and over the course of the day, will shoot hours of tape that will be distilled down to a 2 1/2 minute item, that will likely run on Friday night's newscast. His stories are a real reflection about life in America. About ordinary people doing extraordinary things, or just doing ordinary things very well. When I ask why he picked this story, the 3100 mile race, he says, "it is too good to be true."

An interview with CBS reporter Steve Hartman


Bipin has been unable to come to the race for almost 2 weeks because of a hernia operation. He was even off his feet for 6 days. Coming back is something he enjoys, but one in which it is physically challenging for him, as he still has difficulty lifting heavy objects.

I ask him frankly about whether or not he misses the presence of Sri Chinmoy at the race. He being at the race, most often, when he would drive by. He says ,that when he sees Pulak's car pull up, "it sets off sparks in your heart." This will be followed shortly by, "O man, it is just Pulak."

The person he is referring to is of course close by. He often was the one who drove Guru here every day. I ask him, if it is possible to describe, what it was that Guru felt for the race, and the runners here. He says, "you felt his concern for each runner." He would also be acutely aware if he did not see everyone, as they drove around the course. He would say things like, "O we did not see so and so."

I ask him if it was important for Guru to see the runner or the runner to see Guru. He is not sure of the answer to this. But remembers how at times when Guru held out prasad, that he would momentarily hold onto it, so the runners would see his eyes.