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Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team

A brief overview of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. Looking at the ultra distance races of the 6 day and 10 day races. Also looking at the world's longest certified race, the 3100 mile race organised annually by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team

Author: Richard P

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Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team.

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team is the idea and inspiration of Sri Chinmoy, a spiritual teacher who also stresses the many benefits of running.

The Sri Chinmoy marathon team is a world wide organisation which seeks to promote running, and other athletic events. For example in Australia there is a very popular triathlon series and an off road multi sports event.The recently held Sri Chinmoy Multi Sports is held in beautiful countryside and is a kind of off road version of a triathlon. Thus instead of road bikes, mountain bikes are used on the rugged mountain paths that make up the course there is also a running and canoeing section. The testing sporting challenges draws a range of participants who can choose from a range of different distances.

The Sri Chinmoy MT promote races over short distances but are best known for the ultra distance races. In New York these include the 700 and 1000 mile races, held in May and the 6 day and 10 races held every autumn. In many respects the Sri Chinmoy MT could be described as a pioneer of ultra distance running. Since their first 1000 mile race in the spring of 1985 the races have grown in popularity and have witnessed many world records. In 1988 and 1989 the Marathon Team held national and world championship at Flushing Meadows Park.

The 1988 1,000 mile event was the I.A.U. (International Association of Ultrarunners) World Championship. Yiannis Kouros of Greece ran 1,000 miles in 10 days,10 hours, breaking the previous record by 1 ½ days. Suprabha Beckjord of Washington D.C. won the women’s 700 mile race in American Record time. Sandra Barwick of New Zealand set a new world standard for women at 1000 miles in 14 days,20 hours. One year later Al Howie of Scotland became the first person to complete the 1,300 mile distance in a certified race (17 days 9 hours).

The 3,100 mile race now held every August is the world’s longest certified foot race. Last year the winner Srdjan Stojanovich,42, from Nish, Serbia-Montenegro took 46 Days, covering a staggering average of 67 miles per day. This is a race like no other the 3100 for 2 months the runners literally eat, breath and live nothing but running around the 1 mile concrete block in Jamaica Queens.

Although the athletic achievement of running over 3,100 miles (further than running across America) is difficult to grasp, the race itself is no mean feat to organise. For every runner there is a small team of helpers, to help cook, count laps and also a dedicated medical back up offering massage and treatment of the inevitable injuries and blisters that occur. Pradhan Balt helps in a medical capacity dealing with many of the injuries. He says this of the race

"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. “

Sri Chinmoy running not only keeps the body fit, but can also improve our mental state of mind. Running makes the body dynamic and active, it helps sweep away lethargy and depression. Furthermore when a runner engages in a challenge like the 3,100 mile race it is not just a physical challenge but an analogy for the spiritual life. It offers the chance for the participant to invoke the grace of their inner spiritual resources and not just rely on his/her outer capacity. A term Sri Chinmoy uses to describe this is “Self Transcendence” meaning that we go beyond our previous capacities, stretching both our physical and mental capacities.

As well as running different aspects of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team focus on other sporting disciplines. For example the Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team competes in cycling races in the UK and Australia. Back in the 1970s Sri Chinmoy himself competed in a 24 hour Bike race sponsored by Pepsi in Central Park. The Sri Chinmoy Centre were the largest participating team and Ashrita Furman came 3rd in the 1978 race covering over 405 miles. This was one of Ashrita’s first great athletic achievements, he has since gone on to break over 100 Guiness world records. In the spirit of self transcendence

About Author

Richard is a member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre. He organises local running races in Oxford for Sri Chinmoy A.C. He edits a website http://www.writespirit.net/

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