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How I began
Running Multiday Races
A Million Miles To Start
My running life began in January 1990 when I became a student of
Sri Chinmoy.
Excercise didn't really feature much in my life at that time but
Sri Chinmoy was and is a serious advocate of physical health and
so I started jogging infrequently and ran the local Runners are
Smilers races. However by November 1992 I had begun a project to
run a 1000 miles before April 13th 1993.This was part of a larger
project for students of Sri Chinmoy who were inspired to run a million
miles to honour his completion of a million bird drawings.
Within two months or so Sri Chinmoy had completed another million
birds and the project was abandoned. Yet I was inspired and continued
running, still with the aim of completing 1000 miles. In the Spring
of 92' I had gone to see the finish of the last seven day race held
in Flushing Meadow before the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team (SCMT) started
holding races in Wards Island. The energy there was a total surprise
and I helped out with the take-down, glad to be of service. In 93
and 94 I helped with set-up and take-down again before deciding
during the Ultra Tio 1995 that I wanted to run a multiday. So to
get a taste of long distance I went down to Phoenix, Arizona to
run the Across
The Years 24, 48, 72 race organised by Harold Sieglaff and the
A.R.R. It was a tremendous experience and I covered 68 miles and
learned a lot. My eyes were now set on the first 10 day race planned
to supercede the 7 day race in April/May 1996.
The Inaugural Self-Transcendence 10 Day Race 1996
That first 10 day race was a life adjuster par excellence. Fortunately
there were some real characters there to talk to and learn from.
Pete Coffin from Salt Lake city in Utah was an inspiration as he
walked after the first day yet rarely left the track. Don Winkley
was there and so was my friend Satyajit Saha.
This race is a unique event in the annals of running. No prize money
is awarded, there's little or no acclaim outside of the tiny community
interested in this kind of distance. It's necessary to make the
the journey to New York and stay for 11 or 12 days before returning
home. Then there is the discomfort involved. That first race was
a real test of my will to keep going. The emotional rollercoaster
was shocking to me, the problems with my knees seemed insurmountable,
blisters, chafing, foot pain, muscular pain led me to visit Medical
often. However, as much as I was suffering, there were other runners
who seemed worse off than myself, though it was of little cheer.
Dipali offered lots of encouragement and Don Winkley kept me laughing
through the long nights until around day 6 or 7 I started to get
that feeling that time was running out and it would all be over
in a short time. There were 21 runners in that inaugural race but
next year the numbers were down to 13 and this led to the implementation
of the 6-day race the following year, 1998, when 11 people entered
the 10-day and 24 came for the 6-day.
It is surprising how much difference the size of the field makes
to the runners but it is one of those things that are difficult
to appreciate unless one runs a race of this nature indeed for the
nature of transformation is not limited to the physical body but
to all levels.
Self-Transcendence
How to describe the psychological effect of the race? Now I see
the race as a retreat. This is an opportunity to get to grips with
the real. The everyday world is removed from the equation and stripped
down to the bare essentials.The outer needs are taken care of and
all the runner has to do is eat when hungry, sleep when tired and
in between keep moving forward. After a few days of this the mind
is no longer able to distract one from the inner world. The mind
loses power and issues that have been buried rise to the surface
and evaporate in the furnace of determination. By the time the race
has come to a close the mind is in a calm yet focused condition
and nothing seems too much trouble. It is just something that needs
to be done. No prevaricating or generating reasons and excuses -
just do. This for me was my reward after the second 10-day race.
I marvelled at the stillness and I looked at the world in a different
light for a few days. Gradually the mind regains its strength and
falls back into its old habits. But the cat's out of the bag now.
The mind is not the all. There is a greater reality that lies beyond.
It took a few years to get used to the 10-day and in 1999 I decided
to try the 700 mile race in September. 12 days to cover the distance
requires an average of 58.3 miles a day. This is an hour extra of
running a day I had to find. The only place it can come from is
rest periods. As it happened, a tropical storm blew through and
the race was suspended for 36 hours which was added to the 12 day
time limit and I covered the distance. The last day dragged on forever
until it was done. Then next year it had to be done again without
the break which made quite a difference. I had 69 miles to cover
on the last day and I developed shin splints and had to run for
22 of the last 24 hours and crossed the finish line with 10 minutes
to spare.
You have to want to run these races to complete them. There's no
two ways about it. If you don't want it you won't get it and that's
what happened the next year when I only reached a 1000k in the time
allowed.My aspiration had declined somewhat, I hadn't trained as
much and had failed to focus.
The Self-Transcendence 1000 mile Race
The following September, 2002, I decided, maybe impatiently, to
step up to the 1000 mile event which requires an average of 67 miles
a day. This race is really intense and there is no room for a bad
day. By the end of the second day, 6 of the 9 starters were facing
the realisation that they had blown it and had another 2 weeks to
go. That was tough. It takes a massive effort to let it all go and
re-adjust the goals to a realistic level. I had the feeling for
days that I could still finish but it was a theoretical reality
and the average was increasing everyday despite my best efforts
and on the 10th day I was overhauled by Martin Milovnic who continued
to pull ahead. Yet by the end I had averaged 58 miles a day for
the 15 days - I had truly moved on beyond the 700 level.
The Self-Transcendece 3100 Mile Race - The Worlds LongestCertified
Footrace
I ran the 10-day in the Spring of 2003 and a month later it became
known that there were places available for the 3100 in June. Not
knowing if I could live up to the challenge I still felt dutybound
to at least offer myself as a candidate. If I wasn't chosen - I
was free. I had done my bit. However my application was accepted
and June 15th 2003, just 6 weeks after the 10-day I was back on
the track albeit at a new venue - around Thomas Edison High school.
As it happened my visa expired just before the end of the race and
I had to leave before the very end. I totalled 2700 miles that first
race. It took a while to recover - maybe 4 months or so but 2004
I was back prepared to go all the way and completed the distance
in 55
days + 8:32:41.
That first 3100 was when I conceived the idea of a training handbook
which became The Multiday Runners Handbook and the idea of this
site and now this year I will try and maintain a blog
of the experience which I will update at the end of every day.
I love these races. There is something I cannot fully grasp that
I still strive to reach. I sincerely feel that I have yet to run
my best race. Every race is unique and I get so much from each one.
Abichal
Friday June 10, 2005 18:30
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