With 2 days remaining before 6 am start on Sunday, most of the major race preparations have been completed. We have two vans with a combined odometer reading of over 400,000 miles. We just had a rebuilt transmission put in one, and the other van had one put in some 50,000 miles ago. The vans are ready to go. The 1987 motor home is good enough to travel the 1/2 mile back and forth from the overnight parking area to the race.
Tomorrow we will have a prerace meeting with all 11 runners, handlers, cooks and the immediate staff of about 5. As the race director I have never run a distance anywhere near 3100 miles. But I have been involved with the Sri Chinmoy Marathon since its first real ultra race, a 1,000 race held in Flushing Meadow Park in 1985. So I have seen a great deal and I think that entitles me to put in my 2 cents worth of advice to the runners.
We always caution the runners that the first 2 or 3 weeks can be very trying as it usually takes that long for the body to become accustomed to the concrete running surface, the every present pollen, and humidity. Also, as I like to say, the urban obstacles that are unique to this race take some getting used to. The race parameters are difficult by themselves; averaging 60 miles a day for 52 days and a mandatory 6am start. But this urban race poses obstacles not found in most multiday races. As the race takes place on a concrete sidewalk bordering a park and high school, the runners must deal with the daily traffic of children on bicycles, people walking dogs, the ebb and flow of students from the local school, as well as the occasional construction projects that seem to wait for the race to take place. Often the runners look like a pin ball bounding this way and that way trying to avoid the constant flow of sidewalk traffic. But, as we say in New York, it is what it is. It is just part of the race. Good luck to all. Rupantar