Twelve courageous runners stepped up to the start line and moved forward precisely at 6:00am as a crowd of 200 people watched the beginning of the 20th Annual Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race today. The setting is the same .5488 mile(883.2079 meters) concrete sidewalk near a vocational school, playground and athletic field used for the previous 20 summers (the forerunner of this race-the 2700 Mile Race, used the exact same course in 1996.
The men’s and women’s record holders headlined a strong field from seven countries.
The race employs a mandatory 6-hour curfew at midnight. After the first 18 hours, Ananda-Lahari Zuscin from Slovakia led the pack with 85.51 miles, a scant one lap ahead of Czech Republican and eight-time finisher Atmavir Peter Spacil. Russian Vasu Duzhiy who finished third last year was third again today, with 13-time finisher and world leader Ashprihanal Aalto comfortably in fourth, tied with three-time finisher Yuri Trostenyuk. The top five men total an amazing 33 finishes of the world’s longest certified race.
The distaff side was led by Kannenika Janakova of Slovakia with 75.18 miles, good for sixth overall as well. Three-time finisher and women’s record holder Surasa Mairer of Austria was sitting at 70.24 miles. Shamita Achenbach-Konig was third with 66.95 miles for the ladies.