Author: Arpan

Journey To The Unknown

Journey To The Unknown
Many people try to understand why a handful of runners would want to run day after day for almost two months around about one half mile concrete surface during the summer months in New York City. Most of these runners have done it more than once, so there is even more reason to wonder why they would want to do it again after experiencing the tremendous challenges and difficulties involved in such a very long and arduous journey.
Each of the  runners has their own answers to such a perplexing question and we have heard some of the reasons here on this site especially. Having done it once myself and helping in most of the other races as well, I can talk about the experience for hours. But the words may still not make any sense to those who have not experienced the race in some way or another, either as a runner, a helper or a regular spectator.
Instead of offering any kind of explanation that would probably fall short of satisfying the mind’s curiosity or cynical queries, I wish to offer a poem about the 3100 mile race which I wrote about eight years ago. It was a few years before I even attempted to run the race so it was not from a runner’s perspective at the time. I have offered it every year to those who feel that perhaps there is a reason beyond the logic and rationality of the mind that motivates and inspires these ‘fearless warriors’ to face a peaceful battle within themselves to reach a lofty goal.
Without further introduction here is the poem which I hope you can enjoy as a peek into the mystery of the incredible 3100 mile odyssey on foot.

Journey to the Unknown

A 3,100 mile orbit of concrete, automobiles and local humanity,
Lightly spiced with a hint of nature
And fed by the Grace of God,
Supported with the efforts of friends
Who sympathize with the pain,
The Joys
And the challenges
Facing at every moment
These handful of Hero-Warriors.
Running, walking, struggling
To the beat of their own
Undying aspirations
In this perpetually moving
Epic adventure,
These Ultimate Survivors
Of obstacles unimaginable
Are proving to humanity
With their unparalleled perseverance,
Adamantine wills
And unswerving
Faith,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  That the impossible can be done,
And the Universal Energy
Can be unleashed,
To raise our standards
And lift our minds
Beyond the limits of our broken bodies
And faithless thoughts,
To reveal the Beauty and the Power
Of life’s long and arduous
Journey to the Unknown.
Arpan DeAngelo



My Ageathon


photo by Arpan

Every year since I was 26 years old I have run my age in miles around the time of my birthday. When I was 26 years old I had already had run a 26 mile marathon so I thought that increasing by only one mile the next year would not be so bad. But as the years quickly passed and I am now more than twice that age it becomes more of a challenge.

Seeing the runners in the 3100 mile race doing more than two marathons a day, day after day, makes the task of running 57 miles a bit more palatable. Sri Chinmoy encouraged those who could run to try and run regularly in order to stay fit, healthy and happy. I feel that if I  could stay in shape all year long then to run a long race or training run would not be as difficult or painful.

But no matter how you look at it, 57 miles is no joke and it takes many, many hours of constant movement to cover the distance. The secret is to run it as cheerfully as possible so the effort does not go to waste. In the words of Sri Chinmoy:  “Try to be a runner, and try all the time to surpass and go beyond all that is bothering you and standing in your way. Be a real runner so that ignorance, limitation and imperfection will all drop far behind you in the race.” Continue reading “My Ageathon”

Neighborly Visits


photo by Arpan
Everyday the 3100 mile race course is visited by many neighbors from the local area. Some of them come specifically to see the race and cheer on the runners, others come to the area as part of their daily routine to get exercise or play in the fields.

There are quite a few playgrounds within the half-mile circumference of the race course including baseball and cricket fields, basketball and handball courts, and a fully equipped playground for children with climbing bars, swings, slides and water spraying fountains for the hot days.

Even some of the local dogs like to come and watch, offering their own form of peaceful encouragement. It is always a welcome sight to see our neighbors and other visitors from farther away take the time to stop, watch, ask questions or even cheer the runners on. Whether alone, with their families or pets, even one person can make a difference in the friendly and inspirational atmosphere of the race which is itself based on friendly oneness and inspiration. Continue reading “Neighborly Visits”

Mystery Guests


photo by Arpan
Today the 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence Race was visited by about 40 ‘mystery guests’ who drove up in an old green and white school bus. The two organizers of this trip, Jason Eppink and Matt Green, called the trip ‘The Quest for Immortality’. Each weekend this summer, for seven weekends, different people are chosen to organize a day trip somewhere in New York City. No one in the group but the two organizers know where they are going to go or who they will meet. Even the restaurants and food are mysteries to the willing participants in this adventure group they call, ‘Going Places, Doing Stuff.’

On this trip they would witness the 3100 mile race, Ashrita’s Guiness Record demonstration and a private buffet meal at Annam Brahma Restaurant, where they also watched the wonderful documentary style video of Suprabha and the 3100 Mile Race. The adult group in their 20’s and 30’s seemed quite surprised and impressed with the whole experience at the race site. They asked many questions about the race and Sri Chinmoy, the founder of the 3100 Mile Race. Continue reading “Mystery Guests”

Rainbow-Opportunities


photo by Arpan

As we see from this most luminous poem by Sri Chinmoy, every day has opportunities of various colors and degrees, like a rainbow. As expected, all of the runners have some bad days and some very good days. The days are so long for them that within each day there are many good and perhaps not so good moments. Even though the outer results may seem steady for some of the runners, the numbers that we see do not truly reflect all the challenges the runners have to endure to get to each daily goal.

Perhaps the best way to reach the daily goals is to run and walk as cheerfully as possible. Here are some of the comments that some of the runners gave as to what makes them happy and what bothers them, or what is the most difficult experience in this race and what are the nicest experiences.

Asprihanal says,”It changes. Sometimes ice cream makes you happy, some music sometimes ….You have good days bad days, just like you have good hours and bad hours….when you have a good day nothing bothers you and when you have a bad day everything bothers you.”
Continue reading “Rainbow-Opportunities”

Helping Hands


photo by Arpan

The goals reached in the 3100 Mile Self-Transcendence Race are not the achievements of just the individual runners. There are many hands, hearts, minds and legs that go into the organization and administration of such a monumental event. It all starts with the vision and blessings of the one who conceived of this grandiose event, Sri Chinmoy. He saw that with the establishment and manifestation of the highest spiritual concept called ‘Oneness’, amazing things can be accomplished. The 3100 mile race is just one of those infinite possibilities of human achievements manifested through aspiration and Oneness.

The individual runner may have the aspiration to achieve the goal of 3100 miles, but without the oneness manifested through the willing and enthusiastic helpers and administrators it would be next to impossible for this achievement to reach its full potential. Some of the runners have full-time helpers called ‘handlers’. Others utilize the help of the volunteers who try to keep them supplied with all the basic needs such as food, water and other drinks, medical supplies, etc.

Still there are others who take care of various other necessary tasks such as counting the runners, massage and other treatments, laundry washing, and even live music. Those who are not familiar with the race and who witness it for the first time may not at first realize that there is a race going on. It can take on the appearance of a festival or picnic as the sense of joy and oneness seem to pervade the whole area. Even visitors who may not run or relate to running get joy and inspiration from the camaraderie which they see taking place all day and evening, day after day, week after week.

When we see the amazing progress happening each day and we witness the goals that are finally reached by the runners, we should keep in mind that although the runners are the prime achievers here, the helpers could and should share in the feeling of achievement and progress. Self-Transcendence in this case incorporates a very large Self, the Self that transcends the individual, manifesting on a very convincing scale the magical quality of Oneness.

Journey To The Unknown


photo by Arpan

I wish to follow up my last post called ‘Poetry In Motion’ with a poem I wrote in 2002, inspired by the 3100 mile race as I was helping the runners everyday. Sri Chinmoy seemed to like the poem as I read it out at a function on the occasion of my 50th birthday that year.

The next year, in 2003, Sri Chinmoy kindly told me that he felt I could actually run and finish the 3100 mile race. Finally overcoming fear and doubt about my own ability to do so, I trusted in his faith in me and finally ran and finished the 3100 mile race in 2004. It certainly was not easy achievement. The remarkable experience left me with a much deeper appreciation for the incredible nature of the race and of the runners’ efforts to complete it. My poem truly came to life for me as I completed the most difficult race one could ever attempt and at the same time having some incredibly meaningful spiritual moments as well.

This poem, although written before I even ran the race, intends to convey the sense of elevated and inspired Reality that pervades the race course, not only for the runners but for all that are present to help or just watch.The 3100 mile race is a world in itself, and it is a piece of this luminous and powerful world I wanted to express through this poem called:

‘Journey to the Unknown.’ Continue reading “Journey To The Unknown”

Poetry In Motion


photo by Arpan

Poetry In Motion

Some people may not feel that running has anything to do with poetry or creativity in general. Yet Sri Chinmoy, who was an athlete of the highest order from his youth and throughout the rest of his life, also created a non-stop outpouring of creativity in the fields of visual arts, poetry, prose, plays and songs. The beauty and rhythm of many of these creations have inspired runners around the world to run, literally, around the world. For more exciting details about that kind of running you can go to the website for the World Harmony Run: http://www.worldharmonyrun.org/

For the 3100 mile runners, the poetry and rhythm are in their hearts and legs as they circle the half-mile loop daily for up to 18 hours. Sometimes they listen to music, stories or poetry on their portable Mp3 players. Other times they just create their own rhythms and poetry through their own motion and movement.

After all, the beauty and power of our own solar system comes from the circular motion of the planets around the mighty star we call the Sun. They are dedicated to the same orbit, endlessly and effortlessly, day and night with no vacation. I am sure we all have something quite profound to learn from this type of poetry in motion.

This kind of dedication is expressed simply yet powerfully in the above poem that Sri Chinmoy wrote for July 5, in 2006. He wrote a poem a day for the 3100 mile race that year. The next year he started composing songs daily for the runners and even personally performed live on various instruments on the race course. This consciousness and energy is still as powerful as ever even in Sri Chinmoy’s physical absence.

Counting on Them

There are many helpers who make this race possible for the runners. The Race Directors who work so hard to see that many systems run as smoothly as possible, the cooks, handlers and the indispensable counters all have invaluable roles to play in making this extremely long event run smoothly.

The counters most certainly have a uniquely important role to play here. It may seem like a simple task to sit for hours marking down the time that each runner passes by. But in reality there is much concentration and focus required of the two counters at a time who are each responsible for their five or six runners. Just a few seconds lapse of concentration on the part of the counter could cost a runner an unwanted  loss of a lap. The runners work so hard for each lap completed, so it is unthinkable that they would not be given credit for each and every step of this ultra-long journey.

The counters deserve much credit as they take on a full measure of responsibility whenever they sit down to count. But they can also be the brunt of much criticism if they ’space out’ and miss laps. Luckily, for the runners and the counters, the counting system developed over many years allows for checks and corrections, therefore mistakes are usually quite easily detected. So volunteer counters, keep on counting the runners as the runners are counting on you as well.

Flower Power

The day before the 3100 mile race started, Diganta, one of the runners, was inspired to plant flowers in various locations around the course. Although some of the flowers did not survive it inspired some of the helpers to start planting more flowers in locations suitable to sustain their growth.

Niriha and Arpita, who is visiting from Scotland, spent much time and money purchasing and planting flowering plants of many varieties. I and a few others volunteered to water them daily as they need to survive the summer heat, especially when first put in the ground. Luckily it has not been extremely hot of late, but our flowering friends still need their  daily dose of H2O to keep all the runners and spectators feeling colorful and happy.