Author: nandana

The clock is ticking as we have only seven days to go. This journey has been nothing short of unique, crazy and fulfilling.  Day one to this very moment, countless and interesting experiences have occurred; one could compile volumes of literature from all that has gone on.

From the amount of bandages Surasa has had on her feet, to the umpteen Snickers bars consumed by Pranjal to the several clicks and cracks from chiropractor visits to the countless times Asprihanal has touched that special tree, and to the week Dharbhasana had to walk, these are all the bits and pieces that bring the remarkable 3100 mile Self Transcendence race to a close.

As these hero warriors near the end of this marvellous feat, they bring both excitement and sadness.  The goal is near and those hearts are beating faster with every footstep, but at the same time, it is the end. The end of a starting point, the end of a routine, the end of a familiar place. This sacred city block in queens will be desolate without the constant daily shuffle of rubber to concrete.

Alas, I can sincerely say that I feel so honoured to have been here for this race to witness what these brave souls have committed themselves to.  Nothing could stop them.  With a goal of inner growth on the forefront, the runners have taught me a very special lesson.   Anything is possible.  Grace DOES exist.  Faith CAN win.  And determination WILL conquer.

Not only will these runners be honoured on earth, in their country, and by their loved ones, they will also be honoured in the heavens; for their brave efforts will filter thru humanity, making the world a tiny more golden.  Until next year…

Wow, here we are on day 21-three whole weeks and everybody is still alive and ticking along.  Today seems unusually quiet, probably because it is the 4^th of July long weekend.  All the runners have passed the 1000mile mark- already an amazing feat.  And today Dharbhasana needed a little something unusual to spice up his merry-go-round.

Two typical American school buses park themselves in front of the school everyday in between their many daily duties.  From driving kids to and from school, posing for photos, or in Dharbhasana’s case, a driver’s seat to another world; they await the opportunity to serve.  I guess there is just something about these big yellow machines that give us good feelings inside-maybe reminding us of childhood in one way or another.

Along with the magic school buses, there are several other little distractions exposing themselves throughout the most foot traveled city block in the world.  I’ve seen Pushkar brush his hand several times along the same swooping branch of a pine tree, Pranjal jiggle the same latch on a gate and Asprihanal, Dharbhasana and Surasa spin the prayer wheel- the top of a fire hydrant.  It just shows you how possible it is to find things to focus on or look forward to on a seemingly tedious journey.  Now, to remember this in my own life…

The Wall Street Journal did an article on the 3100 mile race which is pretty cool really.  Because from that article we’ve had several visitors including a couple that drove all the way down from Boston just to check us out.  Another guy came by train from Brooklyn and ran for an hour with Dharbhasana and then ran home.  And yesterday, we had a man come with his home video camera with an idea to create a film of amazing things people do.  Again this race is intriguing the world with a big “HUH?”

It is Sri Chinmoy’s philosophy that we are beyond the body and what we believe impossible- truly is possible.  And these runners are proving that philosophy.  Today at the end of day sixteen, those feet continue to shuffle along that concrete doing an average of 2 marathons a day with still thirty-five more days to go.  It IS possible!  Just like many other things in life.  If we believe in the strength we have within in us, we can conquer anything.

To read the Wall Street Journal article go to:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704895204575320874004223364.html

This one is for a video clip of the race:

http://online.wsj.com/video/3100-mile-race-52-days-one-city-block/7BD5632D-DDC9-41AD-A393-10698AE6F37D.html

And this one is an article from NBC

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37907134

Well, here we are, fourteen days later and still goin.  Already the runners are starting to get stronger and stronger.  Even with the killer heat they manage to knock those miles back each day.  Luckily, each day they change directions adding a little something different.  For me though I’m always confused when I arrive as to which direction they are going.  I often stand there looking way off into the distance waiting with drink and food in hand for Dharbhasana to come around the corner when suddenly he’ll be tapping me on the back.  Doh!

The tiny camp crew is starting to get a little more crazy-in a good way!  Of course when you spend so much time with someone, your guard drops and the fun begins.  We had Sushovita, and her dog Roxy count laps for several hours yesterday and she came with her own sunglasses-not the human!  Also Shakti was in full comedian mode yesterday with all sorts of quirky moments.  Especially showing the pizza tongue.

So as the runners get stronger and stronger, and the camp crew get crazier and crazier, there really is no other place I’d rather be right now, but right here in this little 3,100 mile race family.  And to all those extended family members across the globe, if you tried to send any emails to the address in my previous blog, well…of course I put the wrong address in! Crikey.  The correct address is as follows:   ny@srichinmoyraces.org Letters are received with great Joy.  Thank you!

I noticed the faces change of the runners at a certain part of the day.  Just before dusk, a little after dinner, the time of day when… Sahishnu arrives.  Sahishnu is sort of like Santa Claus I suppose, but instead of bringing wrapped up gifts with ribbons and bows, he brings a better gift, and that is the gift of E-MAILS!

These runners, as you can imagine, see the same setting, hear the same numbers, drink the same liquid, wear the same pair of shoes, listen to the same music, sleep at the same time- day after day after day.  It becomes routine of course and all part of curriculum.  At the same time, to have something new and exciting to experience daily, is like a well enjoyed ice cream in the middle of a hot day. (Which is another thing they enjoy!)  So you can understand the joy they receive when they are handed little white sheets of paper with words of encouragement from their friends and family.  They look forward to this every evening.

If you are following along on this epic journey, please kindly take a moment to send a little hello to any or all the runners, because that five minutes you offer to write a few words, means the world to these guys (and gal!)

Here is the email address:  ny@srichinmoyraces.org

or you can fax at 1- 718-297-2556

To speak to a runner directly, ring the trackside telephone at 1- 917- 613-7396

I’m fortunate enough to be behind the scenes of one of the runners.  You get to see more than what they eat or what they wear.

With a 6:00am start each morning, I suppose at some point, it’s gonna be hard to get up at 5:00am to get ready.  In our house we have two separate alarms to “guarantee” a definite wake up.  I am in charge of one, and Dharbhasana, the other.  For some strange reason, this morning, we BOTH slept through our alarms, or turned them off in our sleep or just forgot to set them.  I’m not really sure what happened there, but we were both in another world when 5:00am rolled around.

I was happily snoring away when suddenly a screaming Dharbhasana, yanked me out of my deep sleep.”NANDANA! IT’S 6:13!!!”  Whoa, I shot straight up, bumped my head, totally confused, had no idea what the heck just happened or where I was for that matter and trying to figure out what I was supposed to be doing.  Then I see Dharbhasana limping and unbalanced trying to get to the shower as fast as he could. What a sight!

I then realized I was supposed to be making his smoothies, so I climbed down from my bunk and got to the kitchen with one eye open trying to figure out what goes in the blender.  I didn’t have enough time to do anything though as Dharbhasana was out of that shower before I could even say green smoothie.  I had to help him get dressed and then he was out the door.  Took him 7 minutes from eye opening to bike riding his way to the race.

The funny part of it all is when Dharbhasana parked his bike upon his arrival; he just nonchalantly put his bike in place, his bag down on his chair and started shuffling into his first lap like there was nothing out of sorts.  Ananda-Lahari said Dharbhasana was now part of the club.

Rain or extreme shine, these runners continue circumferencing this half mile city block in Jamaica, Queens, New York City.  I really do NOT know how to explain the way these superheros complete mile after mile on a solid concrete floor day in and day out.  And we are only on day 9.  Still there is more than 40 days to go.

This amazing event that this small handful of runners are doing, proves to us all that we are beyond the body.  Every single runner out there has experienced pain in some part of their body, but they push through it all with every footstep- conquering all that challenges them.  They will be faced with things like doubt, fatigue, pain and uncertainty, yet with their inner strength and inner faith; those “things” always seem to pass.

I admire those who challenge themselves.  I admire those who believe in self-transcendence.  I admire those who want to make the world a better place from their own inner progress.  This is exactly what these runners are doing.  They’re giving it a go.  They really are the superheros of today, tomorrow, and years to come.  To all the 3100 mile runners, I offer my deepest gratitude.  Thank you…

One cool thing about New York are the fireflies.  Up to this point in my life I always thought fireflies were a creature of fantasy and only existed in fairy tales.  But when twilight arrives, these little balls of light appear magically before our eyes.  Now, this may or may not have anything to do with the 3100 mile race, but I figure those who light a path for the runners are worth a mention.

Today was incredibly windy which I suppose was refreshing for the runners.  At one point today the breeze was strong and warmish and instead of tumbleweed rolling across the sand as you might see in the desert, here there were plastic bags full of air rolling across the cement.  That’s city life.  You get kinda used to all the quirky stuff of a New York city though such as the jingle of the famous ice cream truck-strolling past at a pace slower than the runners twice daily.  Funny, but I catch myself whistling along to the tune.  It’s a subconscious thing now.  I think I’ll have that tune in my head till I breathe my last!

So, the runners shuffle through these city happenings while experiencing  ups and downs, high’s and lows, in’s and outs, but no matter what, they’re out there doin it.  Transcending themselves beyond all what I ever thought was possible…

Day four….

These runners are truly AMAZING!  How do they do it?  Well, they all have a goal and they all have inner determination.  These two things alone can get you through anything.  From shin splints to sunburn-you name it, these runners challenge it all.   And most of them don’t even have handlers!  Only 3 runners have handlers whom look after them very diligently.

Surasa has 3 helpers who rotate and sometimes cross over all at once which gives extreme amount of support to her.  They are true heroes.  Today they were all in the van tending to her feet and at that moment, I thought, wow-this is true humility and service.

Stutisheel has his wife, Atandra, who arrives at 6:00am and leaves whenever her husband leaves which is usually between 10:30 and 11:30pm.  What a long day.  She hardly leaves the aid station and devotedly awaits the arrival of her husband every seven minutes or so.

And of course there is Dharbhasana, whom is also being tended to by his wife Nandana and seven year old daughter, Shakti.  Because he is on a dairy free, gluten free, sugar free diet, it makes for more of an interesting and exciting task of getting the proper balance of nutrition into him.  But it seems to be working because he is doing fabulous.