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Day 45: Cunningham Shines


photo by Arpan

On a warm, humid sticky day in Queens, NY, Aussie Grahak Cunningham ran to a new Australian record by finishing second in the 3100 mile race in 44 days+09:08:58. Grahak averaged 69.857 miles per day (112.417 km). He becomes the third-ranked runner at the distance in the world, moving up from the fifth spot and besting his previous outing by over two days. Czech Republic runner Petr Spacil led the day with 71.34 miles and is poised to finish his journey around 10am on Wednesday morning. The battle for fourth spot still wages on as Vladimir Balatsky leads Pranjal Milovnik by 11 laps.

Day 44: Aalto Wins For Sixth Time


photo by Jowan

Asprihanal Aalto, 38, from Helsinki, Finland, won the 2009 Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race in 43 days+16:28:06. He averaged 70.964 miles (114.206 km) per day. Mr Aalto has run the race nine times as well finishing first a record six times. He now owns four of the top six fastest performances in history. Grahak Cunningham needs 72 laps on Tuesday to finish in the afternoon. He is averaging 69.544 miles per day (111.920 km). Stutisheel Lebedev moved from seventh to sixth on the list.

Day 43: Between the Raindrops


photo by Arpan

On a day marked by freakish storms in the afternoon and continuous storms in the evening, the sterling group of runners moved closer to their goals. Asprihanal Aalto and Grahak Cunningham tied for Day leader with 71.34 miles each, with Petr Spacil close by at 69.14 miles. Asprihanal needs 115 laps (63.112 miles) on Monday to finish the sojourn that started on June 14. This will be his ninth finish. Pavol Saraz has moved up to ninth place ahead of Ananda-Lahari Zuscin who has had a difficult week with a serious skin rash and muscle imbalance in the legs. The Race goes on.

Day 42: Six Weeks on the Road


photo by Arpan

After moving forward for six weeks without going anywhere, our intrepid group of runner-warriors are continuing on the path of progress. Stutisheel Lebedev from Kiev, Ukraine ran his best day of the race this year totaling 71.89 miles while leading a group of four over the magical 70 mile barrier. Asprihanal Aalto still leads with only 134 miles to go until his Monday evening finish. He is averaging 70.612 miles per day (113.639 km). Grahak Cunningham is in second place, averaging 69.502 miles per day (111.852 km). Petr Spacil rounds out the top three power trio averaging 68.377 miles per day (110.042km). Amazing numbers! The top seven men are all doing well and are averaging above 60+ miles per day.

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”

Day 40: Seven Straight Seventies

On a rainy, cool day and evening Asprihanal Aalto ran 70.24 miles to lead the group of warriors across the 40 day threshold. Petr Spacil passed the 2700 mile mark in a sizzling 39 days+09:38:59. In all, seven runners moved across the 60 mile plateau. As it stands now Asprihanal is on a course to finish Monday evening around 10 pm.

Day 39: Four Past Seventy Miles

photo by Jowan

On a warm, breezy day in New York, four runners advanced past 70 miles, led by Grahak Cunningham with 71.89 miles. One lap less was Asprihanal Aalto, followed by Petr Spacil and Stutisheel Lebedev with 70.24 miles. Asprihanal was the first runner past the 2700 mile mark in 38 days+03:46:50, followed by Grahak in 38 days+15:16:31. In all eight men made at least sixty miles today.