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Day 28:Four Weeks and Counting

With four weeks completed, Asprihanal Aalto holds a firm lead at the front with an average of 70.21 miles per day. Pranab Vladovic led the group with 68.6 miles today, while averaging 65.85 miles per day. Grahak Cunningham holds third position with 65.42 per day. Suprabha Beckjord, the popular American woman, has averaged 56.02 miles per day.

It is an Impossible Task

It is an Impossible Task

. . . It is the 27th day of the longest race in the world. I see the two plastic numbers stuck to the fence, and for a moment, I try and fathom some deeper significance to the number 27. I fail, because when I look at the number of days and the numbers of miles close by, they are accumulating so rapidly that if I try and make some sense of it all, they simply sweep over my consciousness like a surging tide of data, leaving me dazed and adrift in a vast sea of indecipherable information. . .
[This is Utpal’s last contribution for a week. I’m looking for some way to replace him – medur]

Day 27:Aalto Leads Way

Asprihanal Aalto from Helsinki,Finland ran 70.14 miles again to maintain his big lead of 126+ miles over Pranab Vladovic, who cruised through with 69.69 miles. A total of eight runners topped the 60 mile barrier again as the afternoon heated up without any sea breezes to cool things down. The evening was a little cooler which allowed for better mileages and happier runners.

Day 26: Pranab Vladovic Leads The Way

Pranab Vladovic took first place mileage awards today with a sparkling 71.34 mile day. He was followed by event leader Asprihanal Aalto who gathered 70.14 miles. Six of the fabulous fourteen competitors went past 60 miles today.The top seven have now passed the halfway mark in the race.

Day 25: Aalto Extends Lead

Asprihanal Aalto took day honors again with a 72.44 mile excursion. Pranab Vladovic, who has had numerous very good days in the past, also touched 70.79 miles. In all, seven men bested 60 miles. An approaching cold front triggered a brief but very strong storm this evening, yet the runners continued.

How Far is 3100 Miles?

One feature about the 3100 mile race is that it hard to comprehend the distance of the race; it is something far beyond our usual concept of a running race. It is widely accepted that several months of training are required to run a marathon; to complete a marathon of 26 miles is no mean feat. The 3100 mile race is the equivalent of running 118 marathons back to back.

To many of us it is hard enough to run 2 miles everyday. If we ran 2 miles everyday it would take 4 years,  2 months (or 1,550 days) to complete the race. It will take some of the runners less than 50 days to complete the race averaging 60-70 miles a day. The record for the 3100 mile race is 41 days set by Madhupran Wolfgang Schwerk of Germany in 2006.

The 3100 Mile race is run on a short .5488 loop. But, if it was place to place. 3100 miles could involve:

  • Running from Los Angeles to New York and then finishing off with another 500 mile loop.
  • Running from Paris to Moscow and back
  • Running Land’s End to John o Groat’s in UK, 3 times

Continue reading “How Far is 3100 Miles?”

Day 24:Getting Stronger

With two men over 70 miles and ten runners over 60 miles today, the field most definitely looks stronger. Asprihanal Aalto again led the way with 70.79 miles, barely one lap ahead of the surging Pranab Vladovic(70.24 miles). Mr. Vladovic is only one lap behind second place holder Grahak Cunningham. On a different note, the legendary Suprabha Beckjord went past the 1300 mile mark for an unprecedented sixteenth time in her illustrious career. She is an inspiration to all long-distance runners.