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In multi-day running circles, one of the standard measuring distances or timed event is the six day race. 140 years ago the race was contested on short indoor tracks of wood or compressed wood shavings and tree bark. In the 3100 Mile Race the surface is hard concrete, but the ‘standard is the same. Only this event is nearly nine times the six day. Today Sarvagata Ukrainskyi logged 71.89 miles to reach his 6 day total of 412.14 miles.Vasu Duzhiy reached 64.75 miles to retain second position. Jayasalini Olga Abramovskikh holds seventh position and first woman with 378.67 miles, but the surging Sarah Barnett was within one lap of the Russian first-timer. Sarah’s total of 67.5 miles today was third best overall for the day. Clear blue skies, pleasant breezes and moderate temperatures were the remnants of spring today as our summer solstice reaches the northern hemisphere tonight. Have fun everyone.

Six Day Totals:
Sarvagata Ukrainskyi-412.1488 Vasu Duzhiy-405.0144 Yuri Trostenyuk-403.9168 Baladev Saraz-400.0752
Pranjal Milovnik-391.2944 Sopan Tsekov-385.8064 Jayasalini Olga Abramovskikh-378.6720 Sarah Barnett-378.12
Stutisheel Lebedyev-373.184 William Sichel-364.952 Teekshanam Dodonu-364.4032 Nidhruvi Zimmerman-363.8544
Anada-Lahari Zuscin-319.9504 Ray Krolewicz-276.5952

With only 11 laps separating the first four male runners, the race kept moving along. Sarvagaya Ukrainskyi led all runners today with 68.0 miles. The pleasant surprise was the performance of Sarah Barnett, who topped 67.5 miles to lead the women as well as become second overall for the day. Ten runners exceeded 60 miles.

A warm, breezy day gave way to bright sunny skies, and as the breezes faded, the temperatures reached a hair short of 90ºF(32C). Eight men and women made it past 60 miles, and as of now 12 of the 14 are on pace to reach their goal, however far away it may be from them. Sarvagata Ukrainskyi led the day totals again with 67.5 miles. Vasu Duzhiy continues to sparkle as race leader overall with 280.9 miles. Jayasalini Olga Abramovskikh continues to lead the ladies with 257.4 total miles. It is still too early to predict possible champions, since barely 7% of the race has been completed. But as their road toughness continues in the building stage of this multi-day, the collective determination is inspiring to say the least.

The first signs of the summer solstice moving in came at the runners expense today. Yet, nine runners made it past 60 miles as the mercury rose to almost 90ºF and the humidity breached 60%. Sarvagata Ukrainskyi led the charge with 68.05 miles, but he waited until an hour before sundown to start running well. At this point he reeled off the equivalent of a 4:24 marathon, including a few stops, and clicking sub-6 minute laps. Impressive to watch, and it looked easy. He may have found a talent unbeknownst to him. This inspired a few others to move a little faster. Vasu Duzhiy still leads the group with 216.8 miles but had to pull back a little as the sun effects were difficult for some. Baladev Saraz still holds second place with 210.19 miles. Jayasalini Olga Abramovskikh leads for the ladies with 197 miles, followed by Nidhruvi Zimmerman with 191. Combined with the high mileage the race becomes a formidable challenge. With another day or two of the near 90’s coming tomorrow, the challenge is still on. But when the sun starts fading at dusk, watch out for the inspired ones. They are moving along like a New York minute. In search of new miles in a race that is not going anywhere but is testing all.

Vasu Duzhiy continued his lead in the 3100 Mile Race with a second day of 70+ miles. He totaled 150.37 for the two day split, and led a contingent of 13 runners who crossed past the 60 mark, with Mr. Duzhiy and two others- Baladev Saraz and Sarvagata Ukrainskyi, getting past 70 miles. The cooler evening led to some faster laps, but humidity has entered the area for the next 2 or 3 days, with showers and t-storms Wednesday night. Aussie Sarah Barnett was seen cranking 6 and even sub-6 minute laps, and Mr. Sarvagata was ‘J Smoove’ in running shorts with a solid two hours of great, fast paced running. His long stride elicited ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from nearby spectators, some unaware of a race even taking place. More later.

The 18th Annual Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race started precisely at 6:00 am this morning(June 15) here in New York. Fourteen runners answered the call to run for up to 18 hours a day for 52 straight days.The early miles were crisp and easy, but the cloudless sky offered a glimpse of a possible hot week ahead.Temps reached 82ºF(25ºC)in the afternoon.The evening cooled nicely as 6 men and one woman topped 70 miles. Defending champ Vasu Duzhiy from Russia wasted no time in logging 79.02 miles to lead everyone.Baladev Saraz from Slovakia checked in with 75.18 miles. Yuri Trostenyuk of the Ukraine reached 72.99 miles, as did nine-time finisher Pranjal Milovnik. Jayasalini Olga Abramovskikh reached 71.34 to lead the women’s contingent. Scotland’s William Sichel,60,had a good first day with 71.34 miles as well. Ray Krolewicz, the lone US participant, reached 65.3 miles. The race was established in 1997 by Sri Chinmoy and quickly became the flagship event of the Marathon Team that he founded. To date 36 people have completed the race a total of 124 times. We hope that everyone will enjoy the race and its unique profile as the longest certified footrace in the world.Tomorrow’s another day, and another chance to get closer to a goal difficult to fathom.We wish the runners good luck and Godspeed.

Hello friends and welcome to the 18th Annual Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. We will try to have an account of each day’s highlights at the ‘Race around the Block’. This year the list of runners swells to 14, including four new faces. The rookies are all accomplished athletes looking for the challenge of a lifetime. We hope this blog can capture the running aspect from a ‘nuts and bolts’ observation. Maybe someday even you can ‘dream the dream’. Good luck to all runners around the globe. May the wind always be at your back!—– Sahishnu

On the last day of the 3100 Mile Race Yuri Trostenyuk of Vinnitsa,Ukraine finished in seventh place in his first try, reaching the coveted goal of 3100 miles in 51 days+04:22:11. Yuri averaged 60.57 miles per day(97.48 km). The humble runner talked of his great struggle to get to the race and his gratitude for being able to start, let alone finish. A few hours later Nidhruvi Zimmerman of Vienna,Austria reached 3100 miles in 51 days+09:54:59, beaming with joy after reaching the pinnacle of her long multiday career.She first started doing multidays in the early nineties but was hoping to one day enter this race. The remaining four runners did not make the desired goal but deserve our admiration for going the distance of days(52) and staying to the very end. Thanks to everyone and we hope you enjoyed the race. See you next year.!!

Fifty-four year old Surasa Mairer of Vienna, Austria finished first lady and fifth overall today in the penultimate day of the race.She became the oldest runner to ever complete 3100 miles and bettered her own previous finish by over three days. She averaged 61.74 miles per day(99.37 km) and moved into the realm of earlier finishers getting under the original 51 day standard. Her time still ranks 24th out of 34 all-time finishers(3100 miles = 50 days+04:57:24). Almost nine hours later Sarvgata Ukrainskyi of Berdansk, Ukraine finished his third straight 3100 miler, in 50 days+14:33:11. There are two runners left who will reach the coveted goal of ‘Finisher’ in tomorrow’s final day. Go Runners!!!

Forty-year-old Pranjal Milovnik of Slovakia finished the 3100 Mile race for the ninth straight time in 49 days+07:57:40(62.843 miles per day/101.136 km). The gracious tall man with a large heart withstood the usual challenges with aplomb and perseverance. Food labelled ‘Pranjal Friendly’ from the kitchen was a welcome sight for many of the runners, for it was going to have taste, plus fat or sugar or both.He keeps coming back year after year and enjoys the race in so many ways.Great job ‘Big Man’. in other news, Surasa Mairer is set to finish as first woman and fifth overall on Monday around 11:00 am. She had a big day with 65.8 miles and needs only 36 laps(19.8 miles) to reach her second finish of the 3100. Sarvagata Ukrainskyi should reach the goal as well on Monday evening, which will be his third finish.
Only two days left for this year’s race……