Category: 2009 race

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.

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.