The Medical Aspect

Pradhan (left) and Vajra

Pradhan Balter travels 1000 miles a week from Chicago to New York to help the 3100 runners. We asked for his thoughts about the race and they will be included in a small magazine we are putting together to commemorate this years event.

"The 3100 mile race is an absolutely phenomenal event and each of the runners who participate are doing something which is also phenomenal, inconceivable almost from a mental stand point. From a medical stand point it is interesting to watch and it’s also interesting to participate in. First of all from a deeply personal stand point by virtue of having the opportunity to treat each of the runners you really feel part of their experience and you feel glory in their success and it really is very joyful for me to see each of these runners finish and their accomplishment feeds me tremendously.
Secondly also from a physical stand point it’s interesting to see runners coming in with injuries which would stop them in a normal course of events, severe shin splints, blisters these are the kinds of things which if you are working that day you would call your boss and say I can’t come in today yet the runners persevere and run through these injuries and resolve them themselves and I have to use the term miraculously resolve them themselves. The physical surrenders to the determination of the runner and instead of imposing it’s will, it surrenders to the will of the runner who says “I know that you are injured but you have to heal yourself so that we can continue in this incredible task” and it does. It’s just amazing. I’m watching shin splints disappear in two three days or at worst two weeks and afterwards they are running and they are running really well. I see blisters disappear and infections come and go. You will see a runner come and have absolutely no life energy and the next day he is putting in more laps than everybody else."

Multiday hosting is a feat in itself Pt 2

This was the tenth year of the race on this site. The first race was the inaugural 2,700 and since then as the number of runners has increased so has the nature of the facilities provided also evolved. In this years race there were three vans that have been kitted out with a bed and lockers for daily gear storage carpeted of course. On the roof was a retractable awning that served as shelter from the sun and from the storm. These customisations were carried out by Bipin, pictured here. There are also two trailers attached to vans. One contains chairs, tools, cooler, ice and food storage and the other was the medical trailer where the foldable benches were stored. At midnight everything was broken down into smaller parts, stored in the vans and driven off for the night and brought back at 5:45 the next morning. Breakdown required 3-4 volounteers each night to ensure a quick getaway after the long shift.
4 Porto-sans had to be organised and taken care of and Bipin fitted a small sink to the end one and runners were able to keep hands clean. Very important.
Medical care was provided by a small but dedicated group of personnel. Pradhan, Vajra, Tejaswi, Mitch, Aklanta and a crew of ladies who took care of Suprabha everyday.
Then their was the website updates that Sahishnu took care of when he got home after the evening shift and the results that we recieved each morning of the previous days progress.
Permits from the Parks dept. and the necessary paperwork/permissions that can take Sandhani a lot of running around plus accomodation for the runners all summer. Then at the end of the race there's the design and production of the t-shirts, awards, certificates, photo albums.

This level of support has been a hallmark of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team races over the years and is unparalled.

Multiday hosting is a feat in itself

Counters came from Florida

One of the main reasons that there are so few multiday races is the amount of logistics involved. Hosting a multiday event requires a crew of people to take care of all the details necessary and there are a lot of man hours to cover especially in the 3100. Running time for this years race amounts to 1138 hours. For most of the race this required 2 counters at all times to record the runners laps. The counting day was split into three shifts.
Three Race Directors split the day into 3 shifts. There were four cooks preparing three meals a day. They also made soup and snacks between lunch and dinner and late evening snacks as well. Plus of course miscellaneous items that visitors brought and ice cream. The RD's made sure that the water table was always stocked with water in cups which had to be imported in large containers several times a day plus snacks like fresh fruit and cookies, chips etc.

To bel be continued.

Walking and Running

Aid station from behind the fence.
Some people do spend time walking but it is difficult to walk 50 miles everyday, which is why 50 miles used to be the daily minimum. If you look closely at what the runner has to do to complete his mileage a clearer picture can be seen. The day is 18 hours long so from that deduct all things that a person has to do to live on the track for 2 months.

Bathroom stops

Depending on the food there can be between 2-5 stops for the bowels plus from 5-10 urine stops.(1 min per hr)

Skin protection procedures.

This includes prevention and treatment of blisters and hotspots. Chafing prevention. Sun protection.(1 min per hr)

Changing

It is often necessary to change clothes or shoes. After the first day when the feet have increased by one or two sizes often the shoes have to be customised. Also the changing weather conditions often require appropriate protection.(1 min per hr)

Food and water

Intake of calories is on an enhanced level - 5-10k per day. Assessing whats available from the table and matching that with the bodies desires/needs,putting food into cups to eat whilst moving still takes time.(2 mins per hr)

Rest

Most runners take short breaks throughout the day from 10-30 minutes broken into varying sizes. This totals a minimum of 70 minutes a day of absolute basics.

Most runners have about 16 hours a day give or take a few minutes.

Every day is different but all of the above have to be factored in for the basic issues. Other things can and do develop; for example, injuries. The course of the 3100 is completely on concrete which is an extremely hard surface to spend one's day plus the concrete wears the shoes away very quickly which can also lead to stress injuries. Every runner has some physical issue over the duration of the race and shin splints is not uncommon plus a host of repetitive use problems that occasionally arise

So this requires about 3.1 miles an hour to cover 50 a day and 3.8 to cover the 61 to finish in 51 days. This is the basic without having to deal with any extra problems.

The Award Ceremony

The 2005 Self-Transcendence runners













With the race founder Sri Chinmoy













Srdjan Stojanonich receives the winners trophy

Sri Chinmoy gave a short talk to the runners and one of the things he mentioned was the importance of smiling. Recently Sri Chinmoy said that a smile meant new energy and new life and this could help the runners when they were feeling a little down.

Todays pictures courtesy of Adarini Inkei

The end plus one

Now that the race is over, the recovery begins, especially for Suprabha and as we work our way back up the list of finishers the runners are getting stronger and stronger. Srdjan finished almost 3 weeks ago now. Tonight there will be the official ceremony to present the awards.

Mitchell Proffman is a Chiropractor who donated his services to the race free and he wrote a short article about his experience that can be found on the Sri Chinmoy Races site.


Tsvetan beside a scoreboard that records a remarkable achievement. Think you could run 3100 miles? Less than 10 months before the next 3100 mile race starts.

Day 64

Suprabha completes the picture, gets her cake and she gets to eat it as she celebrates running 3100 miles for the 9th time.

Day 63

The penultimate day and the temperatures are getting even higher hitting 100 degrees at La Guardia.
Here Suprabha is being taken of by long time friend, Shadri.

Day 62

Suprabha and Chakori


The 2005 Self-Transcendence 3100 mile race will end when Suprabha crosses the finish line at approximately 10:30 on Sunday morning.

The temperature is said to feel like 97 degrees this afternoon and an hour ago I took this shot of Suprabha stuffing ice into her cap to keep her head cool as she continues her journey to her steadily approaching goal.

Able to relax for a few minutes I listened to the cicadas in the trees with their wave-like whirrings while the ground is littered with dry, brown leaves in what was the medical area, shaded now in the late afternoon sun. Suprabha, passes by with 76 miles to go, alone now in her seeking to reach her goal of a ninth consecutive finish out of nine editions of this race plus the original 2,700 giving 30,600 miles in total. This is a race that reaches beyond the minds ability to comprehend into the ever-presence of the heart which feeds the life-quest of the being. And all this on a concrete sidewalk a litle over half a mile long in the heart of Queens, New York.

Day 61

Sarah and Suprabha


Suprabha moves closer and closer to her finish in tough conditions. Todays high was 95. Tomorrow will be a little cooler but humidity is still on the high side - 50% now and 70% tonight and possibly 80% tomorrow.

This race has been different in many respects from the previous races that I have run. As well as there being a record number of finishers, the race founder Sri Chinmoy has made regular visits to the race to encourage the runners. This race is a spiritual exercise as well as a physical challenge and this brief excerpt from a talk on Self-Transcendence illustrates the point.

"There is a royal road that leads to self transcendence. That road is our surrender, our conscious, unconditional surrender to the Will of the Absolute Supreme."
Sri Chinmoy

Day 60

A very happy Martin Milovnik finished the 3100 mile and 5000 km distance tonight.This makes him the 12th finisher and during this race went beyond 870 miles for the first time. Martin had a great race and checkout his mileage chart on the Sri Chinmoy races site and you can see clearly how it went for him.

Some people manage to run the race and not get any injuries. That itself is a miracle. Plus all the male starters finished except for Kuranga who stopped after Day 3 - everyone else weathered the storms, inner and outer to make this the most successful edition in the race's 9 year history.

Our thoughts and attention turn at last to Suprabha who had accumulated 2944 miles when this shot was taken. She will finish on Sunday morning after a long race which began with her only having run once since last year due to a knee injury. Her strength, faith and determination make Suprabha indeed the 3100 Queen.

Day 59 - 5000 km's later

3100 miles and 5000 km completed this morning. My part in this play has ended and now I am a spectator encouraging the remaining runners to their goals. Later this afternoon Robert, pictured here this morning, will reach 3100.
The weather has changed over the last few days since the intense heat and humidity finally broke. There is a dryness around the course. Leaves are falling in the breezes from the Plane trees which are the most common trees around the course. The grass by the school has largely turned brown and the playing field in the photo is losing its greenness. It hasn't rained much recently - a blessing for the runners feet, though most blisters have healed up by now.

Day 58

So, many thanks to all the crew members especially to Chankhya who has devotedly and at his own cost, brought me a cup of coffee and a muffin every day for 2 months. Sri Chinmoy was present at the finish to my great fortune and I truly feel gratitude at being able to complete this race, his vision, for the second time.
Tomorrow I will finish the extra laps to reach 5000 km.

Day 57

Rathin makes it home.

Four of us left and I finish the day with 78 laps to complete to make it 3100.

Day 56

Trishul finished his 5000 km in the morning just before the 2 mile race. Rathin moved closer to the Golden Shore as the crowds subsided and the camp enters a peaceful stage. Saturdays are usually quiet in the neighborhood.

Day 55

Three finishers today. First up was Pranab who roared around the track for a few hours this morning shortly before Stutisheel crossed the line for the last time, this year. Late tonight, about 11 p.m. Trishul Cherns celebrated his third finish with Dart the dog and a few friends gathered to honour the great Canadian runner's tremendous achievement.
In the house today was Pradhan who came from Chicago to help us out in medical and got me going again.

Day 54

Big surprise today when Pranab caught up to Stutisheel. Hot day and 3 people scheduled to reach 3100 miles tomorrow. Bodies getting thin on the ground now that 5 have finished yet the energy was great today.

Managed 103 laps today in a brand new pair of Brookes Beast. The sole on the shoes is very durable on the rough concrete and last about a week. A little heavy but highly recommended for this kind of event.

Pranab getting serious

Day 53

Hi

Day 52

Bulgarian multiday running champion, 24 year old Tsvetan Tsekov, tonight became the youngest ever finisher of the 3100, taking the record off Rainhald who held the record for a mere 24 hours.

Day 51

Smarana crosses the line to complete his 4th 3100 mile race while first and second place finishers hold the tape. Fellow Austrian, Rainhald Pobitzer finished late in the evening on his debut at this distance. A tremendous performance from the word go. Well done guys.







First four runners home. Left to right are Smarana, Rainald, Srdjan and Asprihanal.