Twelveth Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race Starts

June 15,2008-Day 1

At six o'clock this morning,a conch sounded and 14 runners galloped away from the starting line of a slightly more than half-mile city block in Jamaica, Queens,New York. This was the beginning of the 12th Annual Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, an epic journey the equivalent of running from New York to San Francisco, with a side trip to Santa Barbara thrown in. The field included many of the world's best superlong distance specialists, including four-time winner Asprihanal Aalto from Helsinki,Finland, and eleven-time finisher Suprabha Beckjord of Washington,DC, the lone female entrant and distance runner deluxe. This group of runners boasts a total of 49 finishes among them,  two-thirds of the all-time list of 73 performnaces. The race was dedicated to the memory of Sri Chinmoy (1931-2007), who founded not only this race but the Marathon Team that bears his name some 31 years ago.

Temperatures at the start were in the 70ºs with sticky humidity left over from thunderstorms and torrential rains the previous evening. The runners cover as many laps as possible during the hours of 600am to 12 midnight, pacing themselves and eating and drinking on the go. They receive massage and medical help when needed, and sleep in houses or apartments when the  course is closed. Each lap is recorded and compiled at the race, as teams of volunteers help the runners with their needs.

The world best for 3100 miles is 41 days+08:16:29 by Madhupran Wolfgang Schwerk of Germany. Suprabha Beckjord holds the women's best at 49 days+14:30:54