3100 miles to self transcendence

When Suprabha Beckjord crossed the finish line, there were no medals, no multi-million dollar athletic contracts to sign. There were only her fellow runners and a handful of race volunteers cheering her on. Suprabha completed the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. Her time: 58 days, 7 hours, 54 minutes and 27 seconds.

The Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile race is the world’s longest certified footrace. The route covers the perimeter of just one city block in Queens, New York (about a half-mile long). It was the vision of Sri Chinmoy, an Indian philosopher and teacher who teaches meditation and spiritual philosophy at his center in Queens, New York. His goal was to create an opportunity for runners to discover the limits of their capacities, and to try and go beyond them. Suprabha Beckjord has done just that. The only woman in this year’s race, the 51-year-old Washington, D.C. resident completed the race every year since its inception in 1997. She holds the ladies’ record, completing 3100 miles in 49 days 14:30:54 in 1998.

There is no stadium, no throng of cheering fans, no sponsorship from Gatorade or Nike, and media coverage is rare. Yet Suprahba and many others return year after year. They spend two months logging up to 70 miles a day in the New York summer heat. They seek something more than the recognition that accompanies extreme sports. “I do my spiritual things while running, which to me is the most important” said one runner from Serbia-Montenegro. “That’s how I really get joy. Just running…it’s not enough.”

I could feel this joy at the finish line as the small group of supporters gathered to congratulate Suprahba. Some were Sri Chinmoy’s students who made daily visits to the race, providing breakfast, lunch and dinner for the runners. Others were local Queens residents who regularly dropped by with homemade snacks. We were all there, united by our desire to witness this extraordinary event; drawn to the sense of harmony it provided.

As the clapping and cheering for Suprahba faded away, and the small tent that housed the finish came down, the shady side street in Queens slowly returned to normal. For ten months the neighborhood will be home just to the locals, not world-record holding distance runners and spiritual seekers. Suprahba will be back next year, as will many of the runners. They all agree that the only reward lies within them. For them, the goal within is the finish line.