The noisy lady¹

In the one-mile race today one lady was making such noise! You could tell from fifty metres, even from a hundred metres, that something was going on.

Accept my surrender²

I can never become as short or as thin as Barada is, so how can you expect me to run as fast as she does? I can’t go back to her height and I can’t go back to her weight, so she has to accept my surrender in the running world.

Peter's sauna³

At four o’clock in the morning I wanted to run for three miles, but the course I picked took fifty-two minutes. Then in the afternoon I asked Peter to take me along the same course. He measured it and found it was five miles and twelve hundred metres-practically six miles. How did I go so far? It is difficult to judge the distance if you don’t know the route and you have to go just by time.

In the car I was wearing a running suit, a thick sweater and then a rubber suit on top of that. I even had on my hat and gloves. Peter turned on the heat as high as possible, and after checking the course, we continued driving in the car. All this to lose weight in Peter’s “sauna”! After twenty minutes it was too much. We opened up the window. We drove another two miles and then I walked for two miles.

Starting too fast⁴

In today’s three-mile race in Flushing Meadow Park I saw Snigdha after one hundred metres. I couldn’t believe it, but she was falling behind me. For eight hundred metres she ran with me and then she finally went ahead.

After the first four hundred metres I was still with the boys. What was I doing there? Mukunda and others were behind me. My time for the first mile was 6:39. Had it been only a one-mile race, for the last three hundred metres I could have gone faster, and my time for the mile would have been better.

Nirjhari caught me when I started walking. She passed me and left a large gap between us. I said, “Go ahead, go ahead!” Then Subala passed me, then Linda. Nayana passed me after a mile and a half. I said, “Go!”

He has my job⁵

In the five-mile race today I couldn’t imagine what happened to Adrian from Australia. He started walking after one mile. Then after running for 150 metres, again he started walking. As I was watching him, I said to myself, “He has got my job.” He is such an excellent runner, but he was walking after only one mile.

Human encouragement⁶

In the five-mile race I was very bad. I was telling Gangadhar to defeat Snigdha, his wife’s best friend. But Gangadhar just raised his arms and surrendered. Of course, it was the human in me that told him to defeat her; the divine in me always wants whoever deserves it to win.

Gangadhar is a man. What was he doing behind Snigdha? When I encouraged him, the distance between him and Snigdha became even wider. The moment I told him to defeat her, Snigdha started going faster.

Later I saw Snighdha in her car quite happy and cheerful. I thought that definitely she had defeated Gangadhar. Then I found out that he had defeated her by one second.

Looking for Prabhir⁷

Today when I went out on a short run, for at least two hundred metres I was following Prabhir. Then, after that I didn’t see him at all. What happened to him I don’t know. I was waiting for the light to change and I was looking forward. When I started running again, I didn’t see Prabhir. At one point I turned around, but I saw only Dorothee from the Zurich Centre, who came out of the blue. Prabhir always reminds me of John Landy, the world champion runner.

Exhaustion⁸

As you know, I am a wonderful runner. I can inspire my children to run, but when it is a matter of me personally, from the beginning to the end running is sheer torture. I run. Why? The secret reason is so that I will not get fat and compete with Indian swamis in fatness. But the main reason is to inspire my disciples to run, so that they can become fit instruments of the Supreme.

This morning I got inspiration to run at six o’clock. Usually I go running much earlier, but today I went late. I ran one, two, three, four, five and then six miles, until I reached Dan’s Supreme Supermarket. This is my usual turnaround point on that course. Then I became tired and started running and walking. Three hundred metres I would run and then fifty metres I would walk. In that way I covered another three miles. Finally, I was totally exhausted. Totally is not an exaggeration; it is an understatement. I was seeing everything as white or black or brown. My eyes were not functioning at all!

I stood and rested for a while and then I started walking. While I was walking I saw a very old, crippled lady using a cane. I said, “O God, You are still kind to me. At least I don’t belong to her group.”

I was dying of thirst; I was so dehydrated! But I didn’t have a cent with me. What could I do?

Now, begging is not in my line. God gave me stupid pride, which I still have. Three times I was about to beg individuals for a dime to make a phone call. But when I went near them, I said, “What will happen if they don’t give me the dime?” That was my stupidity. I passed two gas stations and each time I was about to ask for water or for a dime, but again I was afraid of what would happen. At one point I saw a young boy. It seemed to me that he had money. I was about to tell him that if he gave me a dime, in fifteen minutes I would give him a ten dollar bill. Again I said, “What will happen if he does not give me the money?”

I was struggling and struggling. Perhaps I have never been so exhausted. I felt as if I had run fifty miles, which I have never done. Still I went on. At one place there was a sign that said “College Point.” I stood there for five minutes and then I started walking. I had covered over two hundred metres when all of a sudden I saw a car stop near me. A gentleman came out of the car and asked me the way to College Point. As you know, I am not very good at giving directions. Most sympathetically I told him that I didn’t know. Then I came back to my senses and realised that I had just seen the sign and had even been standing there. But by that time the car had passed by. That kind of tiredness I had!

When I was only six hundred metres away from my house, I was so exhausted that I said, “Let me wait here for ten minutes. Let me take rest for ten minutes.” Then I finally walked home.

So running can make people very tired if they are useless runners like me. It is always advisable to carry some change or a dollar with you. For me it is always advisable to take someone with me when I run — preferably someone with a car, not a runner. Yesterday I took Peter with me. But when you take someone with you, at that time you are not exhausted. Yesterday I ran seven miles. I was showing off, running quite fast. When you take someone along with you, at that time you do not need help. And then when you don’t take someone, at that time all the world’s help you need.

No surrender⁹

During our marathon in New Jersey I ran thirteen miles. For the first seven miles I ran at an 8:10 pace. Kirsty was running just a little ahead of me. She wasn’t looking over her shoulder, but each time I came near her, all of a sudden her speed would increase. Whenever I came only four or five metres behind her, she would hear my footsteps and go faster. But she never looked behind her.

I tell my disciples to surrender, but I myself don’t know how to surrender, especially to my girl runner-disciples. Each time I am determined to defeat them badly.

The false finisher¹⁰

At the finish of our marathon, when I saw the runner that came in third, I couldn’t believe that he was such a good runner. Then I came to know that he didn’t run the entire race. He ran over the finish line by mistake.

Running long distance¹¹

During my thirteen-mile run today, only once did I walk a few metres while drinking water. Otherwise, the rest of the way I ran.

The first two years I ran in the New York City Marathon, I had cramps in spite of my practising. This year, I have not been able to practise. How will I be able to run the marathon?

When you run long distance, as opposed to short distance, you sometimes feel that you won’t be able to complete the race. You are afraid that you will get cramps and won’t be able to finish the distance.

The birthday blessing¹²

At five o’clock this morning when I went out to run, inwardly I blessed Robin’s soul because today is his birthday. Then, a little after six-thirty, I went out to run again and this time I saw Robin in the physical. He was near Savyasachi’s house. I was running down the 150th Street hill when I saw him press his wristwatch and start running with long strides. I thought that I would turn around and meet him. But then I said to myself, “I will never be able to catch him.”

The inner and outer running¹³

As in the outer running I struggle and struggle and struggle in order to survive — while winning the race is far, far beyond my imagination — even so, most of my disciples struggle and struggle and struggle in the inner running. Unfortunately, the goal is still a far, far cry for them.

But who knows, in the near or distant future I may make satisfactory progress in my outer running, although I just completed half a century. Similarly, my disciples can and will make satisfactory progress in their inner running.

This is my fervent hope, and I do hope that my Beloved Supreme, out of His infinite Bounty, will fulfil my soulful and prayerful wish.

A good follower¹⁴

The day before yesterday was a wonderful day. Around six o’clock in the morning I was running in front of my house, doing my speed work — fifty metres slow and fifty metres fast. Then I saw the fat lady who is very fond of me, with her two dogs. Two or three years ago she had a fight with another lady while walking her dog, and I took the fat lady’s side. So she always shows me her gratitude.

After each hundred metres, I was taking rest for a few seconds. At one particular moment I took rest and walked. The white dog was following me — not chasing me — and barking.

The lady said to me, “So you see, you see!”

I said, “Good morning, good morning!”

The lady said, “Like your other followers, my dog also is following you. He will be a very good follower.”

So I thanked her.

Happiness and sadness¹⁵

When I was running thirteen miles during the marathon last weekend, I was feeling such sadness and happiness. I was feeling sadness when I thought of my limp, and I was feeling happiness because I was still going on.

A difficult exercise¹⁶

Two weeks ago Sunanda was practising speed work. She was running so fast! This morning she was taking exercise, bringing her leg forward to her chest. This very exercise I was trying to do at five o’clock this morning. After one try I got such pain in my toes! And this very exercise she did twenty or thirty times. I wanted to do ten, but I did only one.

Sri Chinmoy Race song¹⁷

Before the start of today’s seven-mile race, I went to change my clothes in the men’s room. One man was singing and chanting, Sri Chinmoy Race, Sri Chinmoy Race, to his own tune. Each time he was changing the tune. He didn’t know I was there.

Are you all right?¹⁸

During the seven-mile race I stopped to drink some water and I walked a few metres at the four-mile point. One man was asking me, “Are you all right? Are you all right?” But I was just taking a drink of water.

Stopping for water¹⁹

At another point Ilona and I were running near each other. Once I stopped for water and walked for fifty or sixty metres. Then, finished! She took the lead. But then, near the end of the race, my ego came forward so powerfully, and I passed her.

The problem always starts when you drink. Good runners don’t drink. If you drink, you are finished! You lose distance, and then for forty or fifty metres you feel miserable.

Surrender to the spiritual Master²⁰

In today’s race Kirsty very nicely surrendered. First she gave me a fight for one or two miles. Then I went ahead of her. I am so bad. Each time somebody was about to pass me, I looked around to see if Kirsty was coming. If I saw that Kirsty was not coming, I felt I was safe.

In the New Jersey marathon last week it was she who did not want to be behind me. She would increase her speed if I started to come up behind her. This time it was my turn to look around to see if she was coming.

Come on, legs!²¹

At the end of the race, as one man was finishing, he was shouting, “Come on, legs! Come on, legs!” It is on the videotape.

The past is gold²²

I always say that the past is dust. In my case the past is gold. For inspiration I was watching a videotape of my best seven-mile race performance in Connecticut on 30 March 1980. That day I ran at a 7:19 pace. So the past for me is not dust; it is gold.

Five minutes before the race, Wally brought me a cup of coffee and I got strength from it in the beginning of the race. But later on it stopped working.

One man ran next to me. He was Mohan’s brother-in-law. He gave me drinks along the way. Then he went ahead of me at the last moment. At the end, after finishing, he congratulated me.

Twenty-four-hour friends

At least ten times Jim Roser spoke to me during our twenty-four-hour race. I have never seen a runner who encouraged me so much. He was so nice. He was always cheerful and always had something nice to say. Once he said that he wanted to pronounce my name correctly because so many people were pronouncing it incorrectly.

At one point Nathan Whiting — the one with the long hair — said to me, “You do so many things.”

I said, “I can’t run.”

He said, “So what? So many other things you are doing.”

When I stopped to take rest, he said, “Everybody needs rest.” He is very kind-hearted.

Dave Peabody, the tall man, is also very nice. He shook my hand.

Norman Allen ran with Beverly Nolan the whole way. He was calling himself “Beverly’s friend.” He wouldn’t say his real name to the counters. He is a real joker. He was asking the counters to count Beverly’s mileage and his mileage together so they would come in first. Thomas is also a joker. At one point, he was also calling him “Beverly’s friend,” instead of using his real name.

Praying for leg cramps²³

When I was running my last six miles during the twenty-four-hour race, I was going ahead of everyone, no matter which runner I came near. But I said to myself, “O God, some of them have run almost a hundred miles and I have run only twenty-two.”

At one point I was behind Yasu. Poor fellow, he was holding his left leg, the hamstring. He was getting cramps. I prayed to God to give the cramp to me immediately, but God didn’t listen to my prayer. My prayer was sincere. I said, “Let me suffer and let him go.” He was only one metre ahead of me. I felt miserable, but God didn’t listen to my prayer. So I went on.

World-class children²⁴

I may not be a champion runner anymore, but my children are all world-class. I am so proud of my children who ran in the twenty-four-hour race. In a few years there will be no record that they cannot break in ultra-marathoning.

Marathon Tune-Up²⁵

Today I ran the 25-kilometre Marathon Tune-Up in Central Park. Quite a few disciples also ran. At the start, Nayana was standing just ahead of me with her husband at the eight-minute pace marker. I said, “Go!” Then, after some time I saw that she fell behind me.

At one point both Peter and Tulasi were asking people at the water stations if they had water, but they had run out.

Kurt Steiner likes me so much because we help the New York Road Runners Club in so many ways. Two or three times during the race he mentioned my name over the loudspeaker. When I finished, he mentioned my time. Niriha was standing with him on the platform taking video. She says that she helped him practise saying my name.

I don't see anything in him²⁶

Yesterday afternoon around three o’clock I asked Vinaya to watch me while I did hill work on 150th Street. He is a good guard, except that he sometimes falls asleep when he is on duty. But this time he was wide awake.

At the bottom of the hill I saw a boy about thirteen or fourteen years old waiting for the Q-44 bus. The boy looked right at me and said out loud, “I don’t know why everybody makes such a fuss about him. I don’t see anything in him.”

There was absolutely nobody else there only he and I. So I looked at him and said, “I don’t see anything in you either.”

Then he was really embarrassed and he turned away. I smiled at him and started running back up the hill.

The boy was very brave to say what he did, and I was also brave. He didn’t walk away; he just turned around and looked at the fence, still waiting for the bus. By the time I went down the hill a second time, the bus had arrived and he had gotten on it. So I didn’t have to encounter him again.

Looking for Union Turnpike²⁷

My oldest long-distance running route I discovered by myself. No one on my road crew found it. On this route I go down Union Turnpike to Springfield Boulevard and then to Northern Boulevard, and back. When I first used to take this route, instead of going back to Springfield and home along Union Turnpike, I would forget to turn and keep going straight along Northern Boulevard. Many times I would get lost.

I would be only one or two blocks away from Union Turnpike, and I would start asking people where Union Turnpike was. Sometimes I would have to go back on Northern Boulevard to Springfield because I couldn’t find Union Turnpike.

Once I was actually standing on Union Turnpike and I asked someone where Union Turnpike was. My mind was so exhausted from my long run that day!

Keep going!²⁸

Today Pahar and I ran while Peter drove alongside us. We went on Union Turnpike to Springfield Boulevard and then to Northern Boulevard. At around seven and a half miles there was a very steep hill. I was dying, but Pahar was dancing inwardly and outwardly.

An elderly couple saw us running. The lady, who was quite fat, looked at me and said, “Keep going, keep going!” because I was panting so hard. I should have invited her to join us. I was dying and she had to say, “Keep going, keep going!”

Losing weight²⁹

When you have to lose weight, it is no joke. Today I took only four hundred calories and ran fifteen and a half miles — only to lose weight.

Usually I weigh more after I finish running than I did before I started. This time I decided to catch the culprit! Before I went out, I weighed my ERG bottle when it was full. It weighed one pound and three ounces. Then I subtracted the weight of the bottle — an ounce and a quarter. From now on after I run I will know how much I have gained from drinking.

The Toledo Marathon³⁰

The Toledo Marathon in 1979 was my best marathon. I did it in 3:55. It was so cold that day! Sometimes I was running on the left side so I could pass people, but sometimes I ran in between people to keep warm. In the beginning, before the sun came out, it was twenty-four degrees, so I was running in between people. Even so, at one point my back was freezing.

What's wrong with it?³¹

Before our four-mile race at Breezy Point this morning one man looked at me and asked his friend, “Who is that man?”

His friend told him who I was. Then the first man said, “Why is he running?”

The friend said, “Why not? What’s wrong with it?”

The hostile runner³²

Just before the four-mile run started, I was unfortunately standing beside a man who was very hostile. While Thomas was giving instructions to the runners, the man said, “Stop chirping!”

When Thomas asked for one minute of silence, the man said, “What nonsense!”

This same man finished far behind me in the race.

Pulin's last-minute victory³³

In the four-mile race, Pulin was behind me most of the way. When we turned around to go back at the two-mile point, I saw that he was behind me and I was very happy. Then after three and a half miles, he increased his speed and passed me. Then he went ahead of Hangsa. I said, “Good!” Then he went ahead of some other people. He was showing off.

Competing with the girls³⁴

When I reached the turnaround point in our four-mile race, I saw that Kumuda was behind me. My ego became so big and my chest expanded. But Karabi, her sister-in-law, was no good. After eight hundred metres she and Savita went ahead of me. At least I was ahead of Sunanda and Nilima for five hundred metres.

Barada was so nice to so many people. She started the race five minutes late, so she did not defeat me or any of the others who were ahead of me.

Susan's friend³⁵

During the race Susan was so nice! She was running with a small child. When I passed them on my way back from the turnaround point, Susan pointed at me and said, “That is Sri Chinmoy.” She had been telling the child all about me as they were running together.

Over-fifty competition³⁶

As one man was passing me, he asked, “How old are you, Sri?”

When I said, “Fifty,” he said, “Oh, you are great!” Then he went ahead of me.

At the awards ceremony I gave him the second prize in the over-fifty category. He was so happy to have defeated me! Perhaps I was third in that category.

The admirer³⁷

After the four-mile race, a man came up to me and told me that he had attended one of my disciples’ courses. He was very moved by the course, so he came to one of our Wednesday night public meditations. I was not there, but he is planning to come again.

The foliage run³⁸

After running our four-mile race, I ran the ten-kilometre or 6.2-mile Foliage Run in New Jersey. The course had good mile markers and it was very beautiful. The trees on both sides of the road gave shade and created a soothing atmosphere. These kinds of races are really good. Sometimes in the races with thousands of people you get lost.

The only problem was that at times the course was dangerous because of the cars. Even near the finish line two cars were driving in front of me and not allowing me to go by them. At another place there was a parked car and the runners couldn’t make a turn properly. Of course, this is because of the speed we were maintaining. The race officials were very careful that the front runners were unobstructed.

Also, there were many hills on the course — practically mountains. At one point, I walked about fifty metres up a very steep hill. I didn’t dare run up it. Everybody else was also walking.

Give me his cramps³⁹

In the Foliage Run a young man had given up after five miles. He was massaging his hamstring. Whenever I see a young runner getting cramps during a race, I pray to God, “O God, give me his cramps.” But God doesn’t listen to my prayers.

Young competition⁴⁰

From the start to the finish, I passed about thirty or forty people in the New Jersey race. Whenever I saw that someone was no more than ten metres ahead of me, I would run faster to catch him. Then, again I would see new people ahead of me and I would try to catch them.

One child about ten years old was competing with me mile after mile. He was not running; he was dancing and jumping. I didn’t see his feet touching the ground!

Then he saw a little girl who was younger than he was go ahead of us and his ego came forward. He could not bear it. He ran very fast to go ahead of me and catch her. Then he saw that she had stopped; she had surrendered. After five miles the little boy himself surrendered and I didn’t see him anymore.

Old runners⁴¹

When I am running and old people go ahead of me, I say, “How can they do that?” I forget that I too am old.

One old man finished the race and then he went back to run with his wife. His wife was only five metres ahead of me when he came to join her at about the five-and-a-half-mile point. I finished a little ahead of her. When she finished, she was breathing so hard that she was practicably screaming. She sounded as if she were dying.

Victory to Sarama⁴²

Like me, Sarama should have come to the Foliage Run after running our four-mile race this morning. She would have got another prize in her age group. This morning she was lucky because Ilona did not come; she was dreaming — fast asleep. Or perhaps Ilona had some bad injury or she had to go to work. Otherwise, she can defeat Sarama.

The missing place card⁴³

After the Foliage Run the officials were making announcements for runners to turn in their place cards. My card was just sitting on the grass near me. Finally Pahar saw it and went to return it. So I was one of the culprits in that respect. But they were not waiting for the place card of finisher number 236 — me. They were waiting for the cards of some of the top runners.

My pacer-coach⁴⁴

My coach, Pahar, ran with me today to pace me during the ten-kilometre race. I was running and he was jogging. Pahar is often my pacer for distances from one mile to twenty-six miles. But when I was his age I could definitely have defeated him. He is not an eleven-second sprinter. His timing for one hundred metres is fourteen seconds. In my entire athletic career I never ran the hundred so slowly! I started with twelve seconds and then improved. Of course, I was running without shoes — farmer’s feet — on a cinder track. Otherwise, my timing would have been better.

The shopkeeper's tip⁴⁵

After the Foliage Run I went into a bakery to buy prasad for all my helpers. The shopkeeper had a good soul. I asked her to put four pastries in one box and six in another. She said, “Yes, I will do it. I am pretty good in counting.”

I said, “Only last week when I was in Woodstock a lady gave me less than what I had paid for.”

The shopkeeper laughed and laughed. Then she gave me seventy-six cents change. I gave it back to her and said, “This is for you.”

She said, “This is awfully kind of you. I have been working here for five years, and I have never gotten any tips. You are such a nice man.”

Bad luck in losing weight⁴⁶

Before I ran this morning, I weighed 136 1/2 pounds. Then, after running both our four-mile race and the ten-kilometre New Jersey race, how much did I weigh? 138! I gained almost two pounds. And what did I have to eat all day? Only ERG and one piece of pizza. Bad luck!

Unrecognised⁴⁷

In the beginning of the Schaeffer five-mile run in Flushing Meadow this morning, I was standing right beside a man who was wearing one of our T-shirts, but he didn’t know who I was.

The lone runner⁴⁸

This morning when I was running, after about four miles I saw Nishtha and Savita. They were standing with folded hands. After I had completed five miles, I saw Lucy and Nilima coming up the hill from Union Turnpike. But today I was not planning to run with anybody because I wanted to run ten miles.

Editor's preface to the first edition

Sri Chinmoy’s interest in running dates back to his youth. At the ashram, or spiritual community, where he lived from the ages of 12 to 32, he was the top-ranked sprinter and, for two consecutive years, decathlon champion. It wasn’t until the fall of 1978, however, that he first became interested in long-distance running. Since then, he has pursued the sport with the same one-pointed intensity that he has brought to his various literary, artistic and musical pursuits. For Sri Chinmoy, running — like writing, painting and composing — is nothing but an expression of his inner cry for ever-greater perfection: perfection in the inner world and perfection in the outer world. “Our goal is always to go beyond, beyond, beyond,” he says. “There are no limits to our capacity, because we have the infinite Divine within us, and the Supreme is always transcending His own Reality.”

Sri Chinmoy regards running as a perfect spiritual metaphor. “Try to be a runner and go beyond all that is bothering you and standing in your way,” he tells his students. “Be a real runner so that ignorance, limitations and imperfections will all drop far behind you in the race.” In this spirit he has inspired countless individuals to “run” — both literally and figuratively.

“Who is the winner?” he writes in one of his aphorisms. “Not he who wins the race, but he who loves to run sleeplessly and breathlessly with God the Supreme Runner.” As a fully God-realised spiritual Master, Sri Chinmoy has consecrated his life to this divinely soulful and supremely fruitful task. At the same time, on an entirely different level, he has made some significant contributions to the sport of running. He was the inspiration behind several long-distance relays, including a recent 300-mile run in Connecticut and the 9,000-mile Liberty-Torch run through all the states held during the 1976 Bicentennial. He has composed several running songs, which his students have performed at a number of races. His students have sponsored Sri Chinmoy Runs throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia as an offering to the running community. Moreover, Sri Chinmoy has encouraged his followers around the world to take up running as a means of overcoming lethargy and increasing their spiritual aspiration on the physical plane. Two hundred of his disciples, for example — most of whom were novice runners — completed last years’s New York City Marathon.

In the year he has been running, Sri Chinmoy himself has completed seven marathons. He averages about seventy to ninety miles a week, with most of his running done late at night or in the early hours of the morning. During his runs he has been chased by dogs, accosted by hooligans, greeted by admirers and cheered on by children. Sometimes he has had significant inner experiences; other times he has suffered deplorable outer experiences. As a spiritual Master of the highest order, Sri Chinmoy views these experiences — both the divine ones and the undivine ones — with a unique perspective. The running world is nothing but the human world in microcosm, and Sri Chinmoy’s reminiscences stand as a remarkable commentary on the whimsical, poignant, funny, outrageous and, above all, supremely significant experience we call life.