3100: Run and Become (2018) - full transcript

Meteorologist
Linda Church in New York City.

The next few days are
absolutely ridiculously hot.

Temperatures
climbing into triple digits.

We do have a heat advisory

that's in effect right now
until 7:00 p.m.

It's in effect again tomorrow in
all five boroughs of the city.

My feet
are baking, my face is sweating

and it feels like
105-110 degrees.

If
you can make your plans indoors,

please do so.

Don't go running around



trying to catch up on tennis, golf,
this, that and the other thing

'cause it's way, way too hot.

Very good, Ashprihanal.

And, uh, so what
are your plans for the next summer?

Are you, like,
planning to run?

Maybe the long race?

I need a break, you know,
it's just run, run, run, run.

I want a change.

Well, I mean,
if you think about it, you're...

You know, like...
Okay, you're 44?

- What is your age, by the way?
- 45.

Forty-five years young.

- Yeah. Yeah.
- That's why I feel

that, you know,
it maybe for you the last chance.



Yeah, but I have run so much that...
I have run enough, you know?

I just broke
the world record,

and also, you know,
I ran it 13 times, 3,100.

I've seen that block enough.

I've been running,
running, running like a...

...energizer bunny,
you know, around the same block.

At least you can try.

But maybe if you don't do it next
summer, it may be...

too late to do your best
anymore, you know.

Well, the thing is that
if I go there,

- then I have to try to win.
- Okay.

And then
I suffer again.

It's 2002.

Sri Chinmoy is inaugurating the
annual marathon held in his honor

in New York each August.

From his early years
at an ashram in India,

he was the champion sprinter,

winning 16 consecutive titles
in the 100-meter dash.

I
practiced meditation every day

at least for eight hours.

And by the grace of God,

I found there was no barrier

between spirituality
and athletics.

The inner life
and the outer life

can easily go together.

Sri Chinmoy was a
tireless advocate for world peace,

and he believed in the
unifying power of sports.

I am a student of peace.

I feel that physical fitness...

...is of paramount importance
in achieving peace.

He was a quintessential force

in the running boom
of the 1970s,

beginning the early editions of the New
York City Marathon with meditations.

And in 1997,

he launched the Self-Transcendence
3,100-Mile Race,

the longest certified
road race in the world.

Ashiprihanal,
our fastest runner,

so good, so good.

Since his passing in 2007,

thousands of his students
from all around the world

have continued his legacy to
promote peace through sports

and have touched
the lives of millions.

Even in his 70s,

despite punishing injuries
from decades of running,

he could not resist the allure of the track.

He once wrote,

"God's philosophy is
simpler than the simplest.

Never give up.

Never give up."

Okay!
Attention, please!

So, we welcome everyone
to the 20th Annual

Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence
3,100-Mile Race.

What really makes this race
special is its spiritual focus.

The 3,100-Mile Race really is the
embodiment of Self-Transcendence.

But this is the only race that
I might say that can guarantee

to the runners

that no matter when you
cross the finish line,

or how many miles you do,

you will be changed,

and you will be changed
for the better.

Okay, I have to say
one more thing.

Sri Chinmoy gave me
the permission

that if I decide
to pull you out of the race,

you are out of the race
for whatever reason.

If there's something going on,
you have a problem,

and I say
you're out of the race,

you are out of the race
and it's not a question.

Okay, is that
clear to everyone?

That's very important. Okay?

Thank you very much.

Good luck!

You never know
what you're gonna get in the race.

I'm simple, I don't...

Some people believe
you have to have

this and this food or this
and this vitamins, or...

All that doesn't really
matter right, so much.

The main thing is to be
spiritual and meditate.

I'm actually trying
to imagine in what way

I would be different
after the race.

And this kind of
often keeps me going.

For me,
the goal is to transform myself,

to become a better person.

And running itself
is a meditation,

so, it's nice.

Okay,
good morning, ladies and gentlemen,

and welcome to the
20th Annual Sri Chinmoy

Self-Transcendence
3,100-Mile Race.

I'd like to
introduce the runners.

From Vienna, Austria,

she's done
over 1000 miles.

She's done multi-days
for many decades,

please welcome
Shamita Achenbach-Konig.

Also from
Vinnytsya, Ukraine,

he's ranked
11th of all time,

he has three finishes
of best of 45 days,

sixteen hours,
Yuri Trostenyuk!

And our top ranked runner
who is ranked number one.

He has 13 finishes,
eight victories.

He broke the record by 23 hours
and ten minutes last year,

reaching 3,100 miles
in 40 days,

nine hours, six minutes
and 21 seconds,

please welcome
from Helsinki, Finland,

the great
Ashprihanal Aalto.

Gentlemen and lady runners,

take it one day at a time,

one lap at a time.

Enjoy the race.

Run with energy,
run with lightness,

run with
childlike qualities

and your mind won't
bother you as much.

Okay, we'll have a one
minute of silent meditation,

if all the runners could
line up behind the line here.

This is the start line going
in the clockwise direction.

Five, four,
three, two, one, go!

Good luck!

Hey, Shamita,
we got you...

I sometimes,
like, talk to myself.

A little bit crazy.

So, last year after this race,

when I went home
I realized that

I'm not quite recovered
the way I thought I was.

I was delivering papers.
That was my only training.

But I went to Arizona,

and there's a
big Indian reservation.

Navajo.

And there's this
race that I ran,

it's such
a beautiful race.

Thirty-five miles,

but still kind of easy.

Navajo culture
is always to run,

in the morning
towards the east.

So we start
towards the sunrise.

Really, I loved it,
you know.

It was so beautiful,
the canyon.

Beautiful nature.

And then the race
started with this

Indian, uh, spiritual ceremony.

You run
to celebrate life.

You run because
it's a form of prayer.

You can go to any hogan

during a ceremony and listen
to a medicine man pray.

But you can pray, too,
through your feet,

through your breath.

Because running
is a prayer.

You're speaking to mother
earth with your feet,

you're breathing in father sky.

That is a prayer.

You're telling them,
you're asking them for blessings,

you're showing them
that you're willing to work

for that prayer,
for those blessings.

And while you're
out there running

you learn
about the land,

the sky,

the creator, the holy people,
and you make a connection.

When you make
that connection...

...you will be a champion.

You will become a warrior.

Finishing at 90409...

In seventh place...

He's from Finland.

He ran the Transcendence
3,100-Mile Race

and set a
new course record.

This thing, they run around that
one city block in New York...

Oh, that one.

...for 3,100 miles.

What?

So, when he
was at the turnaround,

he was there
about ten seconds

and then he skipped
down to scramble.

He skipped down,
and I'm like,

"Yeah, he's just
getting warmed up."

A guy that's become very
near and dear to my heart...

...Ashprihanal Aalto.

So, I did run there.

But in my eyes,
I really didn't train at all.

Ashprihanal, wow, 56.

Very good.

He's running as well
as he was running last year.

Record breaking pace.

Surasa, 53.

Human beings evolved to
run great distances for survival.

In Southern Africa,

the Kalahari Desert
is a hard, dry land.

Yet, the San Bushmen
of the Kalahari

have thrived
in this bitter land

for over 100,000 years.

Key to their survival is the ancient
art of persistence hunting...

...chasing their prey on foot.

With keen eyes and swift legs,

men hunt meat
for their families

and all the people
who live together.

So, they'll just
run after it?

- Yeah.
- Mmm-hmm.

To become hunters,

boys must being early to
learn the ancient techniques

of running, shooting
and tracking.

And I understand
that the government

has now imposed a hunting
ban on the bushmen.

Can you tell me
a little bit more about this

and how it's affecting
your people?

Mmm.

In local news,

dangerous temperatures
across the area,

a heat advisory
now in effect.

It is a real summer scorcher.

Temperatures in the 90s today
and if you have to be outside,

you know the heat index
had to be even higher.

The subway,
it was just sweltering.

CBS2's weather team's
got every angle covered,

Vanessa Murdock shows us how the intense
heat is affecting people outside.

First, Lonnie
Quinn is monitoring the temperatures,

and also some possible storms...

What's difficult
about this race?

Sixty miles a day,
18 hours on your feet.

Okay. And the guy that just went
by, Ashprihanal,

how can you explain that a guy
that's done this race 13 times

he's on number 14 now?

Um, he's a bird.

He's tiny.

But how can you explain him
doing last year 76.776 miles a day?

- When he hadn't done that?
- He is the best in the world

right now from a
physiological standpoint,

and he's better mentally
than he is physiologically.

That's how
you explain that.

People don't know
that he

hiked solo the
Appalachian Trail

- and the Pacific Crest Trail...
- Yeah, you told me that.

When he was 21 years old.

Yeah, you told me that, yeah.

- And that builds strength that never goes away, you know.
- That builds strength.

Ray, what about
mental training?

How can somebody approach this?

Do they need a coach?

Or do they need
their life experience

to get through
something like this?

Life experience more
than a coach or anything.

I think mental toughness
is overrated.

No amount of
mental toughness

is gonna get us
to something we can't do.

Huh?

Uh-huh.

I would
insist that she make a break

so that she can digest.

- Yeah, okay, okay.
- If she eats and drinks and eats,

the stomach always, uh...

Yeah, yeah, yeah,
always working.

It's mixing,
it doesn't digest.

Does not really,
really works perfect.

But if it's so hot,
you have to drink. And...

Now she's
making a break, yeah, Shamita.

- Right now?
- Now, yes.

Yeah.

She's totally exhausted.

So, are you excited
about the race upcoming?

Of course.

I mean, it's a long,
long preparation.

Like, in January,
I decided to do this.

And you grow
into this project.

In the beginning,
it's like overwhelming,

- like for many, many parts.
- Mmm-hmm.

For your mind, and for your
emotions, and everything.

And then you start training,
and then you come a little bit into it.

When you were saying that
so many people ask you

if you are going
to run the race,

and you were actually thinking
maybe, maybe.

I was dead against it

because I almost
lost you 20 years ago

- when you did a 100 kilometer race...
- Mmm-hmm.

- ...in Vienna and you almost died.
- Mmm-hmm.

Um, I mean, this is something
that always accompanies you,

but I'm not afraid of it.

Because, um,
I'm not afraid of it.

Of course, yeah,
when we die we die,

but we also have to live
when we live.

Petra! She's awake.

I took a little
rest, it was half past two.

Congratulations.

Go that way.

She's a great
runner, you know,

that she recovered
so quickly.

You know, from based on
what happened in the heat,

it shows you what
kind of shape she's in.

But what happens when
it gets hot, you know?

It's not hot yet.

What happens
when it gets 96-97?

The race will
find your weakness,

and if you can't overcome
that, that's a problem.

The race is
merciless like that.

It will find a weakness
and magnify it.

How do you
define a real running race?

If it's a real running race,

then you have
to cut your hair

while you're in the
middle of the race.

All other races are
just considered sprints.

You get up and you run
every morning before the sun rises,

as the sun
is rising because

the sun rises the
birth of a new day.

When I was going into the fourth
grade, my dad said

"Do you know why I make
you run every morning?"

I said,
"No, you're mean?"

He said, "No,

because when I was in the fourth
grade, I ran for my life."

This is the...

Little Colorado river wash
right here.

This is the echo, this...
Oh, right there...

Oh, this is
Canyon Diablo right here.

That boarding school where we ran
away from was down the river here.

We ran that
mostly at nighttime.

Do you know how
old you were when you...

I can't remember, six, five,
six, something like that.

They were instilling in
me false information about

George Washington
and Abraham Lincoln

and Ben Franklin were
my forefathers and...

Which, you know,
it wasn't true.

And they made us eat soap if
we got caught speaking Navajo.

The saying was,

"Kill the Indian
and save the man."

- Run carefully.
- Yeah.

See you guys.

Happy running.

Yeah, it's like...
This race feels...

After a week of running it feels
like it's gonna go on forever.

So everything gets
kind of tougher.

Like foot problems.

These things.

Once the skin gets harder,
and like chafing also.

In the beginning
I always get but...

Even though I put so much
corn starch...

But still, the body
is kind of adapted,

except maybe to the heat.

This kind of exhaustion
and heat problems,

they... they can come any time.

But now, I really
haven't felt my normal.

I've been coughing and...

God knows what I have.

It's been going on
for quite a while now.

So the plans can
change always here.

You never know,

If I can get well,

then I can start flying again.

Hey, Ashprihanal.

Um, like when I did it,
I was going home at maybe 11:30, 11:35.

And then, about
day 27 or day 28,

you know, I realized I was kind
of on the wire to finish this...

...and I better
start, stop slacking.

Middle of the
day is the hardest part.

Right, exactly.

The thing is
about this race

you really need to be
out here all the time.

You know, as much
as you possibly can.

Excellent, Surasa, gotcha.

Yeah, you gotta be like
military about it.

You gotta be military
about your shower,

you gotta be military
about, you know,

somebody's giving you
a massage, you're like,

"Okay, that's it."

You know,
you gotta eat, you know.

For example Ashprihanal,

who's going around and,

when he set the
world record last year,

he made it a policy
to be in bed by 12:34.

You know,
that was his goal,

to be in at 12:34.

And then I think
he was up at like, 5:37.

No, it really was,
it was like that.

Gotcha, Yuri.

That's amazing,

the capacity of
the human being,

whether you run a marathon
or you run a race like this.

Okay, you feel pain,
you feel suffering,

but then, you forget
about all that stuff.

Excellent, Shamita, I gotcha.

Okay, I'll start.

Talking to myself
is a little funny.

Um...

Yesterday was
a very, very hot day,

I think 38 degrees Celsius.

And I started quite gentle.

I drank a lot,

I got all my supplements.

And in the afternoon
I felt really like,

totally exhausted,
oh, my God.

Took a little bit of rest,

and then I started
walking again,

and running and
walking and running.

And then
four hours later,

I went to see
our doctor here.

And then he said,
"Wow, no,

you are a little
bit dehydrated."

So... I got liquid,

a lot of liquid.

And of course I asked God

why does it have to be
so, so intense.

But today I'm not
risking anything,

so I'm having
a walking day today.

I had a long talk with a
doctor from Germany today about, uh...

What did he say?

He said
that when it gets hot,

we just have to keep a
closer eye on the runners,

make sure they
drink their electrolytes.

And then he, uh,

said a few things
about Shamita,

we just have to
watch her in the heat.

She can't push
beyond her capacity.

I kept telling her,
"You don't handle the heat well."

And she agrees?

Well, I don't know
if she agreed,

but I got my message through.

I said "We're asking you
to stop running."

And, I had to repeat it
over and over again,

but I made it clear that

she's not going to run again.

- Yeah. We all agree.
- Yeah.

We surrender

what we have
and what we are

to the supreme pilot.

What we have is our eagerness

to become
His perfect instruments,

in his own way.

And what we are,

at this moment,

is nothing short of

a veritable beggar,

a helpless child,

in the densest forest.

Okay, let's get
the stuff out.

Okay, let's get this stuff...
Are you sure?

There we go.

Hi, Rupantar here,

day 21

of the Self-Transcendence
3,100-Mile Race

and the race marches
on and takes its toll.

Started with 12 runners
now we have 10.

Voldamir and Shamita
are no longer in the race.

And wow, Ashprihanal
is in fourth place.

Sometimes you just
have to surrender

to the obstacles that
the race presents

and there's always
another day to run.

And, signing out.

When Guru passed away,

it was like, kind of a gap.

Something was missing.

But, he's still guiding us

to stay inspired.

That's what keeps me going.

He really liked the race.

It was his favorite.

All right,
everybody to the start please, downhill.

Everybody to the start.

All right, it's gonna be
a very cool day,

a good day to
get your miles in.

All right, runners,

on your marks, go!

I did two
70-mile days now in a row,

but all before that...

...for many days

I was like,

how is it that
I'm pushing and pushing

just to get 60 miles?

And that's not normal, I knew.

Because I was actually trying
my best many days.

It wasn't that I was
just fooling around,

people maybe thought so.

I was coughing for a week,

I was cold.

There was one day
I only was walking,

and that was
when I felt this

burning in my lungs,

it was so bad.

And now this
toe is hurting.

So I have to
tape it next lap.

So it's really

my hardest race this year.

You know, I feel like

my life is one big circle.

Especially when
you realize that

there's thousands
of miles to go.

Tomorrow's disciple

will be the fastest
spiritual runner.

His code of life

will be to run

and become
and become and run.

He'll run in order to succeed,

he'll become
in order to proceed.

At times he will run
and reach the goal,

at times the goal

will come to him.

You know, growing up,

getting up and running

every morning down the road,
it was one thing...

It was one thing
to hear the stories

of boarding schools,

and the trails that

taught you how
to become the person you became.

So, the significance
of this run for me is

that my son, and my daughter,

can receive the same,

the same teachings.

It was hard times.

We didn't know
the dangers were there.

There were kids that

freezed to death,

died of thirst, dehydration,

just running out there.

I intentionally
pushed myself

when I was a kid

to hurt while we ran.

To try to
experience those things

that you experienced.

For the same reasons you ran,

I think, I think,

deep down,
that's why I ran too.

I can't lift my leg.

Good morning.
Rupantar here, day 35

of the Self-Transcendence
3,100-Mile Race.

We've never had
a race this close.

Today's headline,

Yuri from Ukraine is running
the race of his life.

He has risen to second place

with Ashprihanal
nipping at his heels.

The question is whether
he will ultimately

hold off Ashprihanal,

who has finally broken
out of his doldrums.

And here comes one of
the brave warriors now.

Good morning, Yuri.

And let us see
what today has to offer.

So, one morning,

when I was running here,

I realized that
I had been fooled.

Because the brochure
about the race

said that

you're going to have
a nice sunny vacation

with friends,

all you can eat buffet...

...in the
capital city of the world,

with, you know,

great culture,

many people around.

Yeah. Like a great place
to spend your vacation here.

Looking good, Yuri!

And what happened was that,

I didn't read the little text
in the brochure because,

in America,

everything you buy in
America has this little text.

Oh, if you drink coffee

you might burn your tongue
and your mouth,

or you drown in it

if you put your whole
head in your cup.

These kinds of
warnings always.

So, when I had a break,

I went to see the brochure

and I saw the little text.

And then, I read it,

and it said things like,

"Even though it's
all you can eat buffet,

you're not gonna
gain any weight,

you're gonna lose weight."

And then it said, like,

"The sunny vacation
with friends

will be all 17-hour,

all day military training."

And that was my mistake.

I forgot to read
the little text.

Four people
have been in the lead

at some point or another
in this race

and it's lead to this very
interesting situation now,

where, at day 36,

which is a comparatively
late stage of the race,

you know, you've got
the three leading runners

at 16 miles apart.

You have, for example,

Ashprihanal at
a very early stage

having to deal
with cough and fever.

You know, but then, Vasu,

having to deal with
foot blisters now

probably for something like
a week and a half, two weeks.

You know, Atmavir has been,

compared to previous years,

has actually been doing
really, really well.

And the only one who has
remained comparatively

problem-free has been Yuri.

Excellent Yuri, 41.

Good, good, good.

It's not so much
a competitive thing.

I think Ashprihanal
doesn't really care

whether he finishes
third, second or first.

But I think there is a modicum
of competitiveness inside him

- that still burns.
- Yeah, exactly.

And he knows he's
only got 740 or 760 miles left.

Yeah.

And it's not that hard for him.

And once maybe the heat breaks

he could pick it up to 70,

and then whoever
comes along with him

will come along.

Yes, excellent.

So you're back out
from your break.

Good, good, good.

Also, what this race does,

it exposes everything
about you,

- whether you want it to happen or not.
- Yeah.

Your emotions are
right on your sleeve.

And so, you have to
really have that control.

And I think only through

the power of meditation,

it's not just
a control of the mind,

- but going deep within it.
- Yeah, exactly.

I think it can help you

to get through blisters

or the heat-related episodes

or just so many darn miles.

Run and become,

we run, we become.

We run in the outer world,

we become in the inner world.

Inspiration

helps us run

toward the length
and breadth of the world.

It helps us

run far, farther, farthest.

A chosen instrument
of our beloved Supreme.

Inspiration
tells us to look around

and thus feel

and see boundless light,

energy, power.

Aspiration tells us
to dive deeply

and enjoy boundless
delight, nectar, bliss.

At every
moment, we are transcending

our achievements.

we are transcending
what we have

and what we are.

At every moment
through running,

to become, belong,

to become something great,

sublime, divine and supreme.

Today's goal

is the starting point
for tomorrow's new dawn.

Hi, good morning,
Rupantar here.

Day 46, the story is Yuri.

Holding off Ashprihanal's push.

The two top
will finish tomorrow.

Okay, got a lot of

activity now to prepare,

and signing off.

Okay, Vasu, 90.

It's shaping up to be

the closest finish
we've ever had in this race.

Yuri, four, five days ago,

had a 27-mile lead
on Ashprihanal.

- Okay, good, gotcha.
- And then Sunday,

here comes Ashprihanal

and he throws up a 76.

Ashprihanal is gaining,

you know, four to five
to six miles, everyday.

Um...

And, you know,
slowly inching up,

slowly inching up.

Um... Particularly...

Excellent Yuri, I got you!

Today, you know, I was
counting earlier on today,

and you could see
for a couple of hours there,

it was a little bit

beginning to get
at Yuri, you know.

Somehow, you know,
this feeling,

this guy's coming up at me,

he's gaining a mile,

a mile and a half every hour.

And somehow
you just feel that

at some point
he just made a decision

that I'm not going
to let this get at me.

As a lover of competition,

because it usually brings out
the best in you,

just as long as you
can keep it gentlemanly.

And they are,
I mean, they know.

Okay Ashprihanal.
I have you.

In order
for Ashprihanal

to get a legitimate chance
of winning in the race,

starting tomorrow,

assuming they have about

12 to 15 miles to go,

could be less,

depending upon how
they push it tonight.

I would say he has to be

- between one and two miles behind.
- Exactly.

And he'll gain ground
on Yuri tomorrow,

but it's gonna be really tight.

- Could be a hand-in-hand finish.
- Yeah.

And for me,
the last few days, it's like going...

...almost to
my last year's standard.

And, Yuri has

raised his own standard
to a new level.

And because I'm doing
75 miles, 76 mile days

he also started doing more.

I'm making
them suffer a little bit.

Because I'm sure he would
like to just do 65 miles.

But, this is not only a
spiritual journey or something,

it's a race!

It's my meditation,

that's what keeps me going.

He's a bird.

It's too far,

it's too long,

it's too hot.

I've seen
what he can do,

but I don't know

if there's anything left

to be able to do more.

And I'm running for my Guru.

Run, run, run, run, run.

It's my meditation,

that's what keeps me going.

Hi, good morning.

It's day 47,

Self-Transcendence
3,100-Mile Race,

and what an evening we had.

Ashprihanal, wow, 86 miles.

Picking up the pace

as the finish line

becomes more
clearer and clearer

and nearer and nearer.

Okay, runners
to the start please!

Runners to the start please!

Downhill.

Runners to the start.

Okay, runners,

to your marks, go!

Last night I did my best.

It was kind of my last shot.

But then,
Yuri kept going faster.

What happens,
happens, you know.

Here we go.

Who is the winner?

Not he who wins,

but he who has established

his cheerful oneness
with the result,

he who loves to run sleeplessly
and breathlessly with God,

a supreme runner,

he who requires
only one thing,

God's satisfaction
in God's own way.

I mean,
I try to win the races,

and I often do.

But that's not the main thing.

The goal is to do your best

and then you are happy
with whatever happens.

That's a good feeling.

What do you say about someone
who's done this race 14 times?

No?

Protect them
on the road,

on their way,
on their endeavors,

the opportunities
that they have...