Lap 1 of 5,649 is complete at this year's running of the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, a 3,100-mile race around a single block in Jamaica Hills, Queens. First around the block was Ashprihanal (blue shirt, dark blue shorts, blue shoes), who would go on to lead the pack today with 172 laps — 94.39 miles!
The chicory is in bloom across the street from the Self-Transcendence 3100 racecourse, in a narrow, unkempt strip of greenery that runs alongside the Grand Central Parkway.
Because of work being done on Thomas Edison High School*, about a quarter of the Self-Transcendence 3100 racecourse is covered by sidewalk sheds this year. I assumed the runners would see these dreary, constricting structures as an ugly pain in the butt, but then one of the runners pointed out to me that the sheds will provide respite from the sun and the rain all summer long.
* Edison's website features an inadvertent tribute to the race. At the top of the home page is a picture of the school pulled from Google Street View. Taken in July 2012, the image shows two competitors in that year's race making their way around the block. (I believe the two runners are Pushkar and Baladev; Baladev is also taking part in this year's race.)
These candles, photos, flowers, and mementos were placed here in memory of Dillon Charles and Glenn Wade, two 23-year-olds who died in early April when their car crashed into this sidewalk shed outside Thomas Edison High School.
By the end of today, the first day of this year's Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race, all the runners will have already passed this memorial more than 100 times each.
Baladev and Atmavir pick up some donated treats (packs of Trader Joe's roasted seaweed) after completing a lap on Day 7 of the 2015 Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. A glance at the leader board reveals that Ashprihanal is still at the head of the pack, where he's been since he ran a remarkable 94.39 miles on Day 1.
Taken from My Race-Prayers, part 3, this is one of the many "race-prayers" spontaneously composed by Sri Chinmoy at the end of a footrace.
Cups of Cheerful Carrot Juice, Romanian Green Smoothy, and many other beverages have been set out for the runners of the 2015 Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race.
at the finish line of the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race
at the finish line of the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. He's the fourth person to finish the race this year, and is treated to the same victory songs and ambrosial cake as everyone else who completes the 5,649 laps of the block within the allotted 52 days. (The horn-like sounds you hear when people start cheering are made by guys blowing conch shells.)
Ashprihanal was the first to cross the finish line this year, and did so in record time: 40 days, 9 hours, 6 minutes, and 21 seconds, more than 23 hours faster than the previous record-holder.
