The Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race is the world's longest certified footrace.[1] In 1996 Sri Chinmoy created this event as a 2,700-mile (4,345 km) race. At the award ceremony that year he declared that the 1997 edition would be extended to 3,100 miles (4,989 km).
This race, which lasts several weeks, is hosted by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team and takes place every summer in Queens, New York, United States. The course is 3,100 miles (4,989 km) long. Runners negotiate 5,649 laps of one extended city block in Jamaica, Queens, bounded by 164th Place, Abigail Adams (84th) Avenue, 168th Street, and Grand Central Parkway— a distance of 0.5488 miles (883 m)—while the streets are in normal use.[2] The runners have 52 days to complete the distance, running from 6 a.m. to midnight, an average of 59.62 miles (95.95 km) every day. The prize is typically a T-shirt, a DVD, or a small trophy.[3]
History
The Self-Transcendence 3100 mile was founded by Sri Chinmoy out of his wish to create an opportunity for runners to discover the limits of their capacities and to try to go beyond them.[citation needed] Hence, the name "Self-Transcendence", which is appended to many of the footraces that the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team hosts. Since 1985 when the group first began holding races, the focus on the ultramarathon and multiday races has grown from the Ultra Trio, three races with staggered starts of 700, 1000 and 1300-mile duration that take place in September, and the spring races, which include the Self-Transcendence 6-Day race and one of a very few such races in the world, the Self-Transcendence 10-Day race.
In 1996 Sri Chinmoy created this event as a 2,700-mile (4,345 km) race. At the award ceremony that year he declared that the 1997 edition would be extended to 3,100 miles (4,989 km). The length of 3,100 is possibly a reference to the birth year of Sri Chinmoy, 1931.[4] The race has been run at this distance every year since.
In 2021, with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, organisers decided to move the start date for the race from its usual date, mid-June, to Sunday September 5, 2021.[6]
11 runners were selected for 2022 and the race took place from Sunday September 4 to Tuesday October 25.
Race
The race distance is the distance from the west to the east coast of the US, plus 11 marathons. In the early years there were drug dealers in the area and lawlessness—people did not want to leave their cars, which would have been stripped—but this has changed over the years. For their safety, only runners with proven ultra-running experience are encouraged to apply. The race is run daily, changing direction each day, whatever the weather, which has ranged from 38 °C (100 °F) heat to torrential downpour—runners sometimes carry umbrellas.[3] Competitors run among people going about their everyday lives, dodging pedestrians and cyclists, and occasionally large crowds for various events or celebrations.
Sri Chinmoy said that the Self-Transcendence challenges runners to "transcend their own previous capacity", "gain spiritual insights" and "overcome the entire world's pre-conceived notions of possibility". Runners have spoken of "the most overwhelming moment", "When you run a marathon, you feel good ... when you run 3,100 miles, you feel even better still".
Vegetarian meals are provided by volunteers from an improvised kitchen; runners need to eat constantly, burning 10,000 kcal a day. Runners have six hours at night for eating, washing, foot care and sleep before returning to the course for the 6:00am start.[3]
The race can be followed on the race website; regular updates for the participants are published there, and a webcam has been operating during recent years. An album of photo images is also published, several days a week, to record race activity.[7]
Records and winners
2012
Records
The world record is held by Ashprihanal Aalto (FIN) who finished with a time of 40 days 09:06:21 in July 2015, breaking the previous record of 41 days 08:16:29 held by Madhupran Wolfgang Schwerk[8] (GER). The women's record is held by Tsai Wen-ya (TWN) who completed 3100 miles in 45 days 12:28:44 in 2023. She broke the 48 days 14:24:10 record set by Kaneenika Janakova (SVK) in 2017. Suprabha Beckjord (USA) is the only person to have completed every edition of the race (until 2009). Ashprihanal Aalto has won the race nine times and participated 15 times.
List of winners
Winners of 700, 1000, 1300, and 2700 mile races (predecessors of 3100-mile Race)
Cunningham, Grahak: Running Beyond The Marathon - insights into the longest footrace in the world, eText Press Publishing, 2012, ASIN B00AK1J0WS
Emmaus, PA: Endurancs Special - An ultramarathon is one thing. But 3,100 miles around a city block is something else entirely. What does it take to endure the world's longest (and strangest) race?, Runner's World, Zürich 2007, OCLC 103305923
Ashprihanal Pekka Aalto (2015);
Tsai Wen-ya (2023)
