Stutisheel Oleg Lebedev: Until I started to participate in the 3100 Mile Race, the culture of the multi-day races was unexplored. I knew that apart from the classic marathon distances 42.195 km, 24H races are carried out, 100 km, 50 km, etc. But here’s for a man to run a few days !?
Now, having behind nine finishes for 3100 Miles (PB is 48 days 4 hours – 2014), I can say that the multi-day races are totally different from the “one-day” starts, as I now call them. First of all, it is impossible to see the finish line with the mind … This creates a completely new approach in covering the distance.
Multi-day races can be divided into two categories: running for a time and running for a distance. The first include starts for 24, 48 hours, 6 and 10 days, etc. Second – everything where the distance is fixed, which must be run. For example, 3100 miles is the longest certified footrace in the world. If you just decide to take the first steps in multi-day runs, then the first kind is much “softer”. No matter what pace of your run, the competition ends after time runs out 🙂 … In running for a distance, quite often you need to meet daily mileage that is calculated from the deadline for the race . For instance, on 3100 Miles there is 52 days deadline. Hence the average daily distance is 98 km.
I was surprised to learn that the first multi-day “walk” took place over a hundred years ago: Edward Payson went 1,326 miles from Portland to Chicago in 25 days. And already in 1870, 75 000 spectators welcomed participants of a 6-day walk in USA, which began to be called the World Long Distance Championship. Over time, these competitions grew into running / jogging/walking. In 1880, Fred Hitchborn set a record of 565 miles (908.5 km) for 6 days and then, for 100 years, the interest in multi-day races disappeared …
Only in 1980 it was 6-day race comeback in California. In 1984, Yiannis Kouros became the first person to run above 1000 km in 6 days – he ran more than 1022 km. This record lasted until 2005, when Yiannis improved his own achievement – 1036 km, at Cliff Young Australian 6-day race.
In 1996, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team organized for the first time 10-day Self-Transcendence Race near New York. Since 1998, the team has been conducting a 6-day Race. Initially, those conditions that Sri Chinmoy offered on multi-day races were met reluctantly. Athletes ran in laps, about a mile long, and there were no financial rewards for the winners …
As for running around a small circle, it’s accepted world standard now. It turned out that it is much more convenient to serve runners and efficiently solve the everyday problems: food, drink, rest, massage, toilet, etc.
And about the cash prizes … It is interesting to note: despite the large amount that Payson received for the finish ($ 10,000) and further material incentives for athletes, this World Championship was extinguished. It also happens in a hundred years with many other competitions, in which the organizers put forward a material motivation. In 2008, for example, the famous run of the Cliff Young Australian 6-day race announced its latest start …
In my opinion, the true motives of people who participate in such difficult competitions lie far beyond earning money. One man who called the radio “Moscow speaks” during my live broadcast, refused to believe that for the finish in the 3100 Mile Race we get only cups and certificates. By the way, the full name of the competition – The Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race. Some hint of right attitude Sri Chinmoy put already to the title.