"Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own"   Sri Chinmoy

Sri Chinmoy 7 Hour Walk - Goose Pond Park, Jamaica, Queens - April 2024

Twelve months after my unforgettable experience in the 2023 7-Hour Walk, the year had turned full circle and I found myself once again on the startline of this sacred event, which on this occasion was celebrating Sri Chinmoy's 60th Arrival Anniversary. This time, my goal was to transcend last year's mileage by completing 35 miles rather than 34. I also wanted to be in the mix for a win, but I knew that was out of my hands. There are so many stellar ultra-distance runners who might take part, it's hard to know what the standard is going to be!

The conditions were certainly in my favour - like any Brit, I'm used to blustery wind and rain (especially after the last 6 months in England & Wales which have been incessantly wet and windy) and that was what we had in store. Compared to last year I was a little better trained, having got some 2-3 hour speedwalks and an ultra trail-run already under my belt. I also had Kokila lined up as my helper, which in theory was going to save me some time and mental energy.

At the start I lined up with Nirbhasha, Bharu, Milan, Pramodan, Pataka, Peter and also Susan and Andrea who were just out of my eyeline and I hadn't noticed them come up to the front. That was a line-up including several elite multiday racers - illustrious company. First came the briefing from Prataya, which unlike most race-briefings, focussed on the spiritual rather then the physical. Sri Chinmoy's advice to offer gratitude not just every mile, but as often as possible, was echoing in our ears as we fell silent for a short meditation then sung The Invocation. Next, more silence, as the seconds ticked by towards 8am, then a countdown from Medhur, then the conch was blown and we strode out into the rain-soaked park. As expected, I saw Nirbhasa go off quickly and I went with him. Then Andrea came past us looking supremely calm, confident and just about unbeatable. As he so often does. Immediately I was recalibrating my goal as a race for 2nd or 3rd - he has that kind of aura that you think he's won as soon as he starts!

The early laps were quite fast, though according to my watch not quite up to last year's breakneck pace - and the bunch soon whittled down to Andrea out front and me desperately trying to hang on behind him. I tracked him closely for the first hour, lost him after a quick loo break then caught up with him again (a little to his surprise, I think) as the rain came down and the second hour begain to tick by. I stuck to my race plan, taking energy gels on the half hour and forcing myself to eat my way through a banana, peanut butter and honey roll on the hour. I got 2 of those down me which was hard work but worth it. Later I switched to baby food. Kokila was right on it with the feeding, also getting liquid magnesium down me whether I wanted it or not (and it did the trick). Vilas was a faultless lap-counter too, giving me a shout every time. There was plenty of encouragement around the course, from the drink-servers, other walkers, Suswara and Amalendu by the scoreboard and countless others who were spending their daytime hours watching the race in the park, or just passing through on the way to or from a meditation or music practice.

Mid-race I lost touch with Andrea and found myself a couple of laps ahead of Bharu and about 3 ahead of Nirbhasa. I felt the effects of the sustained race-pace effort as the miles unwound and the weather got worse. Legs felt heavy, body drained, I was also a little nauseous, but I was able to catch on to a train headed up by Nirbhasa and force myself to stay onboard. The train went on for a couple of hours, with Nirbhasa mostly in the driving seat and myself, Milan, Bharu and a resurgent Karteek also in the mix. Marek soon slotted in too and we forged our way round the loop in the rain, either splashing through the puddles or weaving around them to save our feet. I was drinking the salt/maple drink they were handing out at the middle of the figure-8 course (so that single station gives 2 drinking opportunities in each half-mile lap) and varying my feeding plan, but still getting something down me every half hour. Bharu was getting stronger and I realised that with only 2-and-a-bit laps between us he could easily overtake me in the remaining hours. Staying strong through the really sickening and tiring section was the real test of the race, but the early feeding helped and the magnesium too. I also began to feel a seemingly supernatural force pushing me up the hill on each lap - like a gentle tailwind. This brought back the realisation that the race was in essence an experience of divine grace acting in and through 150 walkers - each having a unique experience in response to that force. The more I was able to keep my mind filled with songls playing on a loop and gratitude and positive thoughts, the better I was able to push myself through the rough hours.

Eventually I had to take another quick loo break with just under 2 hours left - that opened the door to Bharu to ease past me and get into that less-than-2-laps- behind zone I had been trying to stave off. He accelarated and I had to give it everything to stay with him at the back of the train. Eventually, I couldn't stay with his pace as he, Marek and Karteek stormed away from me on the loop. By this time, though, the suffering had passed and I was able to push a reasonable pace on my own without being in a pack. Some energy drink and coke and various other concoctions (energy sweets, ginger tea, caffeine gels) kept the wall at bay and I never quite blew up. I could see Bharu half a loop up ahead of me (therefore in reality one and a half behind) and I managed to start dragging him back with a hard effort. With an hour to go I was still more than a lap ahead and pretty solidly in second place. So it stayed and soon Suswara was telling me I had matched last year's mileage - then Kokila encouraged me to keep pushing and go for the 35 miles. I crossed the line with around 4 minutes to go and 35 miles in the bag. What an amazing race!

Sacred Steps Home