unn1n the distance

A unique 24-hour race has an unusual aim: self-improvement

Sydn ey's Blacktown

Spo rts P ark hosted the annual Sri Chinmoy 12 a n d 24Hour Race on J une 14 and 15 and no, it is nor a car rally, it is a running race.

He ld aro un d a 400 - merre athletics crack, the ultra-runners in the main event start at 1 0arn on a Samrday and finish on 1 0am on Sw1day.

With competitors facing exh austion, bad weather, blisters, no prize money and cnnsidetable financial and time commitments ju st to partic ipate, you might we ll as k: why would someo n e do this? Well, it is all done in tbe name of 'self- tran scendence,' a te rm Indian running guru an d race founde r Sri C h inmoy used to describe going beyond o nes present capacities. Runners are encouraged to sec go als and compete witb themselves. To u y ha rd and dig deep The distances competitors cover and the personal go als they set, forces them to Q\7etcome hurdles like doubt and discomfort, and ar the e nd of the event tbey come out having achieved so m ething momentous

Spokesman for the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team (SCMT), the volunteer group which conducts the Sydney 24- Hour event, Prachar Stege mann said , "When we c hallenge a n d improve ourselves, the wor.ld arow1d us improves with u s Each step the runners take, if iris done in t h e r igh r spirit, can add to the idea that each one of us can contribute to a bette r p lace".

The SCMT is one of the largest conductors of fitness events in the wor.ld. Run entirely b y volunteers, it w as found ed by Sri Chinmoy to promo te running to the public As a numer h imself, he encouraged people from all ages and bac kgrounds to work on their fitness to maintain a balance between tbeir inner and outer life.

"The inner file and tbe outer file must go rogether," he stared "The bod y i s like a te mple and the soul o r inner reality is like tbe s hrine in side the body- temple. If the t emple does n ot have a shrine, then we cannot appreciate t he tem ple Again, if we do not keep the rem pie in good condition, then how can we take proper care of the shr ine?"

T h e Sydney 24- Hour, like all SCi'vIT events, a sks co m petitors to have a few moments' silence before the start g un to contemp late going deeper wit hin and to pe rh aps combine the activiry of running and meditation.

This year , every competitor got into the sp ir i t of Lrying their best. Some competed for the first rime, others attempted to remain cheerful despite injuries or difficulties, many set pers o nal bests and some re- wrote the record books

Pro ving that age is no b arrier, the o pen 24-HoLtr race was ta ken o u t by the sixry-one -year-o ld New Zeala ndet Bryan McCorkingdale, runnin g 223km in th e allotted 24 hours He won a clo se tussle fr om Wodonga atWete Kevin Muller (221 km).

T h e female champion was Meredith Quinlan who ran 2 15 km but i t was in t he 12-Hour that some of the m o st impressive res ults came, West Australian psych o logist

Bernadette Benson travelled die long di stance co Sydney and came inro the race with a mission to run fast and rake hom e so m e records In a gritty and focused performance she c overed a remarkable 133 kilometres.

A m ongst man y others, she now holds Ope n Australian 12-hour, 24- honr, 100mile, and 200- km records "He r speech at the awards ceremony was memorab le," com111ented 24- Hour race director Martin Fryer.

"S he broug h t all the runne rs into her vi ctory, by explai ning h ow s he had watche d o d1ers going throug h their own rough rimes and drawing on the strength and courage d1ey all showed".

" Runners band together to encourage each other," mentions Bernadette o n her blog "Going past peop le, I'd get snippets o f conversations where people were talkin g about thei r goals, their revised goals, and their challenges, and getting support from others who, in fact, were their competi ti o n! \Xfhat other kind of race is like this?"

The event was certainl y an inspira tion to the man y wellwis h ers, competitors and helpers who attended and it will all be happeni ng agai n in 2015.