Karteek's Marathon

"After a long and gruelling 5 ½ hours I hobbled up the grassy bank to the finish line."

Two basic problems were apparent before I started this race. Firstly, I had done no training as I had spent most of the previous 6 months either in swimming pools, lakes or bits of ocean training for my English Channel swim. Secondly, there was a serious problem with my right knee.

After a long and gruelling 5 ½ hours I hobbled up the grassy bank to the finish line. Most people had already finished, been swimming in the local pool, showered and had lunch.

My only consolation came a few days later when Ashrita told me he had done a marathon in 5 hours 45 minutes. His best friend had jokingly told him not to eat for three days. He took it seriously and started the marathon feeling rather depleted.

Next year I shall either improve or devise such an excuse.

Karteek Clarke, Edinburgh

Race stories - more articles

About the author:

Tejvan organises short-distance running and cycling races for the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in his home city of Oxford. He is also a very good cyclist, having won the National hill climb championships in 2013 and finished 3rd in the National 100 Mile Time Trials in 2014.

Vilas Silverton of the Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team recently completed a 5,474km cycle ride across Australia - as part of the Indian Pacific Wheel Race.

Vilas from Bristol, England started in Perth on 17 March and finished in Sydney nearly four weeks later. The route crossed the wide uninhabited plains of Western Australia before passing through the cities of Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. During the race, Vilas rode mostly unsupported, often sleeping in make-shift shelters and buying his food on the way. For over 3,000 miles Vilas had to contend with heat, traffic, fatigue, long straight sections of headwind, the weight of his equipment, and the occasional temperamental kangaroo.

Vilas got inspired to do the ride after following the race in previous years and seeking a new personal target for self-transcendence in cycling.

In preparing for the race, Vilas attempted a few long audax rides through Great Britain, including a ride from Bristol to Glasgow and back. Over the cold English winter, Vilas completed several weeks of high mileage. However, his preparation was hampered by a knee injury from January to March, which meant little training in the final months. But, after an eventful few weeks, Vilas was able to complete the full distance finishing in Sydney.

Interview with Tejvan Pettinger

Q. What inspired you to do the race?

I followed the race closely last year, and I felt great joy in the heart at the prospect of entering the race.

Q. How did you prepare?

I rode the bike a lot! I built up over the year and completed some periods of high mileage. Though in Jan I injured my knee - so from Jan to Feb - I didn't ride much. And I needed to calm fears about not being able to train and even whether I would even be able to enter. But, after the good training in Dec, I felt I would be OK.

Q. How did you find ride itself?

Riding on the narrow roads was quite challenging. With cars passing close by, I found I was frequently inspired to pray for protection while cycling!

There were many challenges which made the ride more testing. On the first day, I was sick and this continued for much of the first week; as a result, I had to recalibrate my timescale. I just tried to ride as much or little as I could without worrying about time. The main objective was to finish. The fact I was sick meant I didn't physically push too much - it was an effort just to complete what seemed like the minimum.

During the ride, I learnt to be more tolerant and understanding of myself and other people. The various tests highlighted the importance of patience and resilience.

During the ride, I tried to be grateful for the moment and enjoy. When cycling I turned my phone off to avoid being distracted and gain an excuse to stop and break my rhythm.

Q. What did you enjoy about the event?

Meeting people by the side of the road who were following the ride on GPS tracking. For example, when I reached Adelaide, I found people were there to support and offer encouragement - I was grateful to meet people who were handing out food, and on some occasions putting me up for the night. Special thanks to friends in the Sri Chinmoy Centres in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne.

Q. How did you feel about finishing?

I felt relieved, somewhat elated while also being quite tired. When I finished, I discovered a group of riders who had finished earlier were waiting at the steps of the Sydney Opera House. Very unexpected and beautiful. I was also happy not to be riding anymore!

Q. How do feel a week after the race has finished?

It's a really long way! But it is nice to hear people were inspired by the event.

Related

Preparation for the Indian Pacific Wheel Race 2018
My first Audax Ride - by Vilas

View full article »

About the author:

Nirbhasa is originally from Ireland but currently lives in Reykjavik, Iceland. He is an enthusiastic multi-day runner, having completed four times the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race - the longest race in the world.

Hiyamallar Shalom spent a few days with our eleven-time Channel Swimmer Karteek Clarke in his Edinburgh home, and pressed him for a few stories about his Channel swimming feats:

Picture this: it is a beautiful summer morning, and you are awakened by the sound of Bach being played on the violin as the sun splashes through the windows of your room in a lovely tree-lined city with almost fairytale architecture...idyllic, perhaps. On the other hand, you are crazy cold, hugging your blanket, because this is Edinburgh, a city which has no decent respect for the seasons, and your flatmate has already a) gotten up b) gone to the Commonwealth Pool (in the early morning!) and c) swum laps for hours. So begins another day in Scotland in the flat of Karteek Clarke, swimmer extraordinaire.

While I was staying in Endinburgh with Karteek, I was able to have my ever-modest, if not self-effacing friend, talk about some aspects of his swimming not found elsewhere. I began by asking how he got the initial inspiration to take up long-distance swimming.

cs.-swimming-into-the-beyond-1024x768.jpg

In 1994, after reading some of the thrilling adventures of our earlier Channel swimmers, Karteek had the idea that he might like to try doing this. However, unlike most people (such as 99.99% of us), he went down to Dover shortly after and spent only a few weeks swimming in the harbor, perhaps doing one six-hour swim, his longest swim ever up to that time! (to put this in perspective, he routinely does two back-to-back days of six hours each for his crossings these days)

Three weeks later he attempted his first Channel swim, and achieved an incredible twelve hours in his first experience of swimming in open water, before his inexperience and relative lack of training led to an end of that try. The following year, after having had more time to prepare, he was fully trained and ready to go, but one hour prior to the scheduled departure of his boat, the weather turned and he lost his spot. Due to other commitments, he was unable to stick around and try again.

Finally, in 1997 he had his breakthrough first successful Channel crossing, which he describes as a "long hard swim" that took 11 hours and 57 minutes. That August, he vistied Sri Chinmoy in New York, and recieved his spiritual name, Karteek, the basic meaning being that of the "Divine warrior", who "places his teeming victories at the feet of the Lord Supreme".

In 1999 Karteek successfully entered and completed the Lake Zürich 26-km race put on by the Swiss Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. He had an excellent experience, and this reenergized his swimming. Thus inspired, he wondered if he could repeat his earlier crossing and decided to give it another go in 2000. What followed was one of his most difficult races, in windy conditions and with the development of sea sickness, which took him over fifteen hours to complete!

At point afterwards, Sri Chinmoy called and asked Karteek how many times he had swum the Channel. When he was told that he had done it twice, he asked Karteek to swim the Channel two more times. Karteek agreed readily and proceeded to do just that, undergoing adverse conditions and having difficult crossings on each occasion. After four successful crossings, Sri Chinmoy again called and this time told Karteek that he should swim the Channel three more times!

In reminiscing about these phone calls, Karteek remembers that while outwardly at times he might wonder what the point would be in repeating the swim, in each case Sri Chinmoy acted as the “perfect psychologist” as he puts it. To quote Karteek, he “picked up on my wish” to keep challenging himself, and his request came at just the right moment each time. On every occasion he was asked to swim the Channel, he had the feeling of intense joy, adding that he never felt forced to do this event, recognizing that Sri Chinmoy was confirming what he already felt - despite the fact that the fifth, sixth, seventh (and even the eighth) crossings were all accomplished under difficult conditions and took over sixteen hours! Sri Chinmoy told him that while patience was needed to do long distance swimming, “you also need to develop speed,” as “speed is determination”.

Now that Sri Chinmoy is no longer with us physically, Karteek still feels an inner urge to continue his Channel swimming; he has completed eleven at the time of writing.

View full article »