Nirbhasa Magee from Ireland recently finished the 3100 mile Self-Transcendence Race on his first attempt. He became the first Irishman to finish the world's longest certified race - a unique race founded by spiritual Teacher Sri Chinmoy as one of the ultimate tests of physical, mental and spiritual self-transcendence. Nirbhasa recently spoke to the Daily Telegraph about what it takes to finish the race within the 52 day time limit, about using up 11 pairs of shoes, and whether he will go back and do the race again.
"If you possess a low pain threshold, get bored easily and need more than four hours' sleep a night, the 3100 Mile Race is probably not for you." Read more on the Daily Telegraph website »
The following video, made by Utpal Marshall, shows a short interview with Nirbhasa on the last day of the race, where he remains in a cheerful and positive frame of mind, despite the accumulation of deep fatigue by this point.The video is taken on this final day - hence Nirbhasa pretending to sprint out of the blocks.
Before entering the 3100 mile Self-Transcendence race, Nirbhasa had some experience in running multidays. He has finished two 10 day races, including an impressive 702 miles in the 2014 Ten Day Race. This performance indicated long-distance running capacity. However, nothing can really prepare a runner for the ordeal of completing the 3100 mile Race. To complete the race requires an average of just under 60 miles for 52 consecutive days. The remarkable thing about Nirbhasa's race was that he finished on the last day, with just a few hours spare. It was so close, that in the last few weeks, every minute became precious as he eked out mile after mile.
Some other articles about Nirbhasa and the 3100 Mile Race:
