‘Meditation’ students run in 50-mile marathon
Several hundred meditation students of Sri Chinmoy took part in a 50-mile club run at Rockland Lake, in an event that began at 9 p.m. last week and concluded in the early morning of August 27th — Sri Chinmoy’s 50th birthday. Among the participants in the birthday race was Sri Chinmoy himself.
SRI CHINMOY, a spiritual teacher, sports philosopher, athlete and UN meditation leader, has lived and taught in New York for more than 11 years. From his headquarters in Jamaica, Queens, he oversees the international work of the Sri Chinmoy Centre — a non-denominational meditation organization — and the subsidiary Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team.
Acting as the starting gun for the race was the first rocket of a 265 piece fireworks display that burst forth over Rockland Lake. The display, arranged by the Zambelli family of New Castle, Pa., included a grand finale in which over 115 rockets burst in sequence in a 60-second time span.
Both events were private club celebrations organized by the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, an International running group that sponsors races around the world. Upcoming public Rockland Lake State Park events sponsored by the Team include the Sri Chinmoy 7-Mile Run, to be held on Sunday, September 20, and the Sri Chinmoy 70-mile run, scheduled for November 1st.
Sri Chinmoy advises his meditation students to participate in athletics, particularly running, to help them achieve positive, balanced lifestyles. While many of the teacher’s students are distance runners, the annual birthday ultramarathon is usually their longest run of the year, reserved for the hardier members of the group.
Following the race, Sri Chinmoy’s students continued the 50th birthday celebration by traveling to Stamford, Ct., for an afternoon and evening of plays and musical performances.
Anyone wishing to register for the September 20th run at Rockland Lake must register by September 6th, and may contact Mr. Lodini at the Manager’s office at Rockland Lake South between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
OVERLAPPING THE race was a 50-mile stilt walk, which created a new Guinness world record category, completed in 18 hours by a team member from Norwalk, Ct.
The run and stilt walk were the finales of a marathon series of events in Sri Chinmoy’s honor that included a 700 mile solo run a 50-hour walk, a 50-kilometer swim and the breaking of five Guinness world records.
Published in The Rockland County Times, Thursday, September 3, 1981