Marathons

Sri Chinmoy ran 22 marathons between 3 March 1979 and 20 February 1983. His best time was 3:55:07 in his second marathon – the Heart-Watchers Marathon, Toledo, Ohio.

Marathon is
An unimaginable joy-experience
Of the heart.
Marathon is
An unbearable suffering-experience
Of the body, the vital and the mind.

– Sri Chinmoy, My Race-Prayers, part 3. (Sri Chinmoy was speaking at the start line of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon at Rockland Lake State Park, New York on 14 August 2007.)

Sri Chinmoy’s Marathon Results

1. 3 March 1979

Time: 4:31:34
Pace: 10:21
Bidwell Classic
Chico, California
Race no. 200

2. 25 March 1979

Time: 3:55:07
Pace: 8:58
Heart-Watchers Marathon
Toledo, Ohio

This remained Sri Chinmoy’s personal best time for the marathon.

The Toledo Marathon in 1979 was my best marathon. I did it in 3:55. It was so cold that day! Sometimes I was running on the left side so I could pass people, but sometimes I ran in between people to keep warm. In the beginning, before the sun came out, it was twenty-four degrees, so I was running in between people. Even so, at one point my back was freezing.

– Sri Chinmoy’s account of the race, in Run and Become, part 7.

3. 6 May 1979

Time: 4:16:23
Pace: 9:47
Newsday Long Island Marathon
Long Island, NY
Race no. 2622

4. 12 May 1979

Time: 4:41:16
Pace: 10:44
Champlain Valley Marathon
Plattsburgh, New York

5. 6 October 1979

Time: 5:39:41
Pace: 12:57
Pheidippides Marathon
Athens, Greece

Read Sri Chinmoy’s account of the race and the next 15 anecdotes.

6. 21 October 1979

Time: 4:48:54
Pace: 11:01
New York City Marathon
New York, NY
Race no. 6464

Prior to the race start, Sri Chinmoy met with Olympic triple gold medallist Emil Zatopek and ultramarathon champion Don Ritchie. An account of the race was reported in Anahata Nada, 1979.

7. 2 December 1979

Time: 4:33:55
Pace: 10:27
Jersey Shore Marathon
Asbury Park, New Jersey

This race is Sri Chinmoy’s 7th marathon completed in the first nine months of taking up the sport.

*. 1 February 1980

Time: 6:01:27
Pace: 13:47
Solo walking marathon
Streets of Briarwood and Jamaica

Sri Chinmoy commenced walking at 1:30 a.m. His 3-mile route went along the Grand Central Service Road and continued on neighbourhood streets. He did not want this marathon to be counted among his official times.

8. 24 May 1980

Time: 4:30:00
Pace: 10:18
Solo run
Munich, Germany

9. 1 June 1980

Time: 5:18:31
Pace: 12:09
Sri Chinmoy Marathon
San Mateo, California

Sri Chinmoy began his long-distance running career in San Francisco, California, on 1 June 1978. This race was held in honour of the second anniversary of this most significant date.

10. 1 February 1981

Time: 5:22:11
Pace: 12:17
Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Marathon
Hampton, New Hampshire

11. 7 March 1981

Time: 4:30:21
Pace: 10:19
Bidwell Classic
Chico, California

Sri Chinmoy returned to the race where he had recorded his personal best time two years previously with the hope that he would run another fast time, but he suffered greatly from cramps from mile seventeen onwards. Read Sri Chinmoy’s account of the race.

12. 25 October 1981

Time: 4:36:20
Pace: 10:32
New York City Marathon
New York, NY
More details on 1981 NYC Marathon

Sri Chinmoy’s bodyweight was 146½ lbs.

13. 2 May 1982

Time: 4:26:56
Pace: 10:11
Newsday Long Island Marathon
Long Island, NY

Sri Chinmoy recorded personal best split times for: 25 km, 2:20:30; half-marathon, 1:54:30; and 13 miles, 1:54:04.

14. 24 October 1982

Time: 4:44:41
Pace: 10:51
New York City Marathon
New York, NY

Sri Chinmoy’s bodyweight was 137 lbs. Read Sri Chinmoy’s account of the race and following stories.

15. 7 November 1982

Time: 4:36:00
Pace: 10:32
Sri Chinmoy Marathon
Zurich, Switzerland

Read Sri Chinmoy’s account of this race.

16. 14 November 1982

Time: 4:22:57
Pace: 10:02
Jersey Shore Marathon course
Asbury Park, NJ

Sri Chinmoy ran the course 2½ hours before the official race. His bodyweight was 136 lbs. The temperature was 50°F with a wind of 10 mph.

17. 5 December 1982

Time: 5:12:00
Pace: 11:54
Sri Chinmoy Marathon
San Juan, Puerto Rico

The temperature was 90°F.

18. 31 December 1982

Time: 4:33:43
Pace: 10:26
Sri Chinmoy Marathon
Okinawa, Japan

19. 22 January 1983

Time: 5:33:33
Pace: 12:43
Orange Bowl Marathon
Miami, Florida

Conditions for this race were extremely high humidity and heavy rain. Read Sri Chinmoy’s account of this race and following stories.

20. 30 January 1983

Time: 5:20:03
Pace: 12:12
Solo run
Flushing Meadow Park, NY

21. 6 February 1983

Time: 5:56:59
Pace: 13:37
Sri Chinmoy Inspiration Marathon
Hampton, NH

Omitting rest stops, Sri Chinmoy’s time was 5:29:59.

22. 20 February 1983

Time: 5:25:20
Pace: 12:25
Solo run
Hempstead Turnpike, Long Island, NY

Omitting a rest stop after 15 miles, Sri Chinmoy’s time was 5:10:33.

Note about these statistics

These statistics and notes were maintained by Savita. In the heyday of Sri Chinmoy’s distance running, there was a long chart taped to a wall on his front porch and Savita would enter all his race results on it so that he could see at a glance his progress.

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