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.
Committed crew
Some runners are brave enough to attempt the 3,100 Mile Race without a helper, happy to organise themselves and stay self-sufficient. They almost seem glad to add an extra layer of difficulty to the challenge.
The role of the helper, though, can never be underestimated over a distance like this. Having someone on call to prepare drinks and food, and to have things ready and waiting, saves an enormous amount of time.
Radu completed the race in 2024 with a succession of helpers, each coming out for a spell. It worked well for him then, and he has repeated the formula this year with a rotating team.
Adrian, who ran and finished the race in 2025, has been here from the start. He goes home tomorrow, when Tobias from Germany arrives for a week or so. After Tobias, it will fall to friends Gheorghe (Moldova), Yasim (Bulgaria) and Ion (Moldova) to keep Radu on track. All of them understand what a huge challenge the 3,100 is, and all are happy to give up their time to help Radu towards a second finish.
Radu has started well, and it has been a pleasure to watch him and Adrian working so well together. His next helpers have a hard act to follow.
DAILY MILESTONES (all TBC)
- Andrea Marcato — 900 miles in 12 days, 1 hr, 48 min, 34 sec, and 1,500 km in 12 days, 10 hrs, 28 min, 11 sec
- Radu Budan — 1,400 km in 12 days, 13 hrs, 3 min, 8 sec
- Annabel Hepworth — 1,300 km in 12 days, 7 hrs, 47 min, 42 sec, and 800 miles in 12 days, 5 hrs, 54 min, 37 sec
- Wei Ming Lo — 800 miles in 12 days, 9 hrs, 10 min, 28 sec, and 1,300 km in 12 days, 11 hrs, 50 min, 46 sec
- Vasu Duzhiy — 800 miles in 12 days, 10 hrs, 56 min, 43 sec, and 1,300 km in 12 days, 12 hrs, 55 min, 23 sec
- Nayaja Perugini — 800 miles in 12 days, 12 hrs, 4 min, 59 sec, and 1,300 km in 12 days, 14 hrs, 2 min, 37 sec
- Nina Huang-Lan — 1,200 km in 12 days, 14 hrs, 22 min, 6 sec
DAILY STATS
- Andrea Marcato reached 900 miles early this morning. After four days of 70-plus miles he recorded 65.2 today, finishing on a cumulative total of 958.0 miles. All being well, he will hit 1,000 miles in the middle of tomorrow afternoon.
- Radu Budan finished with 65.8 miles, the highest daily total of the day, for a cumulative total of 886.2 miles.
- Annabel Hepworth went through 800 miles and closed out the day with yet another 100 km, recording 62.5 miles for a cumulative total of 838.5 miles.
- Wei Ming Lo also closed out the day with 62.5 miles, giving him a cumulative total of 829.7 miles and pushing him back ahead of Vasu.
- Vasu Duzhiy had one of his more challenging days, finishing with 55.9 miles. A cumulative total of 822.6 miles still keeps him in touch with Wei Ming.
- Nayaja Perugini closed out the day with another 63.0 miles. She hit 800 miles early in the evening and finished on 816.5 miles.
- Nina Huang-Lan finished the day with 50.4 miles, improving her total to 753.5 miles.
- Ananda-Lahari Zuscin, with a 44.4-mile day, improved his total to 672.8 miles.
- Stutisheel Lebedev continued in the high fifties, finishing with 58.1 miles. He is slowly stretching away from Ananda-Lahari.
Follow the race
- Sri Chinmoy Ultra Photo 2026
- 3100 Mile US Gallery 2026
- Perfection Journey - 3100 Mile Race 2026
- Runner interviews SCMT
The race has its own in-house messaging system, and friends — and even unknown admirers — can send messages through the race website. One of the long-time joint race directors, Sahisnu, receives them all. It falls to him to print them off as they arrive and bring them down to the course for the intended recipients.
One side of the rectangular course around Thomas Edison High School and its playing fields runs alongside the Grand Central Parkway, a busy highway carrying commuters and residents to and from Long Island.
How they feel at that point can dictate whether they stay on their current cruise control or raise the pace, almost imperceptibly, to eke out an extra lap or three in the evening session before going home at a time of their choosing.
Annabel started the Sri Chinmoy 3,100 Mile Race in 2024 but had to withdraw on medical advice, with a bad foot problem, shortly after reaching 2,000 miles.
Today I watched Nayaja and her helper Roxanna take five minutes at a "pit stop" to care for her feet. It looked like a well-drilled operation, every task carried out in order and with precision.
Many runners brought out their neck bandanas and added ice to them before wrapping them around their necks. Small bags of ice were also provided to put under caps.
Runners in the 3,100, especially in the early days, don't obsess too much about milestones. Three hundred miles, in the scheme of things, is not such a big deal. As the race progresses, however, major milestones such as 1,000 kilometres, 1,000 miles and beyond do become a focus and can provide a small psychological boost.
At around 7.30 on Wednesday evening, Stutisheel, who lies 9th in the field of nine runners, ran through the 200-mile barrier. A few minutes later, race leader Andrea Marcato breezed through 300 miles. The interesting statistic here is that already, on day 4, there are 100 miles between first and last place. Who knows how the race will unfold, or what gap will eventually separate first from last? Usually it is a matter of several days.
The Running Ground: A Father, a Son, and the Simplest of Sports by Nicholas Thompson
