Subarata's Heavenly Run

Subarata at an award ceremony after one of her ultra-marathon efforts

Where I left you was just a week before Subarata’s Heavenly Run. Subarata Cunningham was a co-founding member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre in Auckland and was an avid Ultra Marathon runner. She passed away at the age of 45 and every year on her birthday some of us from the Sri Chinmoy Centres in New Zealand and Australia run 45kms in her honour. To me this race gives me the opportunity to run with Subarata for 45 kms. I never had the opportunity of meeting her, but on these runs I feel connected to her in some small way and feel her presence throughout the entire run.

The week leading up to this run, I took a bit of a break from running. In retrospect I could have run more of the days leading up to the race and will try and remember this for next year. My week consisted of off on Monday, 40 minute run on Tuesday, off on Wednesday, 40 minute run on Thursday and three 15 minute runs on Friday. (I was out and about on Friday and decided to run to each of my destinations instead of driving, making it very easy to get the kms in).

The nervousness and anticipation I usually get before running a marathon, I never feel in the days leading up to Subarata's run. To me this race is something more than just pushing the boundaries and challenging yourself. This is my opportunity to offer gratitude to Subarata who, with Sri Chinmoy's inspiration, opened the first Sri Chinmoy Centre in New Zealand and thus giving me the opportunity to come along to one of the free meditation workshops – run by her husband Jogyata, and find a spiritual path that has let me become the person I have always dreamed I would be. And I am one of over 100 members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre's in New Zealand, and I am sure every member would have their story to tell of how meditation has changed their life for the better.

But again moving back to my run.

We started at 5am on a very very hot and humid morning. Even at 5am it was too hot for me and I had quite a few hours of running ahead of me!

There was about 15-20 of us that started the race. Simahin is our official distance man and he kindly informed us that we only had to do 30 laps of our Sri Chinmoy Peace Mile at the Auckland Domain.

I had decided to take it nice and slow today, so that I could enjoy each step and so that my recovery time would be quick. I had my new MP3 player and for the first time I ran with music. This drew me further and further away from my mind while I was running. It was BLISS. I had a CD called 'Silence Speaks' - that is in my opinion nothing short of divine! I literally got lost in the music.

However this does not mean it didn’t get hard, it did. The last 6 km’s were hard, and each kilometre got harder and harder. By my final lap I honestly do not know how I even got my body around. I wanted to silently chant gratitude on my last lap, but I needed a little bit more help and 'Supreme' was chanted in desperation at every step.

To celebrate our accomplishment on an intensely hot humid day, the 6-hour finishers (that’s me and a few friends) hightailed it to Takapuna beach.

Now to everyone who is not from NZ our beaches are beautiful but our water is always cold. Usually icy cold. And today was no exception. But today each and every slow and steady step into this icy water was like heaven for my legs. I wanted to savour every ice blasting moment. After about 15 minutes I was dragged from my bliss and bundled off to have a big lunch – another bonus from long distance running - you get to eat more than normal afterwards!

An Inner Marathon

The spiritual life is a marathon,
An inner marathon which never ends.
The Supreme is begging
All His seeker-children
To be excellent runners-
To run speedily, like deer-
In this eternal inner journey.

From: Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, Part 64 - by Sri Chinmoy.

"O Lord Supreme, may each marathon runner run along Your Eternity's Road to receive from You Your Infinity's Love-Light and Your Immortality's Oneness-Delight." - Sri Chinmoy.