Inner And Outer Helper

In 1979 I ran the New York Marathon—my first. Guru also ran the marathon that year. At the function the night before, Guru gave bee pollen for prasad, which I ate immediately. I felt a tremendous buzz of energy and never slept a wink all night. I felt very tired on the morning of the marathon, but I was happy and excited to be running. However, it was very, very hot, and I started struggling after 10 miles. By the time I reached the bridge at 15 miles, I was ready to lie down and die. All my energy was drained from my body, I couldn't put one foot in front of the other, and I was thinking of dropping out. At this point I heard Guru's voice say very powerfully, "Do not give up! Do not give up!" I also saw a mental image of Guru running ahead of me. I started walking over the bridge and picked up my running again. With about six miles to go, I was wondering how I was going to finish, when one of the official helpers cycled up to me and asked if I was all right. "I'm really hot and I need a drink," I gasped. Water was fetched and for the rest of the marathon, this helper kept checking on me to see if I was still OK. When I finished, he came up to me and said, "Congratulations, you finished! I didn't think you would make it." So for my first marathon, I had an inner and outer helper—perhaps they were one and the same!

Arpita (Edinburgh)