The Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence Race

The Sri Chinmoy Self Transcendence Race is probably the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of, and so naturally also one of the greatest. Participants run 3100 miles around the ~800m course, naturally a block in Queens, NYC, over the course of 52 days. During the process, the idea is that they experience self transcendence, and attain higher consciousness - Chinmoy was a spiritual leader after all. Needless to say, each runner puts themselves through physical agony as they run 18 hour days, and it’s not difficult to find tales of the racers going to A&E to receive treatment for truly next-level blisters, and I’m sure this is part of the allure - suffering precedes enlightenment of course. Several previous finishers report out of body experiences, visions, elation, essentially claiming to have reached the nirvana they were seeking through extreme physical exertion.

I don’t doubt that going through such an experience would provide you with a particularly unique insight into the human experience, and the nature of our reality, but personally I’m gonna stick to plain old meditation and books.