As usual, I was doing my hill work and speed work on 150th Street. First I was running up and down the hill. I would go down 20, 30, 40, 50 and 70 metres. Then, on the flat part, I would run from my starting point to my 500-metre mark. I always run on the side of the street with the cars. Otherwise, the lights blind me. They are so bright, so bright!
A Puerto Rican man was watching me from the top of the hill, where he was waiting for the bus. He was smoking like anything.
This time I ran to my 500-metre mark and kept walking to the 600-metre mark. I saw nobody on the street. But when I reached my 600-metre mark, suddenly I heard a lady 150 metres behind me screaming to me, “Hey Mister, save me, save me!”
So I started running as fast as possible towards the lady to save her. The robber who was bothering her got frightened and ran away.
The lady said, “Thank you, Mister, you saved me. You saved me. This black man tried to take my bags. He had a gun. (Actually it was a toy gun.) I had so much money on me because on Fridays I go to the bank. You saved me! I am so grateful to you. Please take this $20 bill.”
I said, “No, please.” I wouldn’t take her money.
Then I said; “Have you heard of Sri Chinmoy?”
She said, “No, I don’t believe I have.”
I asked, “Have you heard of Guru?”
She said, “Oh yes, of course I've heard of Guru. He is a nice guy, a very nice guy!”
So I smiled at her. But right then the bus came. At that moment she was more interested in catching the bus, so she never knew that it was that “nice guy” who had saved her. Then I ran back to my starting point, next to the bus, and the bus went slowly by me.
The bus drivers are all my friends; they all know me because I run so much on 150th Street. They like me so much!
So this is the kind of thing that happens when I go out to run. Then I went home and did my 100 push-ups for the day.
RB 762. 14 October 1983↩
RB 763. 24 October 1983↩
One person will run the marathon in two hours and another will have to exercise patience and run it in 10 or 12 hours. The race goes to the swiftest; that is one theory. But in the inner world, the race goes to the one who has utmost patience. Because of our infinite patience, our hope of realising God will one day be manifested into reality.
RB 764. 27 October 1983↩
Today I was in the car near my 1200-metre mark, almost at Main Street. The car was going slowly, but Madhuri was running without her glasses, so she was doubly blind. She didn’t see me.
RB 765. 29 October 1983↩
My notebook had fallen on my left foot. When I looked down I saw that my right foot was dark but my left foot was so white. I said, “How can it be?” On my right foot I had no sock. So I had to go inside and make the right foot white. I always get blisters if I don’t use socks. So the notebook saved me. Otherwise, perhaps when I started running I would have been in another world and I would have gotten blisters.
RB 766. 29 October 1983↩
RB 767. 6 November 1983↩
RB 768. 19 November 1983↩
RB 769. 24 November 1983↩
Long live Senani! He never runs three miles, but today he defeated quite a few.
RB 770. 18 December 1983↩
When he came near me, he stopped making those noises, but then after ten metres he started again. Such a loud noise! Other runners also make noise when they run, but Premik was really something!
Once I was running a marathon and I was breathing very loudly. A man running by me said, “Did you check with your doctor?”
RB 771. 18 December 1983↩
But she said she had pulled a muscle and she was still running the race. She was smiling and running. I thought she was coming to sympathise with me.
Last week I walked a mile and a half during a race. Today I had to walk four or five times, but the rest of the time I ran.
RB 772. 27 December 1983↩
RB 773. 28 December 1983↩
RB 774. 8 January 1984↩
RB 775. 8 January 1984↩
RB 776. 8 January 1984↩
In the last two miles Virendra ran so fast that he passed four or five runners.
He came in second.
The two brothers, Aviram and Pravaha, are such jokers. At thirteen miles I saw them stop and go into the hotel. The tall one said, “Guru, after thirteen miles we realised we were not wearing your T-shirt, so we went into the hotel.”
Then the little one said, “Guru, we got a little tired, so we stopped!”
RB 777. 8 January 1984↩
RB 778. 8 January 1984↩
RB 779. 8 January 1984↩
When I mentioned it to Nishtha, she told me that Neeta doesn’t drive; she doesn’t even have a car. Then I began doubting myself. Am I so blind? Later I found out that Neeta does have a car, and it was Neeta I saw.
RB 780. 21 January 1984↩
If you lose seven to ten pounds, you will not die. But the result is something else. If you lose ten pounds, even three pounds, you simply fly when you run. You don’t need to be a bird to fly.
So, overweight people, lose ten pounds!
RB 781. 21 January 1984↩
At that time he stood fourth.
I will also never forget what happened four or five years ago on the course in Breezy Point. There he stood first in our four-mile race. Like a horse he was galloping! He is so short, but his stride was so long. Such a big stride! He was returning, and I had not yet gone half the way.
RB 782. 2 February 1984↩
RB 783. 2 February 1984↩
RB 784. 2 February 1984↩
The first two miles Prabhir was ahead of Sarama, although she was running and he was walking. She had her jacket around her waist. People were dying and she was carrying extra weight! Then she went ahead of Prabhir.
RB 785. 26 February 1984↩
I used to do hill work every day, and while I was running I was thinking of my hill work. I was running and she was running too, but because I was thinking of my hill work I went ahead of her. Only by thinking of it was I able to go ahead of her, or perhaps she deliberately showed me compassion.
RB 786. 3 March 1984↩
A black girl who was 50 metres ahead of me stopped. Her boyfriend and her brother were so sympathetic.
An old lady said, “Sri, are you not walking? Are you not walking?” She saw how tired I was — that I was dying — so she was begging me to walk. She was very kind to me.
When I start running, my mantra is, “Only one mile, only one mile!”
RB 787. 3 March 1984↩
RB 788. 3 March 1984↩
When he came, he took my yellow jacket. Once you start running, after 10 or 15 minutes, you want to take off everything. My upper body was burning, burning. Some people wore shorts, but I didn’t.
When Databir took my jacket, I was greatly relieved. At least 10 or 15 seconds definitely I lost, but my last mile was my best mile.
RB 789. 3 March 1984↩
RB 790. 3 March 1984↩
He said, “Have you seen my little white poodle? Have you seen my little white poodle?” It was so pathetic.
I said, “I have not seen it.”
He said, “You have not seen it?”
Then he started looking for it again.
RB 791. 15 March 1984↩
One reporter said I ran 26 miles. It was six, but he added 20 miles.
RB 792. 29 March 1984↩
At my 800-metre mark a short but very fat lady was waiting for the bus. As soon as she saw me, she said, “Mr. Chinmoy, what are you doing at this hour?” Then she said, “Have a very nice day.”
I said to her, “The same to you.” She smiled.
“What are you doing?” she was asking me. She could see that I was walking! I had never, never seen her before.
RB 793. 2 April 1984↩
Then I started to walk another mile. When I had walked about 1500 metres, I saw a cyclist coming. I went another 100 metres to complete my mile. Then I saw him stop. I said to myself, “Something is wrong with his bicycle.”
He started saying, “Sri, Sri, Sri Chinmoy!” He was so happy to see me.
I smiled. Then, very slowly, he rode with me to Main Street, beaming with joy. He made a right turn and I made a turn towards my mile mark.
Both these young men were so thrilled to see me.
RB 794. 2 April 1984↩
He said, “I tell my friends about you, and they don’t believe that you live in that house. I tell them that the picture on the Santana and John McLaughlin album was taken right in front of your house. They don’t believe me.”
Then I came back and told Databir, who was in front of my house, to go and talk to him. The young man had said that he was a pianist, so Databir told him about Haridas.
Databir also told him about the Cologne concert. Then he asked Databir, “How can a famous person like Sri Chinmoy walk all by himself in a poor community?” He lives in Manhattan. He had a good conversation with Databir. Databir came to my house to get a book for him.
All of a sudden he got a call on his beeper, so he left to call his company. He said, “Tell him I will definitely come back.”
RB 795. 3 May 1984↩
Then he said to me, “I will be right back,” and he started running with his friend, whom he was helping. I thought that he meant he would run 100 or 200 metres, but he went on and on.
During the race I saw Nathan. I said, “Run! Run!” He didn’t hear me. He just kept running.
RB 796. 5 May 1984↩
The stewardess said to him, “It seems you have just run a marathon.”
He said, “Yes, I did. It took me three hours to run the marathon and three hours to wait for the plane.”
RB 797. 12 May 1984↩
One runner, an Englishman, was leading right from the beginning. At one point he said, “Now I am going to speak to Sri.” Then he left the track and for five minutes he looked at my picture. He is not a disciple.
The person who is third also looks at my Transcendental Picture every time he comes near it.
One man tells Avery every day to say hello to me, and another runner was appreciating our races. Beverly Nolan and Bob Cannata were wearing our T-shirts right from the beginning.
Avery is helping all of the runners — not only Trishul. Our London disciples come every day also, to inspire the runners. If there is inspiration, there will be aspiration; and if there is aspiration, there is bound to be manifestation.
RB 798. 25 May 1984↩
RB 799. 27 May 1984↩
RB 800. 27 May 1984↩
He is such a great runner! A few months ago he had an operation. He is not fully recovered. Only two months ago at our race in Connecticut he asked me to pray for him. He is very receptive; that is why my prayers work for him. He told me that he prays and meditates on my picture every day.
Once when he was sitting beside me at Madison Square Garden, he said, “Guru, to sit beside you is to sit beside the whole world.”
His brother and also a friend of theirs join our races in San Francisco.
RB 801. 27 May 1984↩
After four and a half miles, three other girls — not disciples — were a little ahead of me on the sidewalk and would not allow me to cross the street. With greatest difficulty I crossed. Then I thanked them.
They started running behind me, saying things which I couldn’t understand. For 100 or 150 metres they were harassing me. I turned around and looked at them, and then they all turned around and started running away. Then I went ahead.
In spite of seeing the boys following me in the car, they were harassing me.
RB 802. 31 May 1984↩
So I looked at him and thanked him.
Then I made a turn at 800 metres. Lucy was running by. She thought it was the same story as in the morning — that the man was harassing me — so she came quite fast to my rescue. But the man was so nice — so happy to see me in the street.
Altogether, today I walked 13 miles.
RB 803. 31 May 1984↩
RB 804. 31 May 1984↩
RB 805. 18 June 1984↩
In the street if you run under a six-minute pace, it creates a sensation. But coming back, he was going so slowly!
RB 806. 18 June 1984↩
RB 807. 18 June 1984↩
Then after the race, a boy came up and talked to me. He had recognised me.
RB 808. 22 June 1984↩
Then I saw her running on 150th Street. She was running by as Snigdha was coming out of her house.
Sandhani ran the race — very good!
RB 809. 26 June 1984↩
The course was excellent — 100 per cent flat. On either side of the road there were trees and so forth. It was very beautiful — a good panoramic view.
When we finished, they had already started distributing the prizes. There were about 300 people there — very good!
RB 810. 1 July 1984↩
From:Sri Chinmoy,Run and become, become and run, part 15, Agni Press, 1979
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/rb_15