Up for the challenge, in the long run . . .
It’s been dubbed ‘‘the Mount Everest of Ultramarathons’’. So it seems only right that a New Zealander is making a mark on the world’s longest running race.
Next week, Harita Davies will knock off the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race for the third time – becoming only the second woman to achieve that feat.
The almost 5000km-long race is run around a single 800m block in the New York borough of Queens and must be completed within 52 days.
It was founded by Sri Chinmoy, an Indian spiritual leader and avid runner, and is open to a small group of elite runners. Just seven are running it this year, with Davies the only woman in the field.
The 45-year-old New-York based Cantabrian and her fellow participants will, on average, complete 110 laps (nearly 100km) each day, running for up to 18 hours.
That’s the equivalent of two marathons, every day, for 71⁄2 weeks.
It’s most people’s idea of hell – but not Davies, who finds it an incredibly rewarding and ‘‘spiritual’’ experience.
Speaking to Stuff from the Big Apple during one of her three daily breaks, Davies is 46 days into her arduous journey. Yet somehow she’s full of beans.
‘‘I’ve got about 10 more miles to do to reach 2800 miles,’’ Davies said yesterday.
‘‘All being well, I’ll be breaking my record by a day. I’m really happy about that.’’
Davies first completed the race in 2017, in 51 days 12 hours 48 minutes, before repeating the trick two years later in 51 days nine hours 35 minutes.
Last year, the annual event was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic but with the help of ‘‘supportive’’ friends from around the globe – including New Zealand – Davies raised the necessary funds to make it to the start line this time round.
She considers it a privilege and hopes to inspire others to take on a big challenge and find inner peace.
‘‘There’s a big part of me that doesn’t mind going through this suffering if I can do something that is meaningful and will be inspiring for other people.’’
Davies first got into running around the same time as she started practising meditation, 26 years ago. ‘‘I found that running and meditation complement each other so well, because they are both kind of ways to find a higher part of yourself, a deeper part of yourself.’’
A long-time follower of Sri Chinmoy’s teachings, Davies became aware of the race when it started in 1997. She got the ‘‘ultra bug’’ after completing a 24-hour race in New Zealand that same year, followed by some 100km races and her first multiday event in New York in 2000.
‘‘That was something that really pushed me out of my comfort zone and was tough, but it was so rewarding,’’ Davies said.
‘‘I always had in the back of my mind the 3100-mile race, which seems so ridiculously unattainable and long and crazy, but in my heart I was just intrigued by it.’’
However, Davies has suffered significant health challenges, including ‘‘pretty serious endometriosis’’.
For five years, she was unable to run more than two miles ‘‘without getting totally exhausted’’.
She had to make some big changes in her life to overcome those ailments, including leaving Aotearoa behind to settle permanently in New York.
‘‘When I made that change, it wasn’t so much about the location but just following my heart and doing something different,’’ Davies said.
‘‘Then my health got a lot better, and I really saw the connection between happiness and good health.’’
With her physical condition improved, Davies tackled the 3100-mile race, becoming the first – and still only – Kiwi woman to finish it in 2017. Since then, she hasn’t looked back.
‘‘It took me a long time to have the courage to attempt it. To be able to compete in this race – this is my third time doing it now – is really a miracle,’’ Davies said.
While every weary stride along the sidewalk inches her closer to the record books, Davies insisted that she isn’t driven by personal accolades.
‘‘I’m not motivated by the recordbreaking or the other attention.
‘‘I’m motivated by trying to follow my heart and what I’m really inspired to do,’’ she said.
‘‘I always had in the back of my mind the 3100-mile race, which seems so ridiculously unattainable and long and crazy, but in my heart I was just intrigued by it.’’
Harita Davies