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The Beginning: 1978
The official beginning of Sri Chinmoy's long distance running
On 1 June 1978, while on a visit to San Francisco, Sri Chinmoy went
with his students to meditate at "Aspiration-Tree", a special tree
which he had planted in Golden Gate Park. Following the meditation, he
spontaneously went for a short jog through the park. This day has
always been celebrated as the official beginning of Sri Chinmoy's long
distance running. He was 46 years old.
Sri Chinmoy rapidly threw himself into this new pursuit, logging
hundreds of miles in training. Contrary to conventional wisdom, he took
up the challenge of the marathon just nine months after starting long
distance running and a brief glance at his career races shows what an
intense schedule he followed.
Sri Chinmoy chose to race the longer distances, such as 7 miles and 10
miles, when he first started, it is worth noting that some of his split
times in those races are faster than the times he later posted in
shorter races.