A few thoughts on the competitive spirit and the philosophy of detachment.

In Sri Chinmoy’s book on Emil Zatopek, he mentions an anecdote.

“Zatopek is sincerity incarnate. He has always given the topmost priority to truth in every aspect of his life. At times, his sincerity has been so soulfully moving. On the eve of the 1948 Olympics, his sincerity reached the highest height. “It was my first competition in Olympic Games and I was surprised to come to Olympic stadium and to read most important things about the Games: ‘Not to win but to take part’. What — not to win? Ah, but I wish to win!”

Emil Zatopek: earth’s tearing cry and Heaven’s beaming smile, Agni Press, 1980

Related

• Sri Chinmoy Cycling Team at Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team

Now, 30 years later, and I’m on the other side of the door – and I have to admit I’m very bad. On trick or treat night, I turn out the lights and pretend to be out! I feel like a modern day scrooge, because I don’t want to answer the door and give away my Kit-Kats or money.

One of the laws of the universe is – “as you give so shall your receive”.

Since I benefited from trick or treat, I feel a vague karmic responsibility to give in return. But, in this case, I feel more inspired to be stingy, and even though I’m not particularly a miserly person.

This year I was giving a meditation class in town, so I only had to pretend to be out for half an hour!

Another funny story – when I was a child – some trick or treaters came to the door and as usual said:

“Trick or treat?”

I thought I would say “Trick” and see what happens.

The young boys thought this was funny, and proceeded to smear some messy paste on our front door.

I thought it was kind of funny, but my mother didn’t. I remember her cleaning up the mess (and it was really hard to get off).

I don’t know why, but it didn’t occur to me to do the cleaning.

Nowadays, I’ve definitely paid for that karma. I like a clean and tidy house in a way I never appreciated as a child. If I lived with my younger self, I would probably find him a bit frustrating.

In compensation, I do plenty of cleaning up after other people now! So I have made some progress in this incarnation, even if I don’t answer the door to trick or treaters.

I have been counting at the Sri Chinmoy 24 hour race since 1999. Usually, I just come for the first 10 or 11 hours, then drive home and do a cycle race on Sunday. It’s a good shift, but I always feel a little bit like a part-timer compared to those who stay from start to finish.

This year, an injury meant I had no cycle race and was free to attend the whole 24 hours.

The first 11 hours went quite quickly and I enjoyed the experience. The main job of a counter is to concentrate on being ready to mark down the times of the runners – as they come around the 400m circuit, every 2-4 minutes.  It might sound easy, but as the hours go by, it becomes a challenge to keep focused and always on the look out for the next time the runner comes round the track.

Often, you need to keep eyes open, whilst at the same time writing down the numbers and working out the splits. Amongst the counters, there is a bit of chat and good humour, which is helpful to keep spirits up. But it is a constant challenge to keep the balance and remain always on the look out for your runners.

By acknowledging the runners every time they come past, you become part of their race. A good counter can hopefully encourage the runner. It also works the other way – as a counter, you can pick up on the energy and determination of the runners. I often have difficult sleeping after a days counting shift – which is strange as you would expect to be tired after 12 hours of sitting down counting runners, but the race creates a lot of energy.

The hardest part was coming back, after a fitful sleep, at 6am the next morning, but it was good to be able to see the finish of the race. I was lucky to have the lead runner James Stewart from Scotland, who kept up an excellent tempo for the whole race to set a new course record of over 160 miles. Counting him in the last hour, I could feel his joy as he achieved real self-transcendence; he had that aura of an athlete who was on a good day.

It was interesting to be on the other side of the counting shed so to speak. Usually, I am the one being timed racing up hills. Today I was the one counting. I enjoyed the experience and look forward to next year and trying to do a good job for the runners.

Amateur video of race

This is a video of the race made up of a few short videos and photos whilst counting. It is the first video I’ve made, so I’m just using it to learn about the art of making videos.  But, you can get a small idea about the race from the counters perspective.

Watch out for 1.58 where I point down the camera and a large slab of chocolate momentarily pops into the viewfinder. You might think that was just more amateur videography, but actually it was very carefully planned and expertly executed. Just after the chocolate appearance is the best bit with James Stewart’s finish.

Mahasatya ran 103 miles this year.

During the race, Ann Bath also set a new women’s world record in her age group (0/65) for 24 hours. (115.9 miles)

Related

• London 24 hour race at Sri Chinmoy Races
• Photos by Surabhamat
• View from the counting shed – article by Sumangali from 2004.

I cycle into town through this local Oxford park. It is far from the tourist trail, and is a nice place for locals – popular with dog walkers and people taking a short cut into town.

I was full of the joys of a slightly dull, misty September morning and, as I was cycling slowly through the park, an old man with dog said out loud:

“Shut up”

At first, I thought he was talking to his dog, but then realised his dog wasn’t saying anything, he was talking to me.

I was singing to myself and obviously had strayed into being audible. I hadn’t realised it, which is just slightly disconcerting; I hope it’s not the first signs of madness. He must have very good hearing.

I am trying to learn a few songs of Sri Chinmoy at the moment, and they seem to pop into my head whilst cycling into town.

As irritating habits go, singing aloud is not the worst, but I did admit the old man had a point – I probably would have found it a bit annoying if he was singing to himself.

But, I couldn’t help observe that it’s not very British to actually articulate minor irritations like this. We usually put with worse than someone muttering a half-hearted bit of singing in a public park.

Poor chap looked like he could do with a bit of cheering up. He seemed to be in a mood to see the glass as not just half empty –  but rather dubious of the liquid left in the glass. It reminded me of an article I wrote many years ago – How to avoid becoming a grumpy old man.

Singing can be a very good way to lift the spirits. Just imagine the joy of being in a proper choir like this – Llanelli Male Voice Choir – Land of my Fathers (youtube) or Trelawnyd Male Voice choir at (Vimeo).

Afterwards I popped into Oxford Botanic Garden and, staying very quiet, I took a few photos. It was a little less misty.

Flowers sown by seed.

Early autumn

Magdalen College Tower in the background.

Magdalen College Tower in the background.

The careful driving of the first car had prevented a squashed hedgehog.

Sometimes, we get irritated with the behaviour of other people – but often this is on only partial information. We don’t know the reasons or motivations behind their actions. On first glance, it looked selfish behaviour to stop in the road, but on a second glance I was grateful to this careful driver. It is a reminder to be careful of judgement from only a partial impression.

After his narrow escape, I took a photo of the hedgehog. It was curled into a ball recovering from the attention of motor cars and giant humans. I was glad it was safe and wish it good luck in eating the slugs of Menston.

Related

• Wildlife in the garden – including attempts to attract a hedgehog.