World鈥檚 longest run: around 1 block
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It鈥檚 the world鈥檚 longest certified foot race: a 3,100-mile (5,000-kilometer) run that takes participants around the same New York block 5,649 times.
Thousands of people have climbed Everest 鈥 but, organizers say, just 49 have completed the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3,100 Mile Race.
Runners finish more than two marathons a day for almost two months, on less than five hours sleep a night.
They can鈥檛 rely on changing scenery to keep them motivated as the route is a half-mile loop on a concrete sidewalk around a high school in Jamaica, Queens.
To mix things up a bit, they alternate daily between running clockwise one day and anti-clockwise the next.
鈥淒efinitely monotony,鈥 said this year鈥檚 winner, Andrea Marcato, describing the biggest test of the race. 鈥淭he first week is quite challenging, especially for the mind. But after a while you get used to it. You have to accept that every day is going to be the same.鈥
Participants have 52 days, meaning they must average 59.6 miles (97km) every day. They run, walk and hobble between 6am and midnight, eating as they go to make up for the estimated 10,000 calories they burn every session.
For the day鈥檚 other six hours they sleep, wash and care for their blistered feet in nearby accommodation.
Only ultra-marathon veterans who have completed six-day races are allowed to enter.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a test of stamina, strength, inner determination, and talent,鈥 said race director Sahishnu Szczesiul.
Harita Davies, the sole woman of this year鈥檚 seven competitors, said the race takes a physical toll but 鈥渢he kind of unbelievable thing is that as the days and weeks go by your body actually does adapt, you do get stronger.鈥
Indian spiritual leader Sri Chinmoy, who lived in New York before his death in 2007, founded the run in 1997.
He advocated 鈥渟elf-transcendence,鈥 using spirituality to go beyond the limits of what an individual thinks they can achieve.
鈥淚f the mind is focused, you don鈥檛 have other thoughts or fears or worries or doubts,鈥 said Marcato, 39.
Meditating while navigating the 883-meter loop around Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Education High School isn鈥檛 easy. Runners pass a busy highway and basketball and handball courts. The route isn鈥檛 cordoned off from everyday life and twice a day 2,000 school children flood the sidewalk.
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