Sport

Inspired by the philosophy of self-transcendence, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team was founded in 1977 as a service to the running community. For Sri Chinmoy, sports and spirituality go hand in hand. He was particularly fond of running, and he often compared the inner journey of self-discovery to a running race. Sri Chinmoy was a frequent participant in the early races staged by the team, and his prolific marathon and ultramarathon achievements inspired his fellow team-members to reach higher and loftier sporting goals themselves. He entered into the field of weightlifting at the age of 54 and accomplished remarkable feats of inner and outer strength well into his seventies. More on Sri Chinmoy’s sporting achievements »

The Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team started by organising races in the local New York area, and it has since grown into the largest organiser of endurance events in the world, holding running, swimming, triathlon and other events in over 20 countries worldwide. Many of our races have become very popular fixtures in the countries they are held. 

The 24-hour races in New Zealand, Switzerland and Great Britain are their countries’ national events, and the Six-and Ten-Day races held in New York every year are very popular races in the US ultrarunning calendar. In Australia, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team offers a wide range of multi-discipline events, including the famous Triple-Tri – a triathlon performed three times over in the scenic outskirts of Canberra.

Inspired by this philosophy, many of our members have achieved remarkable feats:

  • Ashrita Furman holds more Guinness world records than anyone else – over 200!
  • Suprabha Beckjord from Washington DC finished the 3100 Mile Race a record 13 times.
  • Dipali Cunningham holds World Record for a six-day ultra race.
  • Samunnati Nataliya Lehonkova is a leading female marathon runner, with a personal best of 2.31 set in the 2015 Dublin marathon. She represented Ukraine in the 2016 Olympics. She has won a string of European marathons, including Toulouse, Edinburgh and Belfast.
  • Tejvan Pettinger is a renowned cyclist who has won the 2013 UK National Hill Climb and placed 3rd in the UK National 100 mile TT in 2014.
  • Karteek Clarke is a prolific English Channel Swimmer, having swum the Channel eleven times.

Meet Members of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team »

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