SRI CHINMOY

(1931 - 2007)

This site started out as my running blog 16 years ago, but as time has gone on its expanded to include triathlon, cycling, trekking, kayaking and whatever else I try my hand at. The common thread is "Self-Transcendence", a term popularised by Sri Chinmoy, who has been my spiritual teacher since 1993. Best known as a meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy was a decathlete in his youth and later an endurance athlete and record-breaking weightlifter. He encouraged his students to make exercise and endurance sport a part of their yoga. He once said "Each step forward has a sacred meaning of its own", and that's how this site acquired it's name. Back in 2019 I was hiking and trail-running in Yosemite before racing a 10k in Kenya and hiking to a waterfall at Mt Meru in Tanzania. Then came "lockdown" and since then it has mostly been virtual racing, running against friends from around the world on my own courses in Bristol and Bath. That wasn't the kind of racing I would have chosen, but the results have been good by my standards - I was very happy to break 19 mins for a 5k and 40 mins for a 10k now I'm in my early 50s and my 2-mile times have been the best for 10 years. Things are starting to unlock now and it looks as though the Iron-distance Tri I've signed up for should be going ahead. As part of my training for that I've just clocked 3:48 for a solo marathon and I'm starting to get back out on the bike. Balancing the demands of the three sports is going to be an interesting challenge.....

Garga Roger Chamberlain