1% Better – 3100 Miles Around a Park in Salzburg – Nirbhasa Magee Returns – EP188

Last year I talked with Nirbhasa Magee about his experience running the 3100-mile race in New York. Full details of that below.

This year, he’s running again. Only now, it’s in Salzburg. We caught up last week while he was running!

Have a listen and be sure to check out EP133 from last year to learn more!

Enjoy!

I recently found an article on the BBC website about a 3100-mile race that happens every year. It’s called a run to self-transcendence and as someone that is very intrigued in self-development, I wanted to learn more. And hopefully talk with one of the runners that attempted and, maybe even, completed it. Not only did I manage to find one, he’s also a fellow Irishman. His name is Nirbhasa Magee and his the guest for this episode.

Nirbhasa has been a meditation practitioner since his late teens/early twenties and through his practice, started to go for short runs with friends from the meditation group (Sri Chinmoys) he’s part of. One thing led to another. Before he knew it, he had moved on to marathons, ultramarathons, then 6 and 10 day runs and eventually the 3100 mile race.

In this podcast interview, Nirbhasa tells this story in detail, shares the benefits he’s gained from meditation and running and provides some hugely interesting insights from his journey so far.

Here is a summary and more about Sri Chinmoy (please excuse Typos):

•How Nirbhasa discovered meditation
•The key to a good meditation practice – even if it’s just 5 minutes per day – getting your foot in the door – this is the start of a building a habit
•Always noticing if he missed the daily quotient of peace and joy i.e. a short meditation
•Starting with a book ‘meditate like a master’ (or something of that name!)
•Noticing the difference in the day to day life even if the it wasn’t a ‘great’ meditation
•Finding deeper meaning and a feeling or pull of his being enjoying meditation
•An overview of the mediation practices used early on:
•Meditation Practice - Heart-Centre Mediations – Breathing and feeling the breath is coming from and leaving from the heart centre
•The difference between concentration on the mind and the heart!
•Finding himself coming out of heart-centre mediation with much more kindness on others and yourself
•Techniques are just like a city map – the same with the meditation techniques – you get to know your heart just like a city and after a while you can throw away the maps!
•Over time meditation becomes part of your being
•Reflecting on the changes and impact meditation has on Nirbhasa – not borne out of sadness or loneliness
•The one thing meditation has given him – a sense of fulfilment and purpose – not easily explained but more in a feeling
•Mediation has taught him to cherish the joy of doing things not just the outcomes
•Fitness & Running entered Nirbhasa’s life despite hating running originally
•Mediation helped to be in the right inner space when running – this happened quickly after he started running
•Getting into running longer distances more by chance running with others from the Sri Chinmoy centre
•Getting into the space running the right way – running along ‘eternities road’
•Just doing 1-2 marathons every year initially but becoming more aware of the ultra-running
•Hearing about much longer distances like the 6- & 10-day race and the 3100-mile race
•In 2012, Nirbhasa, stopped in New York, and went to support the 6- and 10-day race. The feeling he had from this gave him the motivation to sign up for it the following year – a huge sense of peace being there – this is something I could do!!!
•The 6- & 10-day races which are based on the most miles done in these days
•How the mind can be limiting which lead...