Members of the Icelandic Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team run alongside one of Finland's greatest ultramarathoner
| Icelandic version Last May, three runners from the Icelandic Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team visited Finland. Subsequently, these three runners, who were myself (Suren), Snatak and Ganagane, met with Ashprihanal Aalto, who is one of Finland's main ultramarathoners and a member of the Finnish Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. Ashprihanal has won the 3100 mile race, which is held by the international Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, on three occasions, the third victory being achieved shortly after our visit. Therefore, naturally, we weren't going home without running with the champ. Ashprihanal was actually resting after a recently completed 6 day race, so we decided on an easy jog in downtown Helsinki. Jigyasu and Jatnaban, from the Finnish Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team, came along, adding to the enjoyment of the occasion. Ashprihanal's style of running seemed quite interesting to me; it is as if he bounces lightly rather than runs. I can imagine this being a very clever way of running, especially in an ultramarathon where one runs 110 km a day for 46 days! All in all, our little trip to Finland was a most enjoyable and fruitful affair, and a sweet memory to take home. O, and of course we had our picture taken with the statue of the running legend Paavo Nurmi. |