The conditions for breaking a world record are never perfect, but I wish they could sometimes be just a little less imperfect! On the other hand, having to face the added challenges may be a good thing – they compel you to intensify your determination and concentration. I know in my case, at least, the obstacles certainly make my prayers to God considerably more fervent!
A few months ago, I was invited to participate in the Impossibility-Challenger World Record Games in Munich, Germany, to be held in November. I thought about trying to improve my time for skipping a marathon, but eventually opted to attempt bettering the time for running a mile while balancing a full pint glass milk bottle on my head. The current record is 9 minutes and 24 seconds. Although this event sounds silly (the distance version of this record was first established by a clown), it actually requires tremendous one-pointed focus. At no time can the bottle fall off your head, and if the bottle starts sliding, you can’t use your hands to adjust it. Instead, you must gently jerk your neck to reposition the bottle and do this without breaking stride. Also, in my case, since my head is not flat on top, I have to keep my noggin tilted to maintain a level surface and try to run as fast as possible in this awkward position. It is not a pretty sight!
Obviously, since so much of the ability to balance the bottle resides in the neck, the worst thing that could happen while preparing for this event would be to get a sore neck. Well, two weeks before the Munich Games-no, I didn’t injure my neck, but I developed a strained calf muscle (from too much rope jumping), which is almost as bad. The key to good milk bottle racing is to reduce the bounce in your stride as much as possible. This is best accomplished by keeping a low center of gravity and vigorously pushing off with your feet, using your calves. With a week to go, there was not much improvement in the calf department, so I unwisely decided to brush up on another feat I’ve been working on – keeping the most 20-ounce beer glasses stacked up in a massive tower balanced on my chin for 10 seconds. My friend Bipin and I had a strenuous practice, which ended when the 60-pound glass tower came crashing down to the ground. My hopes for breaking the milk bottle mile came crashing down along with it, because suddenly I realized my neck hurt when I turned my head.
There was not much point in going to the Games, so I called the organizer, Anke, to explain the situation. Fortunately or unfortunately, when Anke answered the phone, she was so enthusiastic, I just didn’t have the heart to break the news to her. Well, I thought, if the track condition is good and if it isn’t too windy, maybe I can salvage this thing. Wind is a bottle balancer’s worst enemy. A strong wind causes the precariously perched bottle to shift in unexpected and unpredictable ways. But when I inquired about the weather, Anke effused, ” Oh, you’ll love it, the weather is perfect for running – cool and windy!”
I decided to take up the challenge anyway, despite all the problems. As long as my power of concentration was good, maybe I could still do well. I boarded Lufthansa, flew through the night and arrived in Munich on Saturday, November 7th, hoping to catch up on my sleep later on so I could be sharp for the event the next morning. However, at midnight, after only a 3- hour snooze, I jumped out of bed, totally awake and tuned in to New York time. Finally, at 8:30 a.m, having spent a sleepless night, I began to feel really light-headed and exhausted. That was the good news. The bad news was that my event was scheduled to start in one hour!
I focused on a photo of my spiritual teacher, Sri Chinmoy, and tried to meditate for all I was worth. To my immediate relief, it worked! I felt deeply tranquil; I could almost touch the sea of inner peace that descended into the room. My troubles vanished, and when I arrived at the track and planted the milk bottle full of organic milk on my head, I was in another zone. With the German T.V. cameras rolling and the small crowd of spectators full of expectation, the official timers called out, “On your mark, get set, go!” I took off like a rocket and -within 20 steps the bottle fell off my head!
That was not only embarrassing, it was downright distressing. I confidently yelled out, “Don’t worry, it sometimes takes time to warm up, I’ll try again”. But in my own mind I’m thinking, “Wow, I hope that doesn’t happen again!” I refilled the bottle, the timers repeated their lines, and this time everything just flowed. The neck, the calf, the wind, the lost sleep, even the frost on the track, faded into a gentle current of peace that just carried me along with it. As I rounded the first turn of the second lap, the bottle started to slide off, but I was able to rebalance it. On the third lap, I felt my calves getting a little tired for just a moment and, as I rounded the turn on the final lap, I was able to quickly banish the disturbing thought that if I dropped the bottle now, I would have to do the whole thing all over again!
The officials announced that the time was 8 minutes 27 seconds (8:27), and cheers erupted from the sidelines. I was thrilled and amazed. The time was almost a minute better than the previous record but, for me, there was a deeper significance. Sri Chinmoy was born on August 27th (8/27). In the end, after all the trials and tribulations, I couldn’t have planned a better result even if I had tried!
Adventures In Skipping
There are so many valuable things we can learn from kids, and skipping is definitely one of them. A few months ago, I saw a father and daughter holding hands while crossing Union Turnpike. The little girl was skipping along, the embodiment of the purest joy. At that moment I decided that I would attempt to break the world record for skipping. It was obvious that when you skip, you not only spread joy, you also cannot avoid being joyful yourself!
There was only one slight problem – when I contacted Guinness I was shocked to find out that, after almost 50 years of publishing records, they had never established a category for this absolutely basic and universal sport. Something had to be done immediately! Having already skipped 4 miles and battled with some pretty painful blisters caused by the constant friction on the balls of my feet, I suggested to the Guinness folks that they create a 10-mile skipping event. They surprised me again by eventually electing to make the distance a full 26.2-mile marathon skipped in the fastest time. I knew immediately that this was going to be a challenge!
However, Mother Nature came to my rescue. While visiting Seattle, I decided to go out for what I thought would be a difficult 5-mile skip. It started raining and after a while I realized that I was just gliding along mile after mile, blister free. The rain was lubricating the roads. Once back home, I tried to recreate the slippery conditions by skipping while carrying a can of WD-40 and spraying the bottoms of my shoes every so often. That fiasco gave way to what has now become a fascinating and sometimes dangerous research project into the slipperiness and durability of various types of materials glued to the soles of my running shoes. A friend of mine, Himangshu, who has a woodworking shop, has experimented with rubber, leather, various types of plastic, and even vinyl floor tiles. His job was easy. I was the one almost tumbling down steps, skidding into oncoming traffic, and generally sacrificing my body in the name of science!
Finally, we found a plastic and a gluing technique that worked, and skipping became the awesome joy I had originally imagined it would be. I also discovered that skipping is a superb workout for the calves, thighs, arms, back and abs, and it burns twice as many calories as walking. True, most people I passed thought I was playing with a few cards less than a full deck, but I’m pretty used to that by now! After completing a 20-mile skip, I decided I was ready to go where no man or woman has ever gone before, and I enrolled in the Comox Valley Country Roads Marathon in British Columbia, Canada.
It was a fresh and sunny day at the end of August on an exquisitely scenic course. Vancouver Island is one of the most beautiful places in the world and the people are extremely friendly and easygoing. An article had come out in the local newspaper the day before the marathon about my attempt, so many of the motorists driving by recognized me, shouting out words of encouragement such as, “Keep on skipping, Skippy!” The runners on the course were also very positive, except for one fellow I passed who complained, ” I don’t see what the big deal is about skipping a marathon – why, I’ve skipped several marathons over the last few years before deciding to do this one!”
All was going quite well up until the 8-mile point, when the smooth road suddenly gave way to an incredibly rough back-country road. Within minutes the gravelly surface shredded the plastic coating on my soles and I had to change shoes. I tried to avoid the bad surfaces by sometimes skipping on the horse path adjacent to the course, but after a few more miles yet another pair of sneakers bit the dust. That left me with only two changes of shoes with more than halfway to go. Normally, each pair should last about 10 miles before the plastic wears out, but the way things were going, it looked dismal. A friend of mine, Malik, who was following me in a car, got quite alarmed and raced into town to see if he could scrounge up materials on a Sunday morning to devise some makeshift skipping tread.
Fortunately, the road surface improved and there were only occasional patches of the dreaded rocky surface. I was down to my final pair of shoes with 7 miles to go when my ingenious friend showed up with his refurbished footwear. He had used parts of a plastic washtub and rubber cement to construct what later tested out to be an exceptional skipping shoe! The final few miles were a bit of a struggle. I went into the marathon hoping to break 6 hours, but with all the shoe problems, I could tell that it was going to be close. One of the witnesses, Vic Lindal, an outstanding volleyball coach and personal trainer who was following me on a bicycle, kept rallying me to keep up the pace. At one point he noticed a dramatic change in my energy level, which coincided with the exact moment I was able go deep within and connect with my meditation teacher, Sri Chinmoy.
I ended up finishing the marathon in 5 hours 55 minutes and 13 seconds to a cheering and cheerful crowd at the finish line. Very much in the spirit of the fun, Gary Egli, the race director, grabbed the microphone, thanked me for participating and announced that he had a special presentation to make. He reached into a bag and gleefully handed me a jar of Skippy peanut butter!
I am so grateful and thrilled to have completed the first skipping marathon. I hope you are inspired to discover the joy of skipping for yourself. By the way, there is a wonderful website entirely devoted to skipping at www.iskip.com.
