Episode 90: Running for Enlightenment with Filmmaker Sanjay Rawal

Sanjay Rawal is a filmmaker, runner, and the man behind the documentary 3100: Run and Become. Before becoming a filmmaker, he spent 15 years in over 40 countries working on human rights and international development. His new film is about the longest certified road race in the world: the Self-Transcendence 3100 Miler. It's an event that boggles the mind: 3,100 miles around a single city block in Queens, New York for nearly two months in the heat of summer. To win, you have to average about 60 miles per day (for nearly two months). A race like this is less of a race and more of a journey of self-discovery that reveals the limits of human ability. In this wide-ranging discussion about the spiritual side of running, Sanjay Rawal and I discuss: Why this race is more of a pilgrimage than a race The mechanics of a 52-day, 3,100-mile race What we can learn from traditional running cultures like the Navajo and Kalahari How we can train our minds to be more resilient What separates a runner who completes 3100 miles from the rest of us How the mindset of a spiritual runner can improve your competitive goals