“Marathon Monks” of Mount Hiei, Japan Make Marathons Look Like Hop-scotch
Ultra-marathoners are sissies.
The monks from the Tendai Sect of Buddhism, at Mount Hiei, Japan, run for spiritual enlightenment to help propel themselves further down the the path towards Buddha and a “personal awakening”.
They do all kinds of crazy stuff, such as obstain from food, sleep and water for 7 days at a time in order to stare death in the face and achieve clarity. But the one that takes the cake is the 1000 days challenge. It takes 7 years to complete (there’s lot of mediatation and learning involved along with the running and this is what takes up the rest of the time), but here’s the breakdown running-wise.
- 1st through 3rd years - Basic Training: 100 consecutive days of running 40km/day
- Note: A marathon is 26.2miles or 42km.
- 4th through 5th years - 200 consecutive days of 40km/day
- 6th year - 100 Consecutive days of 60km/day
- 7th year - 100 Consecutive days of 84km/day
- They run mostly at night over mountain paths that are uneven and poorly marked.
- They’re wearing straw sandals.
- Their diet consists of veggies, tofu and miso soup, which nutritionists would tell you is not all that great for endurance events, much less something like this.
- Oh, yeah, and one more thing: they’re carrying books (that contain directions and mantras they must chant), food to offer along the way, candles for light, and a sheathed knife and a rope. This is the ‘cord of death’, which helps remind the monk of his duty to hang or disembowel himself if he fails.
- The course is littered with unmarked graves.
46 men have completed the 1000 days challenge since 1885.
Link to Original Article - James Davis (pops)
Technorati Tags: monks, running, ultra, marathon, Japan, meditation
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