3100: Run and Become

Runner and filmmaker Sanjay Rawal’s documentary combines spirituality and sports, focusing on the Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile race that takes place each June-August in New York. In addition to profiling two of the competitors, Rawal looks at other running competitions or traditions with a spiritual underpinning. Ashprihanal Aalto, a newspaper courier from Finland, is a long-distance runner like Sri Chimnoy, who founded the race. Chimnoy, who died in 2007, was dedicated to the belief that sports could serve as a means towards peace. The 52-day race, which attracts participants from around the world, requires that runners consume 10,000 calories and complete at least 60 miles per day. Winners receive trophies rather than (or in addition to) cash prizes. Aalto, the top-ranked runner, has a history of 31 finishes and eight victories. Ultra-marathoner Ray "The K" Krolewicz attributes his success to his compact size, quipping that he’s a "bird." Rawal also profiles Shamita Achenbach-König, an Austrian cellist who almost died in a race 20 years before, so her husband, Dohai, worries about her. "Although you don’t want to hear this," he says after days of heat and dehydration, "you should quit." By the end of the race, two of the 12 runners have dropped out. Other races involve a solo runner in the Navajo Nation of Arizona, the San Bushmen of Malawi’s Central Kalahari Game Reserve, and a Buddhist monk at Mount Hiei in Japan. While these stories are compelling, they don’t necessarily fit together as a whole, particularly the Bushmen section, which captures a vanishing way of life more than an athletic endeavor. Still, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)