The Inner Running and the Outer Running

by Sri Chinmoy

Down the sweep of centuries there have been many who, through God-given talent and discipline, became great runners. There have also been many who, through God-given capacity and inner discipline, became great spiritual figures runners in the inner world. A champion sprinter and decathlete in his youth, Sri Chinmoy took up long distance running in his late forties, and in the span of seven years completed twenty-two marathons, three ultramarathons, and countless shorter races. More important, his inner life of the spirit laid the philosophical foundation for the world s most respected ultra-distance running organisation, the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team. Our philosophy does not negate either the outer life or the inner life. Both outer running and inner running are important, says Sri Chinmoy. The outer running reminds us of something higher and deeper the soul which is running along Eternity s Road. The inner running inspires us to keep the body-temple in perfect condition for our inner and outer satisfaction. Herein lies a distillation of the teachings of a unique authority on the relationship between spirituality and running. At once sublimely elevating and supremely practical, Sri Chinmoy s words will encourage and inspire both the inner and outer runner in you towards ever-greater progress, happiness and success both within and without. For me the Olympics are embodied in one of my favorite notions from Sri All athletes should bear in mind that they are competing not with other athletes but with their own capacities. I turned to this notion whenever I needed an injection of the competitive fire. Carl Lewis, Winner of 9 Olympic Gold Medals

184 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2008

Reviews

[matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

No doubt running is in some ways a spiritual endeavor, but this book offered no practical ways to link the two. The subtitle "Yogic secrets for better running" is delusive. Chinmoy is abundantly qualified to discuss faith, but ruined his credibility by making unfounded statements like, "In a few years the best runners will run the marathon in under two hours. In twenty or thirty years people will run 50 or 100 miles at a five-minute pace." The book was published in 2008 and we're nowhere close to these predictions. Ryan Hall's book is probably much better.

[Hunor Gocz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good advises on how to connect spirituality with running. It gives you advice on how to handle issues with running, such as injuries and so on. I recommend thi book. Very grateful for the author 🙏🏻