Inspired by the awsome talent and speed of the great marathon champions- past and present -   the boys wanted to directly experience what it takes to run at world record pace. Hence, the goal for the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team runners was to go under Kenyan Paul Tergat's current world record of 2:04:55.

Assisted by time-keepers and lap-counters, and in perfect cool (12C), overcast and windless conditions, the team ran 210 x 200 metre repetitions plus 195 metres around the new, lightening-fast 400 metre rekotan rubber track.



The team split up in to two groups of 5 runners. One group ran from the start/ finish line and the other from the 200 metre mark. After completing a repetition each runner would jog back across the infield to his group's starting point and wait for their next sprint.

The groups were led by Hayden Bell and James Doran. Hayden recently won the Auckland Self-Transcendence 10 km Race, while James was a all-round school-boy track champion.

During the event one of the runners   developed accute shin soreness so Hayden helped out by running a few extra laps -   his final tally of 200 metre reps. was 26 -   all run between 29 and 32 seconds. James also, was   fast and consistent - completing 23 repetitions. Most of the athletes ran between 20-22 X 200 metres.



The team averaged 34.7 seconds for each 200 metres - about 2:53 per kilometre or 4:39 per mile. The fastest 200 was 29 seconds and the slowest was 40 seconds.

The half-marathon splits were 60:47 and 61:19 - so the boys hung on well.

Perhaps the next goal will be to break the 2 hour barrier!