Team A

The scenery running out of Esperance today lightened our hearts...

Winding roads, gradual hills and rolling green paddocks with many cows, horses, sheep and their young.

My favourite was when I was striding down a hill, passing a paddock of white cows, all looking at me. The calves were absolutely pure white and such a joy to see. This area also had many trees of interesting shapes to give life-energy to our journey.

We all found ourselves smiling a lot today as we completed our 65 km ahead of schedule and then joined the other teams in Ravensthorpe for a relaxed Council Ceremony and some fantastic vegetarian cuisine.

Today for the first time in 9 or 10 days I felt almost recovered from a strained muscle and could run free. It felt wonderful to pick up the pace – sometimes minor injuries can really challenge us whilst running!

Yesterday we didn't get the photo in the report of the Bayview Motel in Esperence but today we offer our gratitude to them for their kindness...

– Kylie Williams (Australia)

Team B

Today's story actually started last night when some of the team were invited over for coffee with Australian Marathon Champion Lauren Shelley and her partner Greg Bayley, who reside literally just a stone's throw from our motel accommodation in Esperance.

Lauren represented Australia in the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games finishing 8th and has an impressive personnel best marathon time of 2:32. Lauren has also competed in a number of Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team events in Melbourne and is a familiar face to us.

Unfortunately Lauren is currently recovering from knee surgery and is thus unable to compete in this year's Olympics. However she and Greg were happy to welcome us into their home for coffee and recall many of their running and training adventures.

Greg is also a seasoned triathlete with a personal best time of 9:20 for the Ironman (3.8 km Swim, 180 km Bike & 42.2 km Run) and hopes to soon qualify for the Hawaii Ironman.

This morning we visited Greg in his bike shop and he most generously donated a bike for our use! We wish Greg and Lauren all the very best in their future athletic endeavours and especially for Lauren's speedy recovery...

Today's World Harmony Run journey took us along the main highway between Esperance and Ravensthorpe past green fields, a welcome sight...

With no appointments until will we reached Ravensthorpe, our sole task was to complete our allotted miles, and simply enjoy the scenery along the way.

As the last rays of sunlight disappeared from the day we entered into the town of Ravensthorpe nestled on a very steep hill almost midway between Esperance and Albany. It was here that we were the recipients of true country hospitality from the Shire of Ravensthorpe.

Shire President, Brenda Tilbrook and Deputy President, Don Lansdowne greeted our team and then invited us inside the council chambers for a scrumptious 'afternoon tea' of homemade pumpkin soup, fresh baked bread, apple strudel, and copious amounts of ice cream.

All the food was graciously prepared by Mart Nieuwaudt

and the team members all showed their appreciation by returning for seconds (and some for thirds).

While enjoying the meal Brenda filled us in on some of the recent history of Ravensthorpe, where a nearby nickel mine has caused the town population to double in the last 2 years; and kept us all keenly amused with her humour, wit and hospitality, capping off a splendid day.

– Veeraja Uppal (Australia)

Team C

Starting the day with a school visit is always a great boost of inspiration and joy. Castletown Primary welcomed us with the entire school body of 600 kids and it was a wonderful experience for all of us.

Colm Magee from Ireland quickly had a dynamic and humorous rapport with the kids as he spoke about the Run

followed by the fun of the children guessing our countries of origin.

After that the kids had to decide if the enactment was of harmony or disharmony and Colm with Sandro had the audience laughing and enjoying the participation.

Next was a moment of feeling harmony within ourselves,

passing the Torch and of course a run around the oval...

Thanks so much for a great visit.

– Runar Gigja (Iceland)

Team RV

Esperance is a beautiful town on the coast of Western Australia – its beaches are absolutely fantastic, having being voted best in Australia. So today, since Colm and I had the RV – 'Rest Vehicle' – we took a scenic drive along the coast alongside the Recherche Archipelago before catching up to the rest of the team down the road:

– Prabhakar Street (Canada)

Team Members:
Kylie Williams (Australia), Friederike Makowka (Switzerland), Nataliya Lehonkova (Ukraine), Angela Muhs (Germany), Elke Lindner (Germany), Shapathanal Daly (New Zealand), Misha Kulagin (Russia), Dima Lehonkov (Ukraine), Standa Zubaty (Czech Republic), Edi Serban (Romania), Sandro Zincarini (Italy), Runar Gigja (Iceland), Prabhakar Street (Canada), Colm Magee (Ireland), Veeraja Uppal (Australia), Prachar Stegemann (Australia)

Harmonemail:
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