Team A

Today our team had 120 km to run. Dima got us off to a good start, running the first 18 km out of Mount Isa, and adding a further 8 km soon after.

During the day we met some visitors and well-wishers, starting with Darren and his daughter Talmai, who had been crowned Cloncurry Rodeo Princess yesterday.

We later met Julie Gosley, who had seen the Run on television when it began in April, and had been travelling with her husband on roughly the same route around Australia as us, though this was the first time they had caught up with us. Julie had been following the Run's progress online, and was very happy to finally meet the runners in person.

It was nice to run through the rolling hills outside Mount Isa, surrounded by rugged bluffs. It was a change to have something to look forward to around the next corner. The last week or so, there have been very few corners, just long, long stretches of straight, straight road.

We reached Cloncurry early in the afternoon. The team had run, on average, 20 km each.

On arrival we headed straight to the Cloncurry Turf Club where we enjoyed watching a couple of horse races.

At the races we met with the Mayor, Andrew Daniels, who welcomed us to the shire.

We then took part in a small World Harmony Run reception with some high school kids at the races who are travelling around outback Queensland on a musical tour.

– Rathin Boulton (Australia)

Team B

After seeing off the other two teams, with their mammoth schedules, we felt almost like it was a rest day. In the morning, Runar Gigja and Noivedya Juddery were interviewed by Jodie Shepherd at local Mount Isa station 4LM. She was so enthusiastic that the interview lasted 20 minutes. Even Prabhakar Street, quietly and humbly taking photos in the background, was roped in to say a few words.

We then had a reception at the Mount Isa Civic Centre. This began with a prayer by local priest Father Mick Lowcock.

Next, the runners were introduced by Mayor John Maloney.

John spoke at some length, and we were very impressed by his knowledge of the World Harmony Run and its founder, Sri Chinmoy. He had read our website extensively, most recently logging on for half an hour this morning. Here was a mayor who sincerely saw the Run as a significant event, and we were honoured and moved by his attention.

As we had morning tea, he showed that the Run inspired him not just because we aspire for a more harmonious world, but also because, in the process, we care for our health. He even took some dietary advice from Runar, a health-food store manager in Reykjavik when not running around Australia.

Billboards heading into Mount Isa announce it as the 'birthplace of champions'. It has produced such sporting giants as Pat Rafter, Greg Norman and numerous top rugby league players. At the morning tea, one of the councillors explained that a love of sport and fitness has long been part of the community, since well before Mount Isa was known as a mining town.

For all the cosmopolitan aspects of Mount Isa, a journey past the town’s borders would remind the traveller that we are still in the Outback. The small town of Cloncurry, 120 km east of 'The Isa', provides a sign at the end: 'Hurry back to the Outback'. Is this indeed where the Outback begins and ends? It seems difficult to believe, as exiting as Cloncurry is, the runner is still surrounded by golden bushland, with no sign of human contact on either side of the road.

The road to Julia Creek is slightly more hilly than the highways on which we have travelled in the past week, but it is otherwise more of the same. Yet one can’t help but notice, even with the road trains that frequently rush through, that there is a certain peace to this region. Running along this road gives us a feeling that is wholly suitable for this event: a feeling of true harmony.

– Noivedya Juddery (Australia)

Team C

This was an early morning for our team. After yesterday’s running in a hot afternoon sun, all of us voted for the early start. There is no photo of us pulling our tents down as it was pitch dark when we started our day – winter nights in Australia are really dark.

We grabbed our lunch bags and at 6:10 am, waived goodbye to Copper City Caravan Park in Mt Isa, hurrying towards our destination for tonight – Julia Creek. The sun greeted us on the way.

We sent out Angela Muhs as our first runner at 8:36 am. Today the plan was to split 74 km between five of us.

It is amazing to experience four seasons during a single day. It can be cold and windy at night, then windy and shiny in the morning, hot and dry in the afternoon. Today the wind blew strongly from the right side.

My running today could have been described as 'close perspective' running – due to the wind it was easier to run with head down looking directly at the road a few steps ahead.

Most of the time we are running with a 'long perspective', enjoying the amazing scenery, the vastness of the land and the depth of the sky. The road rolls out in front of us, offering a new panorama that at times, to my relief, included our lovely home on wheels – the World Harmony Run van.

It seems it’s just like life itself – sometimes we need the time to reflect on our goals,

and sometimes, we just need to take one step at a time.

At times the road would become hilly...

or flat, with turns...

Handsome Brahmin cattle watched us running by and we couldn’t resist stopping to greet them.

We then recommenced our running schedule and arrived in good time at the Julia Creek Villas.

– Anastasia Aleksejeva (Latvia)

Thanks also for the kindness and goodwill of the Copper City Caravan Park in Mount Isa for our stay there last night!

– Prabhakar Street (Canada)

If you would like to place a link or a write a story about the World Harmony Run on your website, click here to Link to Us. We'll be happy to place a reciprocal link and list you on our Friends Online page.

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Team Members:
Amalendu Edelsten (Australia), Anastasia Aleksejeva (Latvia), Nigel Webber (Australia), Nataliya Lehonkova (Ukraine), Prabhakar Street (Canada), Edi Serban (Romania), Dima Lehonkov (Ukraine), Bernice Matthews (Australia), Nick File (New Zealand), Noivedya Juddery (Australia), Standa Zubaty (Czech Republic), Prabuddha Nicol (Australia), Runar Gigja (Iceland), Elke Lindner (Germany), Sandro Zincarini (Italy), Angela Muhs (Germany), Rathin Boulton (Australia), Misha Kulagin (Russia)

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Gallery: See more images!

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