Today's run took us through the heartland of Austria. Our team started our from Stockerau, where the strong presence of local runners was quite impressive; most of the time we had 30 - 40 runners on the road!

The mayor and a group of local runners were waiting for us in the centre of Stockerau. We introduced the Run and off we went! As the sun was beaming down, the day was perfect for running!

As we approached Tulln, we missed some waiting runners; luckily they caught up with us and led us to the meeting place near the river Danube. Cold refreshments there were greatly appreciated!

Our youngest team member performs a serious workout...

For most of the day, we were running in extremely beautiful countryside. We formed fast and slow teams and everybody had a perfect running experience.

In Zwentendorf, the mayor awaited us. A brief, hearty meeting and the team continued...

Our next stop was quite a funny one: the Dino Park in Traismauer! The park is in the capable hands of a mask builder who previously worked on such movies as "Jurassic Park" and "Lord of the Rings". The dinosaurs looked very realistic! Our team spent a very happy time there.

After running over gentle hills and through vineyards we reached Krems, where we were received in the "Kunsthalle". Regrettably, we had to leave quickly as our schedule got really tight!

Our next event led us up to the famous Stift Göttweig, a monastery of the order of St. Benedict. Pater Justus received us in the chapel of the monastery and blessed the torch!

The last stretch for today passed through one of Austria's most beautiful areas, the Wachau. The river Danube gets very narrow here because it is forging its way through high hills, left and right! The country here is extremely fertile, with vineyards and agriculture everywhere.

A brave team of runners covered the whole distance of 30 km. in one stretch!

Finally we reached Melk, our destination for today. The city representative turned out to be a real sportsman and virtually sprinted his way up to City Hall!

The long day was very exhausting, but highly satisfying for everybody!

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Distance: 120km

Team Members:
Dipavajan Renner and Gerhard Grünstäudl (Austria), Anita Borics (Hungary), Marlin Bernhard (Germany), Jarek Werner (Poland), Svetlana Gorshkova (Russia), Luke Armstrong (New Zealand), Tatjana Jauk (Slovenia)

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