The day started rather misty as the fog rolled off the Black Sea, but by the time we started running the sun was burning the mist off and the sunshine was hazy. Even so early in the morning it was feeling warm and it had the feel of a hot summer’s day ahead of us.

As two International Teams are now running as one, there is a great vibrancy and oneness about the Team. We ate up the kilometres very quickly and we were outside Nessebar (42 km from Burgas) in no time, and way ahead of schedule for our meeting in Nessebar centre. As it was so hot by 11.00 we headed for the beach to cool our muscles, relax, and enjoy throwing the Frisbee around. Our Bulgarian runners informed us that the beaches here are, “The best beaches in Bulgaria.” We had so much fun on the beach in the 90 minutes allowed before getting back on schedule.

The resort has a rather unusual feel to the place – it is a work in progress as it is a resort yet to be fully completed. There are some new, plush hotels and others along the coast are half completed. The resort has so much potential and bar this redevelopment programme it is a seaside paradise. There was even a hotel named ‘Harmony Beach’.

Refreshed from the cool waters of the Black Sea we headed into Nessebar centre where it had the same feel as the seaside resort we had run from. We ran to a school and met the representative of the town and some second grade students studying English and Information Technology.

They asked the Team questions about the Run and we had a relaxing time chatting to them. We have been told so many times that time is very loose here in Bulgaria, and it is especially so here along the Black Sea. The people are relaxed and laid back, and there was a sense of tranquillity about Nessebar. However, no doubt that will all change next month when the holiday season gets underway and the tourists flock to this haven.

At the school a local 400m hurdler runner joined us briefly called Nikola. He had seen the World Harmony Run on Bulgarian national television and got in contact with the television station who directed him to the World Harmony Run website, and from there he contacted our Bulgarian country co-ordinator.

From Nessebar the running was more challenging with long hills stretching through coniferous forests. These hills are part of the Stara Planina Mountains (literally translated as ‘Old Mountains’) that run the breadth of the country. By the afternoon the heat was intense with not a cloud in the sky and the sun scorching everything. As we continued our running north towards Byala the landscape was spectacular with the forested mountains to the west and the Black Sea to the east.

In Byala town square we were greeted in the traditional way of being presented with fresh, warm bread and salt.

The mayor, Ilian Tsonev warmly greeted us and ushered us into the shade to speak! He said he wished he could put his running shorts on and run with us and leave all his duties to the deputy mayor, but maybe next year.

We were treated to fantastic hospitality – plenty of warm bread, cakes and chocolates. We toured the White Rocks Demonstration Centre (a collection of palaeo-geological exhibits), and the Byala ethnographic exposition, which illustrates the rich variety in the lifestyle and culture of the population from the region during the last years of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

We left Byala whereby two of the local girls poured water in front of us – a traditional custom to wish us luck and a safe journey.

In the city of Varna we were met by Kalinka Popstefanova (Director of Youth Activities and Sports Directorate – Muncipality of Varna) and her colleagues on the steps of the town hall. She was so glad to hold the torch and led us into a conference room where we were introduced to Georgi Nikolov (Head of Sports Department) and other technical sports coaches.

The city is very proud to have a fabulous sporting tradition and boats over 170 sports clubs in 40 different sports. Kalinka Popstefanova spoke eloquently about the nobility of running for harmony and peace and offered her personal insights of the importance of harmony in her life and the values of Eastern teachings. She was such a delight, and even amazingly sang a traditional folktale song for us after we had performed the World Harmony Run song for her.

The first day of both International Teams running as one blissfully ended on a perfect summer’s day.

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Distance: 140km

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