The Acting Governor of the US Virgin Islands (Lt. Gov) Vargrave A. Richards took a moment to hold the torch in his office. He was

most enthusastic about the goals of the Harmony Run and commended the team for taking part in such a worthwhile project.

Kids at the Antilles school expressed sincere interest in running as they get older and asked very detailed questions which inspired us.

The kids shared the artwork they prepared for us prior to our visit.

Senator Louis Hill came out in full gear to run with us in the blazing sun.

Back in 1995 members of our team brought the run to St. Thomas where Celia and James Carroll's son participated and was photographed running with the torch. Tragically, in the year 2000 their son was an innocent bystander who was shot and lost his life. His parents honor his memory by holding annual runs against gun violence and feature pictures of their son running with the torch on their event t-shirts. When we recognized one of our old torches on the t-shirts and they told us the story. We were so happy to have them participate and run with us this year.

Group photo before embarking on the run.

Cruise ships in the background, sea planes landing beside us, the sun shining, great company.... A great finish to a great series of runs.

Terry Hodge (left) is known by just about every athlete in St. Thomas, and for good reason. She is an organizing force for many athletic events on the island. When we finally saw her in person, we thought she was an Olympic athlete! Many thanks go to her for putting a great run together on short notice.

Jen of Jen's Gourmet Cafe and Deli opened her heart and kitchen and gave the runners a free meal after the run. We were naturally drawn to her place from the moment we arrived in St. Thomas, and it became our favorite stop.

Many thanks to the Galleon House for there hospitality to the team. Sandy and Martha have done a wonderful job keeping this rustic hillside stay feel like a home away from home. An ever-hospitable Dillion holds the torch.

As we gazed out of the porch from the Galleon House taking one last fantastic look at yet another Caribbean water-view, we just can't help but thinking of our next return to the islands.

To all those who helped make the Run such a success in the Caribbean, please know that we are sincerely grateful for all your hard work. We encourage all the unsung heroes to take a look once again at the photos --particularly of the smiling children -- to see how much joy was generated. We look forward to the next opportunity to carry the torch to one of the most beautiful regions of the world.

P.S. There are still a few islands we didn't make it to on this trip... and the year is still young....

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< St. Lucia, 16 June

Events in 2005 >