Our first day in Germany was wonderful. The sun greeted us warmly as we started off. All day we ran through undulating terrain with vibrant yellow rapeseed fields and huge wind-turbines on the horizons.

Our first meeting was in Stolberg. This is the hometown of one of our German organisers, Elke, and she was interviewed by the local newspapers. More local friends came from Cologne, Osnabruck, and Dortmund, so during the day we had a convoy of seven cars!! At the municipality in Stolberg, the Deputy Mayor received us with so much enthusiasm and openness, even serving us sandwiches herself; such humility! She chose to receive us over another important event where the Chancellor of Germany would also be present. We were honoured.

At 12pm we arrived at Simmerath where the extremely fit Mayor received us, having just cycled 70km meet us. He greeted us in his cycling gear and passed our harmony torch on to some of the kids of Simmerath, who then ran with us for a few kilometres.

In Monschau we met the Tourist Information Officer, who received us on behalf of the city. The area is very special. It has an ancient castle and is known for its cultural festivals.

After a poppy field experience we arrived at Schleiden. We went to the city square where we had a very relaxed meeting with the Mayor and the townspeople.

Intense running, speedwork, and occasionally getting lost, is a common experience on the run, and so it was today. We always try to stay happy, but small panic attacks from runners or drivers also sometimes happen. In the end everything always comes together: “All’s well that ends well!”

The two last meetings of the day were at Hillesheim and Gerolstein. At Hillesheim the very young and dynamic lady Mayor received us with her daughter. A colleague of hers from Gerolstein then accompanied our runners to Gerolstein (famous for bottled spa water). We went to a local cultural festival there, where the Mayor gave us a very warm welcome and asked us to come back again next time. Some of our runners tried the local malt beer and confirmed it as good and tasty!

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Distance: 140km

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