Thanks to the Ibis hotel, Swansea and the Best Western Hotel, the World Harmony runners had a night in luxurious conditions and are very grateful to Elizabeth Jones, the Duty Manager for welcoming them so kindly. The occasional night somewhere warm and dry with a bed and breakfast provided makes a real difference at the day’s start.

Creative scheduling meant that there was a short drive to the starting point today and the first section will be run tomorrow, after the Swansea 10km race.

The running day began in Port Talbot and the Saturday morning streets were very quiet, which enabled both runners and vans to move through the centre of town very quickly.

On the last section from Caerwent to Chepstow, the Harmony runners managed to squeeze by horses and carriage which looked like they might be part of an old-style wedding

The route kept the runners on the A48 for most of the day; congratulations to Balavan for getting the runners to the Severn Bridge and back to Cardiff in time for a 4 p.m. function at the Temple of Peace - no mean feat.

As well as having Baltic runners on the team at the moment, the Run came across two Lithuanians who were very happy to hold the torch.

Terezia has been getting into her stride and has been clocking up the miles.

The Temple of Peace is based at the Welsh Centre for International Affairs and is a non-religious civic building in the centre of Cardiff.

The Harmony Run was welcomed by the Allan Griffiths, deputy mayor of Cardiff and representatives from different faiths including Aled Edwards, Salim Kidwai, Alan Schwarts and Stephen Thomas, Director of International Affairs at the Temple of Peace

Rosta Vagner looks at the Temple of Peace.

After the refreshments kindly served by Stephen Thomas, the Harmony Run took the opportunity to visit Run and Become in Wood Street, Cardiff. A sports shoe shop that specialises in running gear, Run and Become has been supportive of the World Harmony Run for many years.

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Distance: 105km

Team Members:
Ondrej Vesely, Rosta Vagner, Katka Prusova, Ivana Nemacova (Czech Republic), Balavan Thomas, Roger Chamberlain (England) Abichal Watkins (Wales), Jarek Werner (Poland), Terezia Hammel (Hungary) Ieva Kurzemniece and Anette Klavina (Latvia), Helena Kosuthova (Slovakia), Annemarie Beumer (Netherlands).

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

Gallery: See more images!

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