Today our goal was to visit the five towns situated in the community called Fjarðarbyggð along with Stöðvarfjörður . We were about to start our journey to one of the most central and beautiful areas of this country.

Takmark dagsins var að heimsækja fimm staði. Fjarðarbyggð ásamt Stöðvarfirði. Við hlupum í gegnum marga af fallegustu fjörðum landsins.

All these towns were located near the sea shores of Iceland with fishing being its main industry.

Öll þorpin og bæirnir eru við sjó, þar sem sjósókn er enn aðal atvinnugreinin.

It was a perfect day for running with a clear blue sky and a cool breeze setting our runners into full motion. It is a rare occassion to get this kind of weather in Iceland and we have been very lucky.

Það var fullkominn dagur til að hlaupa, með heiðskýrum himni og fallegu sólskini.

Það var búið að vera dálítið kalt fyrri dagin, því var þetta skemmtileg tilbreyting.

The beauty of Iceland comes alive with the sun rays glazing over its green vegitation and numerous waterfalls.

Fegurð Íslands lifnar við er sólin skín skært á gróðurinn og hina mörgu fossa.

Our first town was Reyðarfjörður. We were welcomed by the local sports team as they joined us for a jog of about 1500m.

Fyrsti staðurinnvar Reyðarfjörður. En nokkrir gallvaskir krakkar hlupu með okkur upp í íþróttahús.

Their coach Anna, which ran with us back in 1987,...

Hér sést þjálfarinn hún Anna sem einmitt hljóp með okkur í fyrsta friðarhlaupinu 1987.

....and her energetic team of kids led us to their sportsfield for the ceremony.

....sumir þurftu meiri hjálp en aðrir.

The ceremony began in a usual manner with Suren explaining the goals of the World Harmony Run....

Athöfnin byrjaði með því að útskýra hlaupið.

....followed by our country guessing game....

....krakkarnir skemmtu sér konunglega við að giska á þjóðlönd hvers og eins hlaupara eftir tungumáli hans.

...and a quick reflection on where all of us can find harmony and peace.

síðan einföld leið til að finnan friðinn innra með okkur.

Holding the torch is one of the most wonderful occasions which is never to be missed. It brings forward the most beautiful smiles ever seen on this planet.

Það alltaf jafn skemmtilegt að halda á kyndlinum sem enginn ætti að missa af.

Það færir okkur alltaf hjartans bros.

With running conditions being so perfect we quickly began running towards Eskifjörður, which is the second town of Fjarðarbyggð.

Þetta var kjörið hlaupaveður og því frábært að fá að hlaupa á Eskifjörð.

We arrived here to meet the local sports team and they also ran with us for few kilometers.

Við hittum krakka frá íþróttaliðinu á Eskifirði sem hlupu með okkur.

The landscape of this town can only be described as magical. Its mountains are capped by snow and purple flowers blush through the entire valley. This particular flower is called Lupina. This variety of flower prevents the soil from eroding and therefore plays a very important part in maintaining the beauty of Iceland.

Fegurð Eskifjarðar gaf hlaupurunum mikla ánægju með sí snæviþakin fjöll í júlí:)

Along the way our runners faced some steep hills and harsh winds. However the mighty aspiration of our runners defeated these challanges.

Það þarf alltaf einhver að hlaupa brekkurnar og sumir keppast við að fá að gera það. Brekkurnar eru alltaf sigraðar með bros á vör.

We arrived at our third town, Neskaupstadur - population 1600.

Hér hlaupum víð á Neskaupstað sem er fagur bær með mikla sögu og 1600 íbúa.

We were again greeted by their local sports team.

Hér hittum við nokkra krakka.

As we approached our country guessing game, Atul finally showed us some of his Bollywood dance.

Hér dansar Atul frá Indlandi fyrir krakkana smá Bollywood dans.

A genuine prayer for harmony truley brings happiness and peace - within and without.
allir fundu fyrir frið í hjarta sínu.

Let's run around the continents of the world.
Hlaupið í öllum heimsálfum og fengnir stimplar til að sanna það:)

We were truely thankful for the their participation. Mr Stefan, the representative of his town invited us for a quick refreshment and a hardy lunch.

Stefán tók á móti fyrir hönd fjarðarbyggðar á Neskaupstað og safnaði krökkunum saman og bauð okkur svo í frábæran hádegismat. Takk kærlega.

We arrived at Egilsstaðir, being the fourth town, by noon time.

Við hlupum svo til Egilsstaða eftir hádegi.

We joined the kids in their Beach vollyball arena. Some of us had never experienced a volleyball court that has grey coloured sand.

Við heldum athöfn með krökkum sem voru að spila strandblak.

It didnt take them much time to beat us in our country guessing game and make us sing within a quick moment.

Þau voru fljót að giska á rétt þjóðerni hlauparana.

A symbolic run around the volleyball court.
Hlaupið um blakvöllinn.

Our journey towards the next town came across some more steep hills but Lucas, Suren and Amalendu showed their courage to conquer them.

Hvílík hetjudáð hjá drengjunum að taka heiðina alla.

The glory was shining on Suren's tourch as he continued to run with his knee that was hurt during the run.

Hlaupið þrátt fyrir smá meiðsli.

We came across many lakes that were formed on top of these mountains with clear reflections and blue colour.

Mörg falleg vötn hulin ís á leið yfir heiðina til Seyðisfjarðar.

This country has a waterfall at nearly every corner and they truly enhance its beauty. As an example, there were nearly twenty waterfalls counted in just one town. The beauty of these waterfalls captivated our runners.

Það er næstum einn foss á hvert mannbarn á Íslandi með ótrúlega fegurð:)

Our fifth and last meeting was situated in the town of Seyðisfjörður.

Síðasti bær dagsins var Seyðisfjörður.

The people of the town were very receptive to the message of friendship and living in harmony.

Hér lifa allir í sátt og samlyndi eins og sjá má.

The organiser of Seyðisfjörður, Eydís, accepted our best wishes with so much enthusiasum that she offered our girls team her house for the night. It was a treat for them as they covered more kilometers than the boys team.

Eydís fyrir öllu eins og athöfninni og gistinu fyrir strákana. Og hýsti svo stelpu liðið heima hjá sér.

We finally ended our day by playing with the local kids on this most popular swing ride.

This day was one of the best days we have experienced in Iceland. We experienced the great landscapes, the beautiful waterfalls, the snow capped mountains, the amazing people and finally a good distance to run.

Við enduðum daginn á róló:)

Þetta var einn besti dagurinn frá byrjun þessa hlaups með frábæru veðri og magnaðri náttúru fegurð eins t.d. fossum fjöllum góðum kílómetra fjölda og frábæru fólki.

 

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The World Harmony Run proudly supports the International Year of Youth (IYY) and the International Year of Forests (IYF) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly.

See the recent Youtube video on African experience which illustrates IYY slogan "Our Year Our Voice"  International Year of Youth - Zambia World Harmony. They surprisingly mention Presidents and UN Secretary-General in a unique way! 

See also the UNESCO World Heritage (WH) Centre support for IY of Forests.  ... Convention for conservation of forest biodiversity. (more)

 

– Atul

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Distance: 111 km

Team Members:
Suren Leoson (Iceland), Dipavajan Renner (Austria), Apaguha Vesely (Czech Republic), Atulya Berube (USA), Atul Arora (India), Zach Saltzman (USA), Roos de Waart (Netherlands), Dennis Gribok (Luxembourg), Sumahat Strohn (Germany), Vlada Lepic (Czech Republic), Florian Mesaritsch (Austria), Amalendu Edelsten (Australia), Kanala (Slovakia), Boijayanti Gomez Badillo (Puerto Rico), Shobhavati Davies (New Zealand), Teekhnata Metzler (USA), Grahak Cunningham (Australia), Lukas Ineichen (Switzerland), Vimalamati van der Vaart (Netherlands), Pranava Runar Gigja (Iceland)

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

Gallery: See more images!

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