We awoke early to fully appreciate the natural beauty of our accommodation surroundings. A mist had covered the lake, but it soon cleared with the warmth of the summer sun. All was still and the lake was like a plate glass perfectly reflecting the trees and the sky. We all wished we could have stayed here longer.

We began running from Livani square where we had finished yesterday.

The representatives of the city and sport both ran with us, along with the many children, and an energetic small black dog. We were kindly given gifts of lovely rye bread (a speciality here in Latvia), sweets and biscuits from the city.

At Jekabpils Region border we got a fabulous welcome. A band was playing in the back of an open top truck, singers welcomed us and presented us with a green wreath, and they generously gave us rye bread, beans and apple juice. We lit the runners’ wooden torches and they stayed with us until Aizkrauke Gostini Region border.

And so did the band in the truck that followed us; the musicians really enjoyed themselves and we enjoyed their vibrant music.

At Krustpils more children joined us for the ceremony there. It had the feeling of a whole town party atmosphere, with balloons, music of the World Harmony Run song played over the loudspeakers and feeling of oneness and joy.

The children lovingly gave each runner a bunch of flowers. About 50 children ran out of the town, as we ran the remaining 4 km to the region’s border. We said goodbye to all the local runners and eager teenagers who had run with us the last 40 km.

The running conditions were near-perfect - sunshine, blue skies, and a light breeze to cool us on the long, straight roads. The scenery was just as perfect - green and fresh meadowlands on either bank of the blue River Daugava (the largest river in Latvia). Petar even tried his hand at single-handed herding

With some local girls running with us we entered the small town of Plavinas beside the River Daugava, and got a big-hearted welcome.

The women, dressed in traditional costume, sang their hearts out for us.

The representative of the town put on the World Harmony Run t-shirt that we gave him and ran with us , torch in hand, for a few hundred metres.

At the small village of Skriveru Pansionats we met a local representative of the village, and we got some much-needed refreshments.

When he was asked to start running with the torch, he replied, “But I am running”. We hadn’t noticed that he was walking.

Harmony begins by simply taking that first step, whether walking or running.

From Skriveru to Lielvarde, runners from a local running club helped us run the final 25 km of the day. The final 3 km from Lielvarde, children from the local football club enthusiastically and happily ran with us. They were so considerate to each other as they took turns in holding the torch and flags.

Running on the cycle path we ended our day’s run in Lielvarde park beside the river. In an amphitheatre a brass band played, and we watched some of the most acrobatic and unusual traditional dancing we’ve experienced. The dancers had so much energy and were ever so light on their feet. Everyone felt the joy and energy that they put in their dancing.

So, again a perfect day's running in Latvia came to a close.

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Distance: 116km

Team Members:
Anete Klavina (Latvia), Arturas Rasimavicius (Lithuania), Ieva Kurzemniece (Latvia), Jadranka Grbic (Serbia & Montenegro), Jarek Werner (Poland), Jirka Albrecht (Czech Republic), Mark Collinson (England), Ondrej Vesely (Czech Republic), Petar Mihaylov (Bulgaria), Valentine Bebik (Ukraine).

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

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