Good morning Latvia. A busy day is waiting for us.

At 8.45 am the mayor of Aluksne came to the student hostel at which we stayed last night. Yesterday we had asked him to run with us. And he actually came! Before we started, he begged us not to run too fast, since it was his first run in 20 years...

The mayor would not give up. He ran almost 3 km with our group of runners. When we reached the city limits we shook hands and he handed us a box of chocolates. From here we started the first solo runner off...

Beautiful weather, beautiful view...

By fields...

... and lakes...

...right to the Ozolnieki running club.

This club has run with us every year since 1996! The group of between 20 and 30 people was waiting for us at the entrance to Balvi.

The youngest runner was only 13 years old, and the oldest over 70! They came with their own bus and since they already know our leap-frog system very well, it was super-easy to run together.

At the Balvi main square a wolf received us. He is the mascot of the town. He was also the MC. It was funny because we could not see anyone with a mike around, yet there was somebody talking. It gave us a good laugh when we found out that it was the wolf who had a microphone under his costume (actually, her costume, since it was a girl).

The wolf passed the torch to the mayor...

...and then passed the rest of us icecream!! Yeah...

We were given balloons and on the count of three they were released...

Another nice dancing performance...

... by a group of young girls...

... just before the mayor took the first few steps with us.

I had a little time to go and hunt for pictures. Here's the result...

A bug's life...

... they were everywhere.

Horsey, horsey, horsey...

Hard working man in the heat of the afternoon...

Our next meeting took place in Baltinava. The headmaster of the local school received us in the front yard of the school.

A rich buffet was waiting for us...

...and we also made new friends. Here you can see Franz chillin' in the sun with his new buddy...

Conny made big eyes when we ran in to the next meeting.

This could also be a picture from the Run in Australia. But I promise it is Latvia. Suddenly, in the middle of nowhere, we were welcomed by the people from the next region.

A wolf again, or is it bear...?

Girls with flowers, and wearing traditional garments...

It was a short but heartfelt reception. We were given flowers and refreshments. Music was being played and we were all invited to join in a traditional dance.

Smiling faces and shining eyes. The torch is magic for old...

... and young alike.

On the way to our last meeting.

We will spend the night here, in Ludza, the oldest town in Latvia.

This is Kristaps Saulkurs, the 13-year old boy from the Ozolnieki running club.

He was so eager to run - nothing could stop him. At the end he had covered more than 26 km! All the runners deserve our hearts' gratitude. It was simply amazing having such a big group on the road all day long. THANK YOU VERY MUCH !!

The mayor of Ludza met us on this hill, where the ruins of Latvia;s oldest castle stand. Simply beautiful up there...

And the view! On either side you can see the lake and the beautiful nature that surrounds Ludza.

Just behind the ruins of the castle stands this church. We were given a tour and a young guide told us many interesting things about the history of the castle and the church.

What a day. S.o.o.o.o.o many things happened. I can't even remember what I had for breakfast. Now I am really tired. Good night, "read" you tomorrow...

– Martin Leitner

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Distance: 125 km

Team Members:
Martin Leitner (Austria), Franz Hinteregger (Austria), Conny Schimke (Germany), Tamas Huszar (Hungary), Ieva Kurzemniece (Latvia), Davids Kleiners (Latvia ), Anastasia Aleksejeva (Latvia)

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

Gallery: See more images!

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