Today was our last day of running in Russia. We started in the morning from Slantsy, where we had overnighted in a gym. Jewgenij and I could not resist jumping on the trampoline once more. What a start to the day...

Playing with reflections...

It was a beautiful but windy day. The cold wind made the huge clouds move very fast; sometimes it seemed as if we were watching a nature movie on fast forward.

Before our first meeting we had a short lunch break. We stopped near the forest in which this tree stands. Svetlana told us that it is called the love-tree. The husband of a newly- married couple has to attach a bottle to one of the branches. Tradition says the higher the bottle hangs, the longer the marriage is going to last...

Following the runners...

Children were running with us to the first ceremony in Kingisep. On the way we passed this beautiful church...

We were given a nice and warm welcome. After the traditional breaking of bread and a short presentation, we introduced ourselves to the audience. Each runner also received a small gift from the city.

There were several groups of children, from all the different grades of the local school. We we had a picture taken with each group, and there were a least five of them...

Jewgenij was surrounded by a bunch of kids, all wanting his autograph...

With the torch in hand, everyone smiles like a child.

We covered the last 25 km to Ivangorod quickly. After entering the city, which borders Estonia, we had a nice meeting with local children in a square just a few hundred metres from the border.

Alexander Junda is well-known in this region. He is not only a poet and painter, but also used to travel a lot. He told us about his journey across Siberia on foot. He walked over 10,000 km!!

Children listened excitedly to our team members when they introduced themselves in their native languages. Many, many pictures were taken. Fortunately, cell phones have built-in cameras...

This young lady handed us a brochure with beautiful images of the region. Thank you!

It is a pity that we only have one more morning with Svetlana, our cheerful Russian coordinator. We will definitely miss her jokes and her smiling face...

- Martin Leitner

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