Sunny skies greeted us once again as we drove back from Subotica to Horgos to start our run of today. Our run from Horgos to Subotica had been a little detour in the geographical sense, but what a nice one!

Our route today took us to many small and slightly larger towns on the way to Novi Sad, among others Coka, Centa, Ada and Mol. Does that not sound like a poem, when you say these names aloud?

Everywhere we were greeted with heart-touching enthusiasm and warmth. During the day we had no less than ten ceremonies and meetings, where we met hundreds and hundreds of children. We could only achieve this because our Serbian friends and local runners covered a lot of the kilometres.

Especially beautiful was the meeting we had in Coka. The people had closed the roads leading to the main street in the town for traffic. Many people were waiting for us, loudly cheering as we arrived. As the torch was passed from hand to hand, two dance groups with colourful costumes showed us the beauty of their local culture.

One of the town representatives eloquently captured the meaning of the World Harmony Run and our meeting together when he said, “The World Harmony Run leaves us now, but its spirit remains here.”

At our meetings we quite often sing the World Harmony Run song. In Senta a choir of young people performed an arrangement of this song that really inspired us. Hopefully one day we can sing like them!

In Ada the striking colours of the children’s shirts of the local sports club were eye-catching.

In Becej the torch was not only escorted by runners, but also by a group of young cyclists.

And everywhere, in Kanjiza, Novi Knezevac, Backo Petrovo Selo and Backo Gradiste children lined the streets, throwing flowers, cheering and running with us as the World Harmony Run came by.

This special day had a fitting ending in the booming town of Novi Sad.

As in Subotica we were received on a big podium on the main square in town.

The children of the music school sang, and a touching poem was read before many in the crowd that were gathered on the square held the torch.

Now we are deep into Serbia and Montenegro. So far, small green fields, sometimes worked by hand, give an impression of quiet fertility. The sounds are those of singing birds and croaking frogs. The pace of life seems symbolised by the horse carts that pass by now and then. And we look forward to meeting many, many more of the friendly Serbian people in the days to come!

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Distance: 130km

Team Members:
Ondrej (Czech Republic), Mark (England), Andrea (Hungary), Frank (Holland), Petr (Czech Republic), Roberto (Germany).

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