Running in Rochester.

After a wonderful stay at the home of Elise, Anna, Evan and Jam Vafi in Buffalo, we headed out into the cloudy but hot and humid morning on our way to Rochester.

Our wonderful hosts send us off, Jam, Ana and Elise.

We started during the rush hour traffic with very busy roads. I was desperately trying to get inspiration while competing with the traffic on its daily routine. As I was running along a row of cars stopped at a red light early in my run, two very enthusiastic and excited women opened their car window to cheer me on and ask me where I was running to.

Damon and Jowan preparing lunch for the team. Elise offers a helping hand.

After a few seconds of trying to rush an explanation before the light turned green, I told them our website address and they very sweetly said that they would check it out as soon as they got to work. This helped to make the rest of my ten mile run today much more pleasant and memorable. Running in leapfrog fashion with Sunabin and Natabara, we were able to get done before 11:00 a.m., well before the real heat and humidity climbed to over 95F, or 35C.

Speaking to the kids at the Rochester YMCA.

After our run, we were looking forward to a ceremony at the Adams Recreation Center, one of 13 Centers for children in Rochester to spend the summer days with healthy and creative things to do. Thanks to our coordinator, Palash, we were invited by Joe Diliberti and his staff to come and spend some time with the children, staff and the Mayor of Rochester, William Johnson. Mr. Johnson was so selfless in driving to the Center in the middle of this very hot day to greet us and talk with the children as well.

Mayor of Rochester William Johnson holds the World Harmony Torch.

In addressing the children, the Mayor mentioned that Rochester was once voted the friendliest city in the U.S.A. He said that he still encourages its citizens to welcome others from all over the country and the world. We were included in that welcome as he had the children stand up and offer us a loud ovation after the ceremony.

Small group with the runners outside the YMCA.

The honorable Mayor Johnson also stressed to the children the value and purpose of the World Harmony Run as an international initiative to promote harmony from the individual to the world community. He said that it is quite special to meet with people from so many different countries as our runners represented here today. We are very touched by Mayor Johnson’s kind and very sincere remarks today.

Kids at the YMCA imagining harmony.

The children also offered us beautiful paper flowers that they made for us earlier that day. We ended our memorable visit to the Adams Recreation Center with a little Torch relay run outside with the children and staff. The kids loved it when Joe, the Director, ran with the Torch after everyone had passed it to each other, making wishes for a harmonious world.

Our gracious hosts for the evening—Hampton Inn.

Later in the day we checked into our rooms at the Hampton Inn of Rochester while two other teams were staying in the Best Western Diplomat Hotel.

Both motels offered complimentary rooms which is a valuable contribution to the World Harmony Run.

We are also grateful to Mike and his staff of friendly and kind workers at the Numero Uno Pizzaria in the suburb of Greece who sponsored a fantastic meal of delicious pizzas and fresh salads and soft drinks to our tired and hungry runners tonight.

All of these offerings are extremely helpful and dearly appreciated by all the runners from around the world who run with us here in the U.S.A. Our foreign runners have nothing but praise and gratitude for the food and lodging that is offered to us by Americans who really care about the selfless message of world harmony beginning here at home and in the heart of every individual.

As we make our way running across this big and beautiful state of New York, we are both excited and a bit sentimental about getting closer to home but also closer to the end of a spectacular journey of hope and harmony where it seems that every step of the way there is some kind of support or encouragement from people everywhere we go.

Arpan and Team Harmony

---

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

< USA 3 August

USA 5 August >