Linda, logging up the miles.

A Very Special Day

This morning in a campsite at Tappan Lake we woke up for a very incredible day, but at 6 o’clock nobody knew that, so we went back to sleep peacefully. At around 7:30 we had no more escape, the sun was brightly shining and did not let us enjoy the La-la land anymore. One by one all the sleepy runners crawled out of their tents, except one. Svetlana, the great Russian warrior, would never give up the battle – neither the sun or the noise could take her out of her sleeping bag. Slowly the vehicles started to disappear, only our van and the RV (our moving kitchen) stayed. Maria and I were packing up the tents. So the time has come to bring Svetlana back to reality, and after several attempts at around 9 o’clock we succeeded.

Soon RV left too, but a little later they came back again to make sure if we had everything. “OK, it is the last chance before I see RV again, so let me grab some fruits for my team. Now we are all set.” I thought…

And RV disappeared behind the trees and out of the campsite.

Half an hour later we finished packing and took off for the road. Then a sudden realization came to me: O, Nooooo, my running shoes are in the other car! (Or in RV? – I could not even remember) It felt quite miserable, because I am already like a half person, since I cannot drive. And now, without my running shoes, better not to calculate my worth. Unfortunately it was also the third or fourth day in a row when I left my shoes in another car. It means I was so ashamed and sorry for all the troubles that I made for the other team members. Luckily we were the last team which was supposed to pass the other teams, so I had chance to reunite with my runners again.

Maria our very own flower child

At first we met the other girls’ team, but I did not find my shoes there. Then we missed each other with RV. So poor Maria started to do her miles in one stretch, Svetlana, the only driver among us, was driving, and I felt like a potato in the back seat.

Maria was the navigator, so we presumed that she also knew the way while running: 19 North. But later we could not find her on the road. What happened? Did she miss it? Well, the real answer was more interesting. When we asked her she came up with the following incredible explanation: she asked somebody how to get on 19 North, and she was told that 19 South at one point would become 19 North. But we picked her up after 2 miles, so now she will never know if the directions were right.

She took off running again to the right direction this time, but she forgot something. She started to run without the torch, but we caught her in time and gave her a torch just in case. I have to confess that she is a real tough rival for me in the competition for the ‘most spaced out runner’ title.

Meanwhile, the RV arrived and I got my dearly missed runners and we could leap-frog. On my first miles a car stopped by me with a mother (Gloria) and her daughter (Cathasaigh) they asked questions about the run. I told them to go down a little further to the van to get our brochures. After about 15 minutes I got there too, and happily saw that they were still talking to Svetlana. I learned that Cathasaigh was a musician, so just out of enthusiasm I invited them to our hotel to play for us. They willingly said yes.

After all this, what else can happen? Yes, Svetlana has not really performed anything yet, except the marathon sleep. Her turn came soon. After we finished running we met the other girls, and Sevati was driving Svetlana. All these challanges we have to face every day because we have only 3 drivers. The other two ‘potatoes’, or what we refer to as non-drivers, went with Anja to the hotel. We were almost there, when we got a call from Sevati that she lost Svetlana. So we turned back to look for her. Later we got a call from our the US coordinator, from San Diego, that Svetlana is in the hotel already. It was funny to imagine her in the hotel, maybe enjoying the Jacuzzi.

This is her true story: she went on the 19 Truck route, instead of 19, that is why Sevati did not find her. After running 6 miles alone, without water, she got to a tunnel in Pittsburgh, where we are not supposed to run. So a policeman picked her up and gave her a ride to the hotel.

O boy, what a day!

Cathasaigh performing for the team.

But after all these “performances” we got a real one too. Cathasaigh with her mother, Gloria and sister, Jessica visited us at the hotel. After a little informal introduction a real family atmosphere was created, and the 18-year-old Cathasaigh with her beautiful voice had us forgetting about all the crazy episodes of the day. She played a twelve-string-guitar and sang many songs: happy, sad, funny, serious, playful and soulful. She never studied music but with great talent she learned everything by herself. Not only her musical performance but also her sincere and sweet attitude was most enchanting. We were very grateful for the beautiful experience and their immediate willingness to share it with us. Their music, enthusiasm, kindness and friendship turned this crazy day into a something very, very special. We hope to stay in touch and wish them good luck.

After surviving the day, at around midnight, while I am typing my story now, I am also thinking about a question that we saw on the wall of a church: “What have you learned today?”. I feel that there are so many beautiful things in life if we do not give up and if we keep going cheerfully, the result will be far better than our bravest dreams.

Linda (Hungary)

Arpan leaves Georgetown PA.

This morning my team went out to run early. The weather was perfect and the scenery was very inspiring and relaxing. We ran on a hilly course with rolling pastures and farms. The corn and soy fields still abound after weeks of running past them. But it was a little bit of a sad day knowing that Blazej and Prabhakar had to leave us to go back home.

Things and people are always in a state of flux out here on the road. We have to deal with the uniqueness of each day as we keep forging ahead, never totally knowing what to expect.

Blazej from the Czech Republic having just run up a very steep hill.

As we were ending our morning run in Wheeling, West Virginia, a reporter from the local newspaper, the Intelligencer, came out to cover our story. It was a Sunday morning, yet Katie Wilson had the dedication get out to the center of town to report on us coming through Wheeling. This is always a wonderful feeling for us, especially when it happens on the least likely work day. After a few photos in front of the historic Capitol Music Hall, we had to move on.

Dinner very kindly provided by Pizza Parma in Pittsburgh

Running into a big city like Pittsburgh can be quite confusing after months through relatively smaller towns (except Chicago last week). After we got all the team together following a lost runner incident, we were ready for a good meal. Glen and Neal, the managers at Pizza Parma in Pittsburgh, were so kind to offer us three large and very tasty pizza pies and a huge party salad with drinks as well. Max the chef, made some awesome pizzas as we devoured them on the spot. We are very grateful to these guys who were very friendly and kind in their offering to the Run.

Another unexpected treat happened soon after dinner when a young singer, Cathasaigh, and her mom Gloria and sister Jessica came by the hotel to sing for us. Cathasaigh sang for almost an hour as her family set up the equipment and did some filming. Her voice was like that of a beautiful bird singing joyously in the treetops. For a teenager, Cathasaigh has quite a bit of experience and depth in her voice and her lyrics

Staying at the Ramada Inn in downtown Pittsburgh, we were treated by all the staff there very courteously. They helped us out in many ways, including offering us bottles of water, fruits, etc. They also offered us four complimentary rooms as well. They even allowed our friends to set up their small music performance in one of the lobbies. So far, our entrance into Pittsburgh was quite warm and friendly. Very encouraging indeed.

Arpan (N.Y.C.)

Outside the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling West Virginia.

what I am really running for

While I was running today, like some of the last days, I thought about how it will be, when we arrive back home in New York. How will I feel, how will it be to be without all the people around me. How will it be not to move every day, to get up in the morning, pack my things and just go to a place, I’ve never seen before. Meet people I’ve never met before and experience things I didn’t dream about.

While I was running on a very beautiful road towards Pittsburgh a car stopped and the people asked me what I am doing, what I was running for. It was a lady with her son. I told her about the run and she said how much she wishes that there would be more peace in the world. She was smiling at me wishing me all the best and drove off.

Every time, when people say such beautiful things from deep inside, I get so much new energy. When I started running again I think for the first time since I’m on the run, I realized, what I am really running for. I didn’t just tell the message, I really felt it. I felt the meaning of the run and it was followed by so much joy and gratitude, to be one of the runners. Of course there were many nice experiences we all had, many many nice people we met and new friends we made, but it took me until today to really feel and experience, what I was talking about for three months every time I met people in the street, children, anybody.

Sometimes when I was talking about the run I became a little sad afterwards because I was not able to feel the depth and express it and give it to somebody by handing him the torch. To feel it just once, like I felt it today, deep inside was worth running hard for more than three months.

I am so grateful to the lady who stopped her car to ask me about the run. She gave me a new opportunity to talk about it and make myself once more thinking about what I am running for with a flaming torch in my hand and a beautiful message in my heart.

Anja (Germany)

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