After our wonderful stay at the Hotel Santa Fe, some of the men’s team headed off early in the morning for the hills of northern New Mexico. With the snow capped southern Rocky Mountains, called the San Juan Range, as a glorious backdrop for most of today’s running, the enchanting qualities of this beautiful state really kept our spirits up as the hills became more frequent and longer.

Some of the runners on this team have not been west of the Mississippi River before, or the East River in New York in some cases. Unless you come out to experience it for yourself, especially on foot, the grandeur and beauty of the Southwest cannot be fathomed. One of our runners, Morris, who comes from and lives on the East Coast, offers his description of the experience out here in the land of enchantment for the first time.

He states: “Today marks my completion of two weeks on the World Harmony Run. I have a full month of running ahead of me and I am very excited!

“In the cool, bright morning air, my teammates and I ran through the Abiquiu area of New Mexico, arguably one of the most spectacular natural treasures in the United States. The road twists through canyons and gorges, with huge mesas and corkscrew-shaped stone monoliths towering on either side.

“A young triathlete named Adrian met us at our starting point and ran eight miles with us. We are so grateful to people like Adrian who come out to support us. A strong runner, we all struggled to keep up with him.

“Later in the day, I discovered that a local Pizza Hut had offered to host us for the evening. After the meal, the owner and manager both thanked us for accepting their dinner invitation. I was so moved by their grace and selfless generosity.

“After dinner, we visited a local hot sulfur springs spa called Springs Resort. The water was hot! I came out smelling like eggs, but I felt relaxed and light as air. Nothing is more therapeutic than hot springs for aching muscles.

“I have lost a lot of weight by running eight miles a day on the world Harmony Run. I look forward to each lap, and I connect with the beautiful scenery around me. Never have I breathed such clear, clean air before.

“Some of my teammates are ice cream fiends. Their mission is not Star Trek’s: “To seek out new life and new civilizations”, no. Their theme is: ‘Let’s eat lots and lots of ice cream and run it off.’

“These people are lucky to be able to ‘run off’ their ice cream. If I ate ice cream the way they did, I’d have to do a marathon every day and not just eight miles!

“I am so happy to be here, to experience the simple and pure heart of America the beautiful.”

Damon from New Zealand adds:

“Although I run my same standard courses in training at home, my favorite type of running is scenic running. Whenever I am in a new city or country I cannot wait to get out and explore. There is such inspiration and satisfaction that comes with the newness of running somewhere you have not run before. We are now in some of the most scenic country on earth as we run north out of New Mexico and into Colorado.

“Although photographed and frequently rendered in paintings, there is nothing quite like physically being amongst this natural scenery. We are now above the elevation of 7,000 feet now and the thinning air is quite noticeable as we continue to climb. It is very green here now as New Mexico has had record rain and snowfall which is melting fast because of record high temperatures for this time of year. Consequently, all the rivers are running very high and swiftly.

“Yet where the foliage is absent the orange sands are brilliant in contrast. Severely eroded mesas rise into the sky. The visibility is extremely good in the absence of pollution. Some of the desert spectrum of colors is now apparent as well: shades of yellow, red and purple marble. At each turn in the road there appears a more spectacular vista, and running becomes quite effortless. It is truly amazing to be a pedestrian in such a vast and magnificent land. With torch in hand, this is for me the ultimate in scenic running.”

Wonderfully expressed by two of our runners, I am sure all the runners have had similar feelings and experiences about running in such a spectacular, natural and enchanting environment. This type of setting for us offers much in the way of personal harmony and cultivates a deep feeling of respect for and oneness with the Earth itself.

It is a wonderfully magical planet that we live on, and if we can take a little time each day to appreciate the simplicity of its beauty and grandeur of its design, then perhaps we ourselves could feel more the natural harmony that exudes from each blade of grass or ray of sunlight. This harmony, once assimilated, can and will inevitably spread its wings and fly, or run, to the farthest corners of the globe.

Sri Chinmoy’s vision of a more harmonious world, as expressed through the World Harmony Run, offers many people from all walks of life all over the world to take part in this grand design. As runners, we are trying to do what we can to share these wonderfully positive qualities around this country and the world.

We are so grateful to all those who have offered us accommodations as an expression of harmony and oneness. We also appreciate those who come out to share these very meaningful sentiments with us. Our friends at the Hotel Santa Fe were so kind in offering us two suites for our stay over in Santa Fe.

Later in the day, after leaving Santa Fe, some local Native Americans like Stanley from the Pueblos up north and Alex and his son Erwin Elote from the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in northern New Mexico stopped as they saw us running north along highway 84. Also, a couple from Pagosa.com stopped along our route to take photos of the runners and get information to put on their website. We are happy and grateful that they turned around and stopped to greet us.

Some people are understandably confused when they see a runner with a lit torch running on the shoulder of a highway. Some people are inspired by this unusual sight and kindly wave. But occasionally there are those who go out of their way to stop and meet us and find out what it is all about. Sometimes they will even turn around when they are going in the opposite direction of the run. It gives us enormous joy when people stop to greet us on the road. We love to share the inspiration of the Harmony Torch and to learn about the local residents who see us running whenever possible. We are so grateful to Stanley, Alex and Erwin for taking the time to talk to us and inspire us as we pass through their reservation and towns in this wonderful state.

Thank you to Tequilas for a fine mexican dinner.

Arpan and Team Harmony

---

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

< USA 25 May

USA 27 May >