The runners meet with Mayor Charles Meeker.

The morning was quiet and peaceful as we drove down from Virginia towards North Carolina today.

We will miss you, Linda, and we hope to see you out here on the road again soon!!!

Our girls’ team was to face the first parting of this year’s World Harmony Run. Our team-clown and entertainer Linda was going back to New York and then to Hungary. She ran her last 7 miles with us and so together with Anja they covered first part of today’s route.

After that we drove further south to Raleigh to drop Linda off at the airport. It was indeed sad to say good-bye to our team member, especially because Linda is definitely the kind of person that everyone just loves having around for her extremely contagious humor and laughter.

A little bit smaller (and quieter) team of girls returned back north to Youngsville to finish our today’s miles. I started off my first two miles feeling not too strong, but as we progressed I felt really good and happy again. It is truly amazing about the running, that it just makes you feel better and better with every step.

I made the most surprising discovery yesterday as I was running down through Virginia (or should I say UP - as we had quiet a few hills on our route). After some time running in the beautiful and peaceful countryside of south Virginia, I realized all of a sudden that it was not me who was carrying the flaming torch, but it was the torch that was carrying me ! What a fantastic feeling! The legs are light, the body is relaxed and you are just being carried away by this amazing beauty and happiness inside and outside you. I realized that most of us human beings have forgotten how beautiful the world around us is. I guess it would not hurt to get out of our daily routine, forget our stress and pressure and just look around and appreciate the beauty of God’s creation. It is worth trying…

There is another thing that makes the World Harmony Run a very fulfilling experience: meeting people. Today, just past Wake Forest, a young couple stopped by our van asking about the run. Being themselves runners, they showed tremendous enthusiasm about what we are doing, had a picture taken with us and it was just so nice to talk to them for a few minutes. These kinds of meetings give us so much inspiration and energy to go on! And we sure needed that today as the overcast sky was getting darker and darker and the wind was getting stronger and stronger and we knew that it may start raining any time.

Our meister drench-man gets blessed with that sweet Southern Hospitality .

Having one last mile to go Anja took up the torch and ran bravely towards the coming storm. The rain came down pouring within a few minutes. We were trying to trace her, but we could see basically nothing. All of a sudden we spotted her standing on the side of the road under the big sign trying to hide from torrential rain. She was totally soaked! Thank God this was the end of our route, so we did not have to continue in the rain.

We heard report from other team that was caught by the storm. Atulya had very dramatic two miles little up north of Raleigh. Apparently he was successfully using the torch as an umbrella protecting his face from the direct stream of water.

Snakes alive! The team gets a closer look at one of our slithery friends at the Raleigh Museum of Natural History.

Some a bit wet, but all very happy we finished our miles and met in Raleigh in front of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. The mayor of the city Mr. Charles Meeker welcomed us and held the torch with us. We would like to thank him for coming to meet us, in spite of unfriendly weather.

Yes, boys and girls, monster sharks do love to eat ham.

We would like to thank also Dr. Betsey Bennett, the Director of the Museum and Ms. Erin MacEntee, the education curator for the Museum, for inviting us to see the exhibition.

Last but not least our today’s thanks go to our dear friends Mary Gale and Michael who graciously hosted us in their home in Raleigh and made a delicious dinner for us.

Maheeshi

Two teams with a great cause to run.

Two Runners Passing in the Day

I had an unusual if not rare experience today. As I was running my leg of the miles for the day, I saw another runner coming towards me. As we reach each other we stopped and share our causes.

Oscar and Arnulfo do their part of the 16 man relay that began on March 4 in Santa Monica and will finish on May 5 in New York City.

The Day Laborers Run for Peace and Dignity just happened to be on the same route as us. It was very inspiring to see these gentle truly sharing the same ideals and dedication.

Their mission is to empower day-laborers through education and organizing strategies, to become leaders in their communities and in the fight to improve the living and working conditions of all immigrant workers.

For more information please visit their website .

Atulya

---

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

< USA 21 April

USA 24 April >

USA 23 April