All of the children enthusiastically greeted us as we ran into the Greenwood YMCA in South Carolina.

Shyamala - from Scotland - greets the children as she runs in with the torch. (This one is for you Palyati. :-) )

Homagni was spontaneaously made our spokesman. Never rattled, he jumped right in and masterfully engaged the children.

The Torch speaks in silence.

If you are very quiet you can hear the wishes and prayers for world harmony from the thousands of people who have held it.

As we shared our message of "Harmony begins with Me" the children delighted in running the torch around the grounds.

We would like to thank Beth Deloach (After School Director / Family Services Director), Gray Stallworth (Director) and Tom Whorton (Operations Mgr.) for organizing this inspiring event.

After the YMCA, our runners were met by the women's Crosscountry team from Lander University. We love when other runners join us. The newness, eagerness and inspiration is a tremendous lift for the whole team. Somehow the miles come easier when you are running with new friends.

President Dr. Daniel Ball joined in on the running. He led the runners into the heart of Lander campus, where they were greeted by a reception in the university's Johnston Commons.

During the reception Dr. Ball, along with the Harmony runners, presented Lander senior business administration/health care management major Kyle Hicks with the World Harmony Run Award, given in recognition of Hicks' compassion for his fellow students and community members. Hicks, of Clemson, holds down several jobs in addition to his student duties, including serving as a student worker in the President's Office.

Greenwood mayor Floyd Nicholson addressed the runners at the ceremony. "I was elated when I heard about the Harmony Run," said Nicholson. "If we are going to make a difference it's going to take each person looking into his or her heart and making a commitment to work toward harmony across all barriers." He even quoted the founder, Sri Chinmoy. They placed a great article on their site.

Our old friend Ace Fenley once again ran the torch into Elberton, GA. He has been enthusiastically running with us in Elberton for years and years.

Ace handed the torch to Mayor Larry Guest, who then read out a great proclamation, naming April 25th as World Harmony Run Day.

For his tremendous dedication to hosting the World Harmony Run and spreading the word throughout the community each time it has come to Elberton, we presented Ace with the Torch Bearer's Award. He was very honored.

The last stop of our big day was at the Boys and Girls Club in Athens, GA. About 200 excited children screamed and applauded as we ran in with the torch.

Though the staff tried to hide in the background, we got a group shot of them and had them run around the gym with the Torch.

The children all tried to guess which countries we were from.

They also had the chance to run around the gym with the torch!

And make wishes for harmony.

Thanks to Mike Hacket for allowing us the opportunity to meet with such a great group children and teenagers.

One of our many roadside encounters. This little guy was beaming after holding the torch and getting one of our stickers.

Our good friends Dan, Kate and Stu made us feel right at home in the farm home outside of Athens. Dan and Kate have hosted us three times, since Dan and Stu first ran with the torch about 8 years ago. Lucky for us, Dan and Kate are amazing cooks!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you. All our best wishes until we meet again.

– Atulya

Distance: 96 miles

Team Members:
Salil Wilson (Australia), Atulya Lee Berube (USA), Homagni Baptista (Australia), Karen Metcalf (Australia), Uddyogini Hall (Australia), Shyamala Stott (Scotland), Bansidhar Medeiros (USA), Jitavrata Jacobs (USA), Dhima Grigorevskiy (Ukraine), Vilupti Barrineau (Canada), Anne Lienonen (Finland)

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