Whilst running on the roads of the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge a large truck approached me. As the driver stopped he beckoned me towards him. I thought he would ask why I was running with the torch, but to my surprise he said,”You should watch yourself as there is an alligator on the side of the road up ahead”. A bit surprised I thanked him and then kept my eyes peeled for the alligator.

I didn’t see it but he quite possibly saw me! Later Atulya gave me us some invaluable advice and said that if we did come across an alligator that attempted to take a bite out of a runner we should run zig zag as alligators find it difficult to change direction.

This is useful to know as over the coming weeks we will be passing through the states of Florida and Alabama that have a large alligator population.

On one of our lay-overs waiting for the runner, we met a very sincere and sweet gentleman who referred to himself as the "Fruit Man", as he had a very nice little fruit stand on the side of the highway. He was quite thrilled to hold the torch.

On the way to Savannah we had a very nice little stop at "America's Smallest Church". It was a very peaceful 12 seater. A great roadside stop to regain our poise and peace.

From the Georgia state line, into downtown Savannah we were kindly treated to a police escort. This slowed the traffic down behind us but gave us much more visibility than we usually have, with the sirens and lights of the two police cars announcing our arrival.

It created a sense of spectacle and carnival atmosphere as many of the drivers and pedestrians responded to our waves by waving back and smiling and offering heart-felt wishes of encouragement.

Officers Stewart and Beddow did a wonderful job guiding us through the parts of town that gave us the most exposure to the tourists and locals alike. We are very grateful to them and to Sergeant Andrew Gallow for organizing this very valuable service for our runners.

We ended up at the very attractive part of town by the Savannah River at the Rousakis Plaza where we were greeted by many visitors at a local festival.

Kenny Hill of the Savannah Waterfront Association and the Mayor Pro-Tem Edna Jackson very kindly introduced us as we ran onto the stage.

The Mayor Pro-Tem offered us very nice gifts of greeting cards with art of Savannah, a city pin and a very nice comemorative coin.

After our own introductions we mixed with the visitors there and many of them were thrilled to hold the torch and take photos.

Again we were escorted through town, and on our way out we were constantly greeted by many people either visiting this wonderful city or going about their daily business.

Phil and Jan Mengel stopped on their daily walk around town to talk with us and tell us a bit about their beautiful city.

Further down the road, Heike and Bruce greeted us as we made a stop in front of their pet shop called the ‘Animal Resort and Spa’. They even invited us in after closing up shop to see some of their cute dogs, many of which had their own beds. It was so thoughtfully designed that it looked like a Bed and Breakfast Inn for dogs. Living in harmony can be applied to our pets as well as our human family. This harmonious living with nature and with other people, strangers or not, has been shown to us time and again here in the hospitable South.

We layed down our aching bodies at the most beautiful Oceanside Inn and Suites. A quip dip in the water and a soak in the hot tub had our legs ready to run again. Thank you for your kindness and hospitality.

– Arpan and Mark

Distance: 95 miles

Team Members:
Arpan DeAngelo (New York), Atulya Lee Berube (San Diego), Yuyudhan Hoppe (Minnesota), Gabriel (Canada), Mark Collison (England), Kshetragna (Russia), Surya (Russia), Drsalu (Austria), Vladimir (Moldova), Kokila Chamberlin (Wales)

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