The light cooling rain had just stopped early in the morning as we started our run in western Rhode Island towards the Connecticut border.

The road was quite calm and the green trees filled the air with a fresh energy as we made our way towards Norwich. A few miles before reaching the town we were met by some local runners and friends, some of whom had joined us in the past. It was so uplifting to see familiar, enthusiastic faces again as I ran into my home state of Connecticut.

Bill Champagne, who lives in nearby Preston City, was there to greet us as well. He set up a ceremony for us at the Montessori Discovery School where the children were eagerly awaiting our arrival. Local runners Tim Smith, Paul Androciewicz and his son Noah, and Harry, a newcomer to the WHR event, all helped us run to the school.

We were met by the 6 to 10 year old children inside their very spacious and colorful classroom which was full of natural light, highlighting their wonderful artwork.

The ceremony was very uplifting as all of our runners were there as well as the local runners who had joined us earlier. After the indoor ceremony we went outside to run with the children.

Noah carried the torch as the children followed around the playground.

Then each child and teacher had a chance to hold the torch and offer a kind thought or wish for something they feel the world needs.

It was a wonderful way to enter into Connecticut, the last state before finishing in New York.

The running continued after the ceremony through this beautiful state. The women's had team an interesting ferry crossing...

...where John Kennedy, the ferryman, was waiting for the team to come across. He has seen the team go about a dozen times now.

He was so excited to see us and to get a chance to run with the torch.

The last team finished running in beautiful downtown New Haven near Yale University.

We all then met at Arpan’s Mom’s house nearby and had a wonderful barbecue style meal outdoors for which we are truly grateful to her.

We were joined by Arpan’s cousin Phil and Phil’s wife Assunta who just had a birthday that we also celebrated.

It was our last meal together, celebrating a long and successful journey of our great international team of runners that was supported by many others around the country as they carried the Torch of Harmony bravely and proudly for 10,000 miles.

A little later Atulya got to see more of his family, when his cousin Alana and her new daughter Helen arrived to take him away for a nice dinner. Great to see you guys!

A very special thank you to our good friend Archee for taking in the women's team tonight. They really enjoyed their stay.

– Arpan and Atulya

Distance: 77 miles

Team Members:
Atulya Berube (San Diego), Drsalu Gruenstaeudel (Austria), Vladimir Salnacov (Moldova), Mark Collinson (England), Kokila Chamberlain (England), Surya Smolennikova (Russia), Kshetragna Ulanova (Russia), Dima Grygorievski (Ukraine), Sukhada Korshunova (Russia), Nisanga (Bosnia), Balavan Thomas (England), Pujari Schaffer (USA), Arpan DeAngelo (New York)

Harmonemail:
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Gallery: See more images!