A new beautiful day is ahead of our peace runners!
Thank you Earth Well Retreat Center, it's a little piece paradise that you have created here for people. Thank you for hosting us with your hearts wide open!
After the quickest breakfast we are on the road at 7am, heading towards our first meeting of the day.
Indeed, when we arrive in Chelsea to start running at 7:15 we are happily surprised to ring our new friend Jim waiting to run with us! He hasn’t run in years but is full of enthusiasm and joins Goga for the first 2 miles. Thank you Jim!
Children and teachers at "Go Like The Wind Montessori School" give the peace runners a big welcome.
Let's see if our peace runners are really peaceful! Here we have Devendra, from Texas, preparing himself for a very important race...
...but while running he pushes over Alex... Is that peaceful? No! Thumbs down. Well done children!
Raquel, from Portugal, hurts herself while running. Her Croatian friends Goga and Anita help her.
Is that peaceful? Yes, Thumbs up!
We are hugging everyone in the whole world with our arms wide open, while singing the "World Harmony Run" song!
We feel peace, love and joy in our hearts to be able to share it with others.
You have been a very special audience... attentive, quiet, smart, kind, fun and all heart!
The children gift us with beautiful, thoughtful and heartfelt artwork. We are delighted and honored!
This little girl writes PEACE as:
Protect someone Eat healthy food Attention on the teacher Care for others Explore science
It's so special holding the Peace Torch and passing it to one another feeling that we are one big world family.
Its time for everyone to become peace runners by running together...
with the Peace Torch!
The outer desire says: “Run, reach And then smile.” The inner aspiration says: “Smile and run, Run and smile.”
- Sri Chinmoy
What wonderful teachers you all are!
It's time for the teachers to run for peace!
With a certificate o appreciation and a piece of artwork by Sri Chinmoy, the founder of the run, we thank the teachers and children of "Go Like The Wind Montessori School" for receiving us. It has been a most special heart-to-heart time together
We continue our run to the next school on our route. This is Raquel, from Portugal, flying with the Peace Torch.
Roxana, from Romania-Italy.
We are warmly received by Plymouth-Canton Montessori School.
Devashishu is asking the children to guess where he is from. He has been taking the train at 9 and 3/4 platform to Hogwards for many years, which country is it?
Children raise their hand to guess... it's Great Britain, Harry Potter's country!
Devashishu is racing with Devendra and Alex
but he's pushing them over... This is an example of what is not peace.
Peace is opening our arms to all people form all walks of life as one big family.
We hold the peace flame high in our smiles and hearts!
Holding the Peace Torch is a special moment.
The children are all ears...
We share a moment of silence and offer a peace flower from our heart to our friends, to the school and to the whole world.
The teachers are running with the Peace Torch!
and receive our Certificate of Appreciation for being part of this year's run.
High five with Goga from Croatia!
And now the most joyful part: running! You have won the prize for the longest endurance run with the peace runners, we could not keep up with you, you were so fast!
Bye bye "Plymouth-Canton Montessori School"! It has been lots of fun meeting you all!
Harita, from New Zealand
Anita, from Croatia
Before Alex starts running he takes a moment to feel peace inside his heart so that he can really share it through his smile and contagious energy when he meets with people on the way.
Alex is heading towards Detroit, on the way of our 10,000 miles relay run across all 50 states of United States of America!
When Alex gets tired and needs to drink then Gints, from Latvia, takes over and continues the run.
Now Alex is fresh again for 3 more miles! This is nothing for him in comparison to the 3100 mile race he run last year in New York City!
Now Gints is back again, at full speed!
And while both Alex and Gits take a rest in the supporting vehicle, Natabara from New York gets to cover the distance with the Peace Torch until we arrive at our next stop, Detroit!
The peace runners are on the way to the Consulate of Italy, on the Riverwalk in Detroit.
Detroit Free Press came to welcome the team and to hold the Peace Torch. Here is the article they published: Peace advocates run from Chelsea to Detroit. What's behind their message
We are welcomed by Mr. Paolo Zanotto Consul General of Italy in Detroit.
He is very happy about meeting the runners and getting to be a part of the run. He tells us about his work in the communities of Detroit, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
We follow the Italian Consul General on a run around the world, following the map on the ground. Would we have known it was so easy to run around the world!
Paolo is a very good friend of Roxana, they grew up together in Padova, Italy. It's so special to get to share the Peace Torch with your best friends!
The runners were treated to a most delicious Indian Meal by our local Michigan Coordinator, Kapila.
Thank you Kapila for the 30 years for serving the Peace Run with great coordination skills, patience, love and care.
At the end of the day we get a nice carwash :)
"The mind-windows And the mind-furniture And everything that the mind has and is Has to be carefully cleaned Every day."
- Sri Chinmoy
