Another dazzling day! At the border of Punkalaidun enthusiastic runners await...
They have their own van...
Here come Puruvaj and Jorge from direction Sastamala...
The mayor of this eagerly athletic municipality is Lauri Inna, an avid athlete himself, here to greet us...
The local citizens are really engaged!...
Lauri takes the lead...
It is ca. 10 km into town...
There were several supportive people cheering us along the roadside...
Legendary local orienteering master Olli Ylijoki, biked with us the whole way! He even ran part of the way with the torch...
Vibrant local runner joins us along the way...
But first a picture with the radiant missis...
Approaching the town...
Here several young runners are waiting to join us!...
They lead the pack...
This is all really delightful! We got so much joy from all the people! Their smiles melted our hearts...
The inscription says: Sisu, Power, Faithfulness. (Sisu is a Finnish term encompassing courage, will-power and determination)
A symbolic lap around the track-and-field court...
Lauri did a great job of bringing all the people together and manifesting the amazing spirit of Punkalaidun...
We were happy that MEP Martti Mölsä with his wife were there...
So many brilliant people...
Former ambassador to several countries, e.g. The United Kingdom, Austria and France, Marjatta Rasi was there to see what was happening...
We are really thankful to all in Punkalaidun for your resplendent, vivacious and jubilant welcome!...
Every runner got to mint their own ceremonial coin...
Thank you guys! That was an amazing meeting!...
The memory of Punkalaidun will shine in our hearts!
In Karkkila we meet local runners...
We run 4 km...
Karkkila marketplace...
A reporter happened to be there...
This nice man told us that Karkkila is the home of luminous Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki...
Thank you for a happy and fun end to our day!...
