The members of the Bulgarian Peace Run team, offer their gratitude. The virtual European Peace Run went through Bulgaria May 11 - 17.
The members of the International Team who will be running through Romania and Moldova offer a message of Peace to those countries.
Patricia was on the International team that ran through Bulgaria last week. She is from Germany.
Patricia reports: "I am very very grateful that we can do this virtual Peace Run. Its very important at this time that we have a feeling of Oneness. We are all brothers and sisters in this world. It was an amazing feeling of freedom and hope. As I wasdoing my Peace runs every day, especially the longer ones, I could really feel what Oneness is. Also, I could feel a very profound connection with my country, Germany. The feeling was just like former Peace Runs - I felt like the Peace Run van and the rest of the team are waiting for me just around the corner. The Peace Run connects people on many different levels - real Oneness. We feel it in our heart, we run and we are connected. It has given me so much strength and joy, and of course peace". (continued ...)
Patricias's report continued: "One story I want to share. Everyday we had a certain amount of kilometres to run. On Wednesday I did my 5 kilometres, but then I just kept running, way more. I was so inspired I couldn't stop. I ended up doing more than twenty. It was a real blessing. Nature is blessing us right now with all this beauty, a prosperity of nature, everything is blossoming, the sun was shining. Thank you. I am inspired to keep going for the next week, and the week after".
https://vimeo.com/419969382
Pedja was running his kilometres in Serbia. In this picture he is running along the Danube river.
Pedja reports: I invited my friends to run together and honor 33 years of Peace Run by running 33 miles. It was very joyful gathering after almost two months in isolation.
We sang the Peace Run song and decided to do the same every Saturday until the Peace Run finish in October."
Harita's report continued: "To have peace in the world, one of the greatest challenges we face is adapting to adversity and things “going wrong”. Individually and collectively finding the resources to maintain our equanimity, our hope, our happiness, and the feeling that the world is really our Oneness-Home becomes fundamental to our life journey.
This present situation has given our big Peace Run family a great opportunity to challenge ourselves to adapt, try something new, and at the same time bring ourselves back to the essence of Sri Chinmoy’s message- that world peace is dependent upon each one of us finding and cultivating peace in our own hearts and lives, and sharing that peace with the world with the world around us.
Happy Peace Running!!!"
Harita is coordinating the virtual Peace Run in North America. She reports: "Warmest greetings to Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova from Santa Fe, New Mexico! Actually I am still in New York, but our North American Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home “Run-at-Home” Peace Run 2020 team has so far covered over 4,500 miles- even more than the distance we would have run by now to get us from New York to New Mexico!
Every week our international team of runners and walkers is growing, and what is really great is that many team members would not have been able to come out on the road, but are able to participate in this way. It is great knowing there is a big team running the European km’s also!" (continued under next picture)
Vijayanta is the coordinator of the Peace Run in Bulgaria. He tells us that the Media in Bulgaria were very interested in the virtual Peace Run, and published a number of reports. SChools that we had planned to visit opriginally, arranged for children to prepare artworks and sent us photos.
Patrisia Koleva 11 years old. "St Cyril and St. Methodius" school in the village of Surnevo
2019: children in the South Seas pass the torch.
Dhavala from Scotland was a member of the International team this week. She lives in Edinburgh and runs along the Firth of Forth.
Daiana Asenova. "St Cyril and St. Methodius" school in the village of Surnevo
Prachar is the coordinator of the Peace Run in Australia. He was invited to be a local Bulgarian runner this week, as he had intended to be in Bulgaria at this time.
Prachar reports: "There is nothing virtual about this Peace Run. It is real. Real sweat. Real Oneness."
Prachar has been running in Canberra, the capital of Australia.
One day Prachar came across these two runners in the hills around Canberra. They are part of the virtual team that is running around North America. So Colorado met the Black Sea in Canberra.
From left: Abhinandan Willis (Melbourne), Sarankhuu Jargal (Mongolia) and Prachar.
After a 5k race, Prachar is joined by his friends who respect the social distancing regulations.
Mima Kirilova
This is Jamaica, Queens in New York. At regular intervals, people are standing playing musical instruments to honour the extraordinary work being done by the emergency services.
Kanala was a member of the team running through Bulgaria. She is from Slovakia, and works at the United Nations in New York City.
Raia Georgieva
Rada Todorova
Ioana Iancheva
Satyamurthi lives in Italy.
Satyamurthi from Italy reports: "Quite surprisingly, I met Giorgio Sgarabottolo this morning. He was cycling quite far from his home. He was passing by and he recognized me because of the Peace Run shirt.
Giorgio is the former President of a sport club and he is truly a dear old friend of the Peace Run. Giorgio has helped us every time the Peace Run passes through Padova and the last time I met him was on that occasion. So I was extremely happy to see him, it was really like a tiny Peace Run event with runners."
Artwork by Radoslav Petkov
Suren from Iceland reports: "I've had a lovely time Peace Running this week.
I went from running 2 times a week to 7 days a week. I've had short and easy runs, long and demanding runs, I've run in the sun and I've run in the rain, and I've had a run were I had to run as fast as possible, because I was running behind schedule.
In short all the different kinds of runs I would have on a normal Peace Run!"
Suren is joined by his good friends in Reykjavik.
Mayor Tihomir Ianakiev is planting a Peace tree in Bulgaria.
The Mayor is joined by Mr G. Pinelov
The table tennis team in "St Cyril and St. Methodius" school in the village of Surnevo, arranged their own Peace Run. See: https://vimeo.com/419968894
Shamita's long run and dedication to Peace is acknowledged by a special bird.
Shamita lives in Austria. On this run she found a cardboard cutout of a policeman.
Emanuil Vasilev
Dea Delcheva
Our next member of the International team is Natashira from France.
2019: Runners in Kiribati in the South Pacific.
2018: children running with the torch in Dublin, Ireland.
Dublin, Ireland.
Agnieszka is from Poland, but lives and works in Dublin. She has been running as a memeber of the International Team this past week.
Agnieszka came across this sculpture of a pair of shoes ...
2018: Police in Italy receive the torch from the children.
Petra is from the Czech Republic, and lives and works in London, where she has been running her kilometres.
The River Thames in south west London.
Todor is from North Macedonia and has been running his kilometres in Amsterdam.
Several runners in Bulgaria made up the local team. This is Baridhi in Sofia.
Vijayanta.
Darina.
Violetta and Todor.
Varenya.
Cveti from Bulgaria carries the flaming torch.
Max organises Peace Run events in and around Salzburg, Austria. He works in a wonderful restaurant - The Heart of Joy. Last Friday was the first day that they were allowed to seat customers.
Luciana Giancola in Rome dedicates her 14kms of running this week to the Peace Run.
Suparna dedicates her 63 kms of running this week to the Peace Run. Here she is running through the beautiful gardens of Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria.
2018: Sumandala holds back the children at a Peace Run event in Italy.
Silvia from Italy lives and works in Salzburg. This week she ran 34 kms to celebrate her birthday - she dedicates the kilometres to the Peace Run. Bhagavantee from Germany ran 14 kms this week for the Peace Run.
Antonella Alongi runs 7kms for the Peace Run in Palermo, Sicily.
We are now starting the 4th week of the virtual Peace Run in Europe.
This week we will run through Romania and Moldova, 679 kms.
Ion is the Peace Run coordinator in Moldova.
The Romanian Peace Run organisers made this announcement: "Over the years, Peace Run was a very successful event in Romania, bringing together children and adults from all walks of life, in joy happiness and understanding. Some of the most prominent sportsmen and sportswomen from our country have carried the torch along the way, joining us in our effort to spread the flame of peace. I would mention just a few of them, all multiple Olympic and world champions: Ana Maria Branza, Doina Melinte, Gabi Szabo, Fita Lovin and many, many others. We are very proud to welcome Peace Run Team once again in our country in a joint effort to spread the message of peace, love and understanding."
Pictures from previous runs through Romania.
Ambarish (right) will be representing Ireland this week on the run through Romania and Moldova. This picture was taken during a run through Dublin, where he is joined by Gianluca from Croatia.
2018: a run into the Romanian hills.
2018
2019: this picture is from a special Peace Run that went through Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania.
Jwalanta from Munich, Germany will be on the team this week running through Romania and Moldova.
Jwalanta has been preparing for the Carpathian Mountains in Romania, by running in the hilly Bavarian forests.
2018: Romania
2018: Romania
2018: artwork created by Romanian school children.
Mena from France is on the team again. In France this week Ashcharjya ran 5 kms and Edwige ran 20 kms.
Samviraja from Padova, Italy is on the team this week. She knows the way.
Thamara from Brazil is on the team this week. Here she is surrounded by her good friends in Dublin where she used to live. She will be running in Sao Paolo, Brazil.
2019: South Seas. Nurari is leading children in a run last year. She will be representing England this week, and running her kilometres in Australia where she now lives.
Nurari and friends celebrating a very successful Peace Run in the South Seas last year.
Girindra (right) from Hungary will be on the team this week. This photo is from a Peace Run in Hungary in 2016, running in the rain. Other members of this week's team can be seen in the video message greeting Romania and Moldova.
Our good friend Nivedak from Milan, a veteran Peace Runner, has sent us the following photographs from the place in the Alps where he has been spending the last few weeks of quarantine. Not a bad part of the world to be confined to!
Nivedak from Milan.
In Finland Niharika ran 47 kms and Idhabodha ran 9 kms.
