Early in the morning, avoiding the Darwin heat ...
... four of the boys completed the last 40km run from Humpty Doo into Darwin ...
This was to be the final day on the Peace Run for our guest runner, Rowan Beggs ...
Our particular thanks to Rowan and also to Alex Mullins, Darwin locals and friends of the Run, for providing accommodation in their respective houses.
A keen triathlete and runner, Rowan was familiar with the work of the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team through their Canberra races, when he recently lived in Canberra. Now that he is Darwin-based, he has become acquainted with a far different climate.
A few days ago, he joined the team in Katherine, as we ran through the spectacular climes of Kakadu. Though he claims to be still wary of the northern heat (after Canberra’s cool weather), he was keen enough to run up to 30 kilometres per day – and still volunteer for any further running opportunities.
... this leg of our journey officially concluded on The Esplanade, one of the restful spots on Darwin’s charming Fannie Bay ...
... a moment for celebration and appreciation with new-found friends.
It was the first “day off” for some time, so the runners enjoyed rest-and-recuperation on a day that seemed even more relaxed than the usual Darwin day.
Abhinabha Tangerman, super-runner from Holland, flew in from Amsterdam via Helsinki and Singapore this morning, joining the team just in time ...
... for ice cream.
Meanwhile, the girls were visiting the Parap Market, where there are many wonderful stalls ...
... this lady has been hand-making these amazing dolls for over 40 years!
Roos De Waart, also from Holland, flew in this morning from Vienna. She will be a wonderful addition to our girls team for the next leg from here to Brisbane.
We are loving the tropical fruit up here and most of us want to make the most of the weather as we are heading back to wintery homes south of Darwin in a few days!
We bought some of the fabulous jack-fruit ...
... while Emily gets a delicious fresh mango and lime smoothie.
With a day off from running, everyone is relaxing after our long journey to Darwin. This is a staging post between 'legs' of the Run, with many of the team departing for home from here, and several fresh members coming on board. We met for lunch together at the Esplanade by the beautiful harbour.
This evening after dinner, we finished the day with an appearance at Damian Syred’s Circus Royale.
This was the perfect way to end the journey for our departing team members – and the perfect way to start the journey for our arriving brothers and sisters!
Like the Peace Run, the Circus Royale is touring Australia, and like us, will soon be in Mataranka and Tennant Creek.
Like our team, it has a cast representing nine nations. We also try to spread joy wherever we go – something that the Circus Royale does with aplomb ...
As with Ashton’s Circus (which we visited and also presented with a Torch-Bearer Award in Bunbury, WA a few weeks ago), one of the great fringe benefits of this ceremony was that we could watch the circus. Damian, the ring-master, mentioned to us that the family that started the Circus Royale has been in the business since the fifteenth century ...
... watching it 600 years on, it was clear why circuses are still so close to the hearts of both children and adults. We keep hearing about “interactive” entertainment as the latest thing, in which the audience doesn’t just watch, but becomes part of the fun. As was proven, nothing is more interactive than a circus.
We were introduced by the ringmaster and manager, Damian Syred, as we ran into the Big Top during the intermission ...
... where we handed the Torch to Susanna, a young contortionist from Brazil, who had just stunned the crowds with her incredible performance. She in turn ran to Damian and passed the Torch on to him.
Noivedya then introduced the Peace Run, and then main purpose of our being here tonight ...
... to present the Circus Royale with the Torch-Bearer Award. Everywhere they go, they bring smiles to the faces of everyone around them with their traditional circus.
After the show, the Peace Run team and the Circus Royale performers mingled ...
... though it was nearly 10pm, and they had just had two shows in quick succession, the performers still had not had dinner, and some of them had more training to do. Still, they took some time to meet us and of course, to hold the Peace Torch ...
We made sure that the team had a photo with the entire cast. While the current Peace Run team has runners from nine nations, our combined total was 17 nations. (That’s not counting the Shetland pony.)
We felt truly honoured to be part of their show.
