Our adventure today begins at Windsor Public School. We are about 100 kms from Sydney.
The students greet us with great enthusiasm.
Councillor Danielle Wheeler welcomes the team to the school and to the district. Ms Wheeler informs us that this is one of the very early settlements by the Europeans who came by boat - they were drawn to the fertile ground.
The school leaders, Jasmine, Jackson, Cassidy and Jacob receive a Certificate from the Peace Run team and a painting by the founder of the Peace Run, Sri Chinmoy. The title of the painting is World Family.
All the students have a chance to hold the torch. This torch will travel around the world in 2019.
The children very kindly present each runner with a gift.
Deputy Principal, Janice Azzopardi, says some very kind words before we take our leave. Thank you for your goodwill and all the great work you are doing at this school.
The girls team led the way today. Nirjharini was first out on the road, putting in a full 7kms run in preparation for a marathon she will be doing soon in Melbourne.
Helene took off second. She is such a fast runner. She ran through Penrith and we couldn't catch her before she had run 10 kms. She has proven to be not only an excellent runner but also very a very proficient orienteer!
As we made our way out of the urban sprawl of the Sydney area the roads became quieter. The natural landscape once again revealed itself giving us plenty of inspiration to clock up the kilometres.
The boys team find a beautiful location in Mittagong by a lake for lunch.
Caroline and her dog welcome us to Moss Vale!
Looking out over the city of Bowral from the Gibralta viewpoint.
Padmalaya carries the torch.
Ivan Marek, the Peace Run coordinator, runs a few kilometres with the torch.
Bridget was born in San Diego, California. Her grandmother was born in Wales, her grandfather in Somerset, England. A typical Australian family story!
Thank you to Tina and Brian and their grandaughter Bridget for welcoming us to Heronswood House Bed and Breakfast in Moss Vale. They have been running this B&B for 22 years.
Thank you to the Mittagong Motel for providing accommodation for 3 of our runners.
The girls team started running at 11am today and arrived into Mittagong, our designated finish location for the evening, quite late – close to 6pm. We actually finished at our accommodation place, Mittagong Caravan Park. With certificate and torch in hand Clare kindly showed us our cabin and wished us a restful night in this lovely Caravan Park.
