Team RV

We commenced our 110th day of travelling on foot around Australia – the hot, the vast and the beautiful – by saying goodbye to our accommodation in Noosa which was provided by our very good friends, Rudrani and Peter, who also arranged a visit to a school for us in the morning.

The school was near Yadina, at North Arm. I do admit that we came 15 minutes late for the ceremony but it did not matter because the children were just about to start their daily choreographed singing.

The children and teachers cheered as Atul, a Brisbane team-member originally from India, ran into the school with the flaming Torch which is about to finish its journey in Brisbane tomorrow.

We talked to the children about harmony and its importance in our daily life. We also sang the World-Harmony-Run Song with some actions, and played a few games.

The children – all 350 of them – were so happy, bright and enthusiastic to learn about the Run and to get to hold the Torch and run with us around the oval! The teachers were very happy that we had time to share our message, which we felt was already well understood and practised here.

Thank you Fiona and all the teachers and children for receiving us with such warmth, love and enthusiasm! All the best, until our next run around Australia.

Later in the day we visited Australia Zoo. In Adelaide we had met with Terri, Bindi and Bob Irwin, who had invited us to come when we finally reached the Sunshine Coast. So off we went and had a terrific tour of the amazing zoo and its wonderful animals.

– Runar Gigja (Iceland)

Team A

This morning we commenced our running along David Lowe Way in Noosa and ran a very easy 13 km between us, enjoying some stunning ocean views as we ran. The whole area appeared to be thriving.

We then visited the Coolum State School where the children performed a number of lively songs for us including a Torres Strait Islander song, an Italian version of “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands," and the French song “Frere Jacques."

Children of all ages then joined with us to run around the school oval. Some pupils assembled in a circle and passed the lit Torch amongst each other.

After the school, we rendezvoused with Team B to meet with Ron Grant, the first person to run around Australia solo (see Team B report, below).

Our next appointment was a Civic Reception at the Caboulture Town Square.

Deputy Mayor Councillor Greg Chippendale and Councillor Gary Parsons greeted the team. Gary Parsons is the former 1000-mile record holder, and held the record for the longest continuous solo run, set while running around Australia in 1999/2000.

When he spoke of his achievements, Gary commented: “Sometimes you wake up and you just have to think outside the box. And then you have to take others along with you.”

He said that he once met the founder of the World Harmony Run, Sri Chinmoy, and carried a quote of his which he read out at the ceremony:

“I simply do what many dream of,
I simply do what others talk about,
I simply become what others dare not even imagine.”
– Sri Chinmoy

Gary was then presented with the World Harmony Run's Torch-Bearer Award, and acknowledged the significant contribution of his wife, Sharon, to his outstanding running achievements.

– Elke Lindner (Germany)

Team B

Our day started with only one hour's running, to bring us to Mooloolaba – one of the nicest place names in Australia to say.

We were met at Mooloolaba State School by the Principal, John Turner. The school children were about to be entertained by a concert from the excellent orchestra of the nearby Mountain Creek State High School. Before the concert started, our team was invited to introduce ourselves and offer a brief summary of our Run around Australia.

Before the band struck up in earnest, the students from Class 6B came out to the school oval for a few laps carrying the World Harmony Torch. This was an opportunity to answer a few more questions and talk a little more about the purpose of our venture. Brendan from WIN Television arrived in time to film one last run around the oval, with the children and World Harmony runners being led by Mikayla.

The students then presented us with the School Banner, and Jamie offered our team a vote of thanks on behalf of all the students. We wished we could have stayed longer, and look forward to returning to Mooloolaba State School when the World Harmony Run next visits the area. Thanks to Principal John Turner and his friendly staff and students for making us so welcome!

With the end of our long journey in sight, we have been starting to feel rather proud of our achievement. So it was very timely to meet with Ron Grant at his house in Caboolture this morning, to bring our running feat back into its proper perspective.

In 1983, Ron became the first person to run solo around the continent of Australia. In doing so, he broke the then World Record for the longest continuous solo run – 13,383 km in 217 days, averaging 62 km per day. Ron set numerous other records, including being the first person to cross the notorious Simpson Desert on foot – 379 km of almost-vertical sand dunes – in Summer!

Ron and his wife received our team with warm enthusiasm. Ron was happy to indulge our curiosity, recounting stories from his astonishing feats of the 80s and 90s with humility and good humour. He then proudly brought out a trophy acclaiming him as "Queensland's Champion Runner" – presented to him by Animesh Harrington and the Sri Chinmoy Marathon Team in 1981 – on the occasion of the 'My Australia: South-East Queensland Relay' – which still holds pride of place in his trophy collection; after which Ron signed copies of his second book 'With Wings Like Eagles' which he presented to all members of the team.

For his daring to go where no-one had ventured before, and his remarkable accomplishments which continue to inspire runners and non-runners alike, we were delighted to present Ron Grant with the World Harmony Run's Torch-Bearer Award.

As if meeting one continental solo runner was not enough to bring some humility back to our team, we were about to meet another, in the same day and same town! (See report on Gary Parsons meeting in Team A story, above).

After the generous lunch provided by the Moreton Bay Regional Council, our running over for the day, the teams diverged for the afternoon. Our van headed to the nearby Glasshouse Mountains, a series of spectacular ancient volcanic plugs first sighted from offshore and named by Captain Cook in his voyage up the east coast of Australia in 1770.

With the highest of the Glasshouse Mountains, Mt Beerwah, closed due to recent rockfalls, our team elected to tackle the nearby Mt Tibroogargan, perhaps the most spectacular of the group. Four of the team made it to the top, to be treated to breathtaking views over the other Glasshouse Mountains, across to Bribie and Moreton Islands, Caloundra and the Sunshine Coast hinterland.

– Prachar Stegemann (Australia)

Team C

We began the day by running 50 km through the Sunshine Coast, which was very different to most of our recent runs. After all those deserted highways, Maroochydore and Mooloolaba were a hive of activity this morning, with motorists heading to and from Brisbane, and shops and cafés overflowing with business. Though it might not have the beauty of a forest or a canefield, in some ways it is one of my favourite environs of the run. Here is where dozens, even hundreds of people can notice the flame in all its glory. The sight of a lone runner, wielding the torch, cannot help but win their attention. While we have enjoyed seeing the sights of Australia, experiencing the manifold splendour of the continent, we joined together for one reason: to promote the joy and inspiration of world peace and harmony. As we near the end of our journey, it is something that is indisputably clear.

The busy metropolitan streets of Maroochydore were eventually replaced by the hinterland – long, green stretches of road, dotted with out-of-the-way motels, garden centres, isolated coffee shops and the famous Australia Zoo.

Following our meeting with Terri Irwin back on Day 39, we were invited on a special tour of Australia Zoo, one of the favourite projects of her late husband Steve. Despite its name, the zoo brings together animals from around the world.

 

We were given a guided tour of the zoo, patting koalas, feeding elephants and kangaroos, and safely examining the venomous snakes from the other side of the glass case.

 

 

Few people had Steve’s love of animals, and the long-established zoo, still constantly expanding, now serves as a tribute to the famous entertainer and conservationist. The Wildlife Warriors Show, for example, is presented by a cast of young rangers with the same mix of enthusiasm and larrikin humour, bringing in a parade of trained birds and a fearsome (but well-mannered) crocodile.

Like every section of the zoo, a major aspect of the show is the importance of the environment, of treating the world’s animals (and their habitats) with care and compassion – just as we should treat the world’s people.

– Noivedya Juddery (Australia)

 

Tatiana Grigorieva Meeting

On the eve of the team’s last day of running, the sweetness of the goal was prefaced with a World Harmony Run Torch-Bearer Award presented to the Run's spokesperson, Tatiana Grigorieva, at her Ascot Gelateria – Milany Caffe e Gelato.

If the team hadn’t found it so cold (they were not so long ago in the desert), one would wager that Tatiana might soon have found her exquisite displays of gourmet gelato heavily depleted. As it were, the team (schooled well in the art of accepting less than salubrious resting grounds) enjoyed a bountiful respite in the heart of one of Brisbane’s premier fine-dining strips.

To be welcomed as guests of Olympic medallist Tatiana, was really the last word in high style. And her wondrous arrays of unique gelato, coupled with great coffee, left indents on our hearts (and stomachs!) that will not soon be forgotten.

We were proud to present Tatiana with a Torch-Bearer Award and would like to thank her most sincerely for the support and belief she has so freely given to us from our journey’s beginning. It is a real honour to have the patronage of such a courageous, warm-hearted person. We’ll be back soon, Tatiana!

– Julie Anderson (Australia)

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Team Members:
Aaron Carey (New Zealand), Prachar Stegemann (Australia), Anastasija Aleksejeva (Latvia), Nigel Webber (Australia), Nataliya Lehonkova (Ukraine), Prabhakar Street (Canada), Edi Serban (Romania), Dima Lehonkov (Ukraine), Bernice Matthews (Australia), Atul Arora (India), Nick File (New Zealand), Noivedya Juddery (Australia), Standa Zubaty (Czech Republic), Runar Gigja (Iceland), Elke Lindner (Germany), Sandro Zincarini (Italy), Angela Muhs (Germany), Misha Kulagin (Russia)

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