The World Harmony Run was received warmly by the weather upon arrival in Northern Ireland.

The sun was shining brightly as the ferry docked in the port of Larne.

We would like to thank P&O ferry company for most kindly sponsoring us with a complimentary ferry crossing.

The runners streched their legs in preparation for the days of running ahead. There was only one item on the schedule and that was to run up north to the famous Giants Causeway in County Antrim. We decided to take the coastal route up towards the Giants Causeway.

This wasn't the most direct route but it was certainly the most scenic route.

I don't know how to decribe the beauty of all the scenery we witnessed today but I'm sure the photos from Ondrej, our team Captain, will captivate your imagination!

When we reached the coast road we were mesmerized by the view. The sea was a most serene and tranquil pale blue, and expanded far out to the horizon, where fluffy overhead clouds were reflected.

The coast road meandered around bays and headlands and up and down the constant rise and fall of the peninsula and landscape.

The bays are enclosed by beautiful sandy beaches and large white boulders, with hills rising at both ends. The hills meet the sea abruptly, resulting in stunning cliffs of sheer rock.

It was really majestic to run with the coastline to our right and the hills and their unusual rock features to our left. Further on, we left the coastline to cut across a large headland.

We ran down into a lush green valley before climbing once again over the hills, which were covered in blossoming yellow gorse.

From the Irish van, Colm, Jerek and Stefan had been doing intervals of 5 km. Each time we stopped running we would ask - Are you sure that was 5 km?? After some time we came to the conclusion that the clock on the van was measuring in miles! We had actually been running approx. 8 km intervals.

The other team met with quite some students on the way.

The coastline greeted us once more as we ran the last few kilometres to the Giants Causeway. We decended a steep hill to bring the majestic causeway into full view.

The rock formation is amazing; one would find it hard to believe it is natural. It consists of thousands of hexagonal pillars of rock, which sweep down towards the sea.

There is a great legend as to how the Giants Causeway was formed. The legend goes that a giant called Finn MacCool from County Antrim had decided to fight a Scottish giant. He built the Giants Causeway with his bare hands in order to get to Scotland. However he caught a glimpse of the Scottish giant, who was much bigger than he, and realised he was outmatched. He decided to trick the Scottish giant and dressed himself to look like a baby. When the Scottish giant reached Antrim he saw the baby and asked who it was. A lady replied: 'This is Finn MacCool's son!' When the Scottish giant heard this he became very afraid and ran back to Scotland.

The scientific explanation is slightly different and states that magma from a volcanic eruption cooled quickly, forming the unusual hexagonal shapes. This place is really magical. We spent a lot of time soaking in this beautiful scenery before setting off to our accommodation in Belfast.

– Ondrej Vesely

Distance: 84 km

Team Members:
Ondrej Vesely (Czech Republic), Marc Schrader (Germany), Stefan Ehrenfellner (Austria), Jarek Werner (Poland), Evelyn Schmedemann (Germany), Kamila Hozlarova (Czech Republic), Colm Magee (Ireland)

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

Gallery: See more images!