We started running again in the mountains, but it was a very different scene to the one we left the previous evening: in contrast to the glorious sunshine, there was now a steady downpour of rain. Unfortunately, when the rain clouds come in off the sea, the mountains are the first place where they drop their load! However that didn’t stop our runners from braving their way through it with smiles.

We came down off the mountains, passing the beautiful Glenmacnass waterfall on the way and past the beautiful villages of Laragh and Avoca.

Centuries ago, the mountains were all covered in thick oak forest; we could see the last remnants of that forest as we went past.

After we passed the town of Arklow, an almighty downpour came known on top of poor Jwalanta who was running with the torch at the time! Of course, it had conveniently dried up by the time yours truly had stepped out of the van to do his share of the running.

We were running along the main road to the south-east by this time, and we received many appreciative waves and honks of car horns as we went past; perhaps some of them had seen the media coverage we received yesterday in Dublin.

We arrived in Wexford to meet the police escort waiting for us, which then led us across the famous Wexford Bridge and into the town.

We had been invited to the Council offices; the grounds were festooned with bunting awaiting our arrival. The Borough Council of Wexford were according us a civic reception, the second highest honour open to them to bestow. The Mayor of Wexford, Philomena Roche, spoke about how she admired our enthusiasm and how about when she comes to speak about harmony in the future, she will have our example to bring to mind. Two former mayors also were in attendance.

We were presented with the coat of arms of Wexford: the motto

meaning ‘through fire and water’ certainly seemed like an apt metaphor for what we had been through today!

The European runners were very interested in the Mayor’s chain of office, as many of their countries did not have a similar tradition - she told us it was made our of gold, and that many successive mayors had added their own links to it so that by now it has gotten quite large!

The council also generously sponsored our accommodation, so half of us stayed behind while the other half ran the remaining 20km to Rosslare Harbour, ensuring the World Harmony Run would end its Irish journey at a ferry port, just as it started it.

The council had also thoughtfully arranged for those runners who were staying behind in Ireland the next day to have a free guided tour of the nearby Irish Heritage Park, a park dedicated to recreating an eyewitness view of life in different periods of Irish history, from the Middle Stone Age right through to the time of the Normans. Damien was our guide for the day, and we enjoyed very much his tour and his passion for his subject matter.

The runners also took the time to visit Johnstown castle, set in some very scenic parklands; a very tranquil experience compared to the dynamic energy of the day before.

The Irish Harmony Run coordinators would like to thank all of the International Team, especially those runners who made it over here on very short notice; it is always so heartening to see how the Run captures people’s imaginations every time it comes over.

Distance: 150km

Team Members:
Andrea Fidrmuc (Austria), Erika Pongracz (Hungary), Colm Magee (Ireland), Shane Magee (Ireland), Nataliya Lehonkova (Ukraine), Ondrej Vesely (Czech Republic), Hanka Uchytilova (Czech Republic), Robert Senovsky (Czech Republic), Eduard Brodtrager (Austria), Katka Prusova (Czech Republic), Bakul Keaney (Ireland), Marc Schrader (Germany), Vytautas Reinikis (Lithuania), Abichal Watkins (Wales), Gary Foran (Saudi Arabia), Jwalanta Voelckner (Germany), Mangala Keenan (Russia), Paula Flood (Ireland), Ambarish Keenan (Ireland), Angela Muhls (Germany).

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