Early in the morning we arrived in Livorno by boat from Sardinia.

A meeting at the Piazza Grande with a city representative and a running club started the Run through Tuscany, one of Italy's most treasured regions! Olive trees, rolling hills (although quite tough for running...) and gorgeous architecture everywhere!

In Calcinaia we met the assessore ( = city representative), who was unfortunately alone because the city staff was on strike! Despite this unlucky coincidence he was very nice to us.

In Altopascio, the mayor, the assessore and the local TV met us. We all got really nice glass presents and the mayor spoke very warmly!

Despite the fact that we were a little bit late (which has become quite traditional in Italy) a group of runners carried the torch into the most scenic city of Montecatini Terme, where the sport representative received the torch.

In Pistoia we where back on schedule! Running through all these old cities in Italy is really an experience, especially when you have to follow the runners on two vans through all those narrow roads and turns! We arrived at the city hall for a friendly meeting, where we got a special certificate and lots of snacks!

Finally we reached Firenze, one of the most beautiful cities in the world!

The police escorted us into the old part of the city, so that the Run turned out to be a real sightseeing tour! Ponte Vecchio , Piazza della Signoria , Uffizi , Palazzo Vecchio and il Duomo : all famous sights in one single run! No tourist group can beat that!

Joined by other runners we finished at Piazza Santa Croce, where the Firenze - Half Marathon will start the next day. The team was invited onto the Half Marathon stage where we met an old friend of the World Harmony Run, NYC Marathon Champion Orlando Pizzolato and Ultra distance runner Antonio Mammoli!

To top the day we spent the night in a traditional villa in the hills around Firenze!

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Distance: 125km

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