Sometimes we have to split into more than one team to cover the distance and take part in all the ceremonies, and today we had to form 3 teams!

The third day started with a most energising experience for those of us on the first team, when the children at the "Ciabatti Montessori" elementary school welcomed us in Perugia.

The sun was shining brightly in Umbria when the runners of the sport club UISP CHIANCIANO joined us.

We were accompanied by Stefano Grigiotti and his eager team as we crossed the border into one of Italy's most beautiful regions - la Toscana (Tuscany).

In the afternoon, our way took us to the charming city of Siena, where the many people who were relaxing at the famous "Piazza del Campo" spontaneously applauded our arrival.

Like this Russian couple, most of them were tourists, from many different countries.

We also had the honour of meeting Massimo Bianchi, the assessore of sport, who ran a few steps in the name of Harmony...

Inspired by Italy's beauty, the team was waving goodbye to the city hall when a real adventure started.

The streets in old Italian towns are quite small and our cars could not follow the runners, so it was quite easy to lose each other - runners waited for the cars at the roadside petrol station, but the cars were somewhere else...

Thank you very much to this gentleman from Benin - we elect him "hero of the day" for helping us find our way back to the rest of our team, thanks to his mobile phone and big heart.

Finally we continued on to Greve, birthplace of the Italian explorer Verrazzano (you may know of the Verrazzano Narrows bridge in New York).

After a very nice meeting with the assessore of sports in Greve in Chianti, Mr. Mariottini and his charming lady, our hectic day came to an end with the pleasure of a meal with Mr. Mariottini, at a most delicious Tuscan restaurant.

We want to thank Castello di Verrazzano and the municipality of Greve for providing this special dinner and comfortable accommodation.

Second team:

Torrita di Siena is absolutely the perfect place to begin a proper Harmony Run-day!

Right from the beginning, people from Atletica Sinnalunga joined us at a ceremony with the local assessore.

And as you may imagine, after the "kick off" everyone really enjoyed the unique landscape with its typical cypress trees, the gentle hills and all those impressive villas.

At noon we met the assessore of Rapolano Terme and runners from G.P. Ricardo Valenti.

Here we should mention the fantastic cheese they offered us (Peccorino!!); it gave us extra energy for our way to Siena to meet another part of the team.

Third team:

After we visited San Marino, our team then continued on to one of the most beautiful cities in the world - Florence - while the second team headed through the region of Toscana.

We were welcomed as special guests at the opening day of the Piaggeliadi - a mini-Olympics for the children of the city, which will continue with events over the next two months.

The ceremony took place in the city's basketball stadium and was attended by more than a thousand children. We were treated to presentations of martial arts and gymnastics, and an impressive display by flag-bearers and a marching band dressed in renaissance costumes.

As the final event on the agenda, we were introduced and came running in to loud applause. The torch was passed to the Assessore of Sport, Giani Eugenio, the President of the Province, Mr Renzi and the President of the Piaggeliadi, Mr Marco Borri. All the children then joined us for a lap of the hall, which proved to be quite a spectacle!

In the evening we were invited by our dear friends the local organisers, to a delicious home-cooked meal.

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Distance: 162km

Team Members:
Ondrej Vesely (Czech Republic), Sandra Aurenhammer (Austria), Andrea Fidrmuc (Slovakia), David Mouton (France), Ulugbek Bedimurotov (Uzbekistan), Josef Lackner (Hungary), Mananyu and Sushuti Siffert, Silke, Chintamani, Tarani (Austria), Zbynek Selucky, Martin Pernicky, Robert Senovsky (Czech Republic), Zoran Mrkonjic (Croatia), Silvia Di Nunzio, Enrico Miotello, Marco Chersich, Fabio Mussoni (Italy)

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

Gallery: See more images!

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